The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth

The Offender Healthcare Service (OHS)
The physical demands of working at HMP
Wandsworth
Guidelines for Registered Nurses and Health Care Assistants
All Registered Nurses and Healthcare Assistants applying to work in the HMP Wandsworth Offender
Healthcare Service (OHS) must read this leaflet and complete the accompanying checklist titled:
“A Checklist for Registered Nurses and Healthcare Assistants who are applying to work in the
Offender Healthcare Service (OHS) at HMP Wandsworth”
The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth. Guidelines for : RN’s / HCA’s.
Updated April 2013
Page 1
HMP Wandsworth was built in 1851 during the Victorian era. The buildings that comprise HMP Wandsworth
pose special challenges for registered nurses and health care assistants who work in the prison. It is important
that all registered nurses and healthcare assistants fully understand the physical requirements of working in
HMP Wandsworth and are able to manage the challenges of the physical environment.
The layout of HMP Wandsworth means that healthcare services are scattered throughout the prison rather
than being in one place. Registered Nurses and Healthcare Assistants need to be able to manage the
environment physically and respond to unexpected emergencies and events in what can be an unpredictable
environment.
Key considerations about the physical environment at HMP Wandsworth
There are no lifts and each residential wing has four floors (see page 4)
Staff often have to cover long distances in a single day
In medical emergencies, equipment must be carried to the site of the emergency -the emergency ‘grabbag’ and oxygen cylinder (see page 5).
Staff may have to attend to prisoners in an emergency situation in a number of potential locations such
as outside in the gardens, education/workshop building , football fields, gyms in addition to the
residential wings
Floor space in the cells is very limited and may require a good degree of agility if attending an
emergency situation. Most cells have static furniture making the process even more difficult. Staff must
be able to get up and down from the floor unaided to provide CPR / other medical interventions if
required (see page 6)
Minimum physical requirements for all Registered Nurses and Health
Care Assistants
1. Each staff member must be able to manage stairs unaided and be able to walk long
distances during a shift as required.
2. Each staff member must be able to get up and down from the floor unaided in order to
be able to provide medical interventions (e.g. CPR)
3. Each staff member must be able to carry the emergency bag (weighing approximately
711kgs kilograms) up and down stairs.
The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth. Guidelines for : RN’s / HCA’s.
Updated April 2013
Page 2
Managing stairs
All Registered Nurse and Health Care Assistants must be able to manage stairs unaided and be able to
walk long distances during their shift
Offender Healthcare Services are spread throughout the large site of HMP Wandsworth. There are no lifts and healthcare
staff may be required to navigate a large number of stairs and cover long distances in a single shift
The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth. Guidelines for : RN’s / HCA’s.
Updated April 2013
Page 3
There are two residential buildings at HMP Wandsworth:
Heathfield Centre – which contains the residential wings: A,B,C,D,and E (F wing is non-residential). The
Heathfield Centre accommodates approx 1280 prisoners. Each wing consists of 4 floors.
The Trinity Centre –is smaller than the Heathfield Centre and can accommodate up to approx 400
prisoners. There are three wings (G,H and K) and each wing consists of 4 floors.
Both Trinity and Heathfield Centres have an emergency ’grab-bag’. However the Hotel 3 emergency nurse
covers the whole site and may have to move from one building to another in order to respond to an
emergency.
E wing – landings 2, 3 and 4
C wing – landings 2, 3 and 4
The above photos are taken from ‘The Centre’ of the Heathfield Centre and show three of the four floors of
2 different wings. The ground floor is not visible in the above photos.
‘
The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth. Guidelines for : RN’s / HCA’s.
Updated April 2013
Page 4
Carrying the emergency ‘grab-bag’
All Registered Nurse and Health Care Assistants must be able to take the emergency ‘grab-bag’ to an
emergency as required.
During each shift there is a Registered Nurse who is designated to ‘hold’ the emergency response radio and respond to
any emergencies on the Heathfield Centre or the Trinity Centre
When an emergency is called through on the radio (the emergency radio is worn on the belt of the designated emergency
response nurse), the emergency response nurse must collect the emergency bag and oxygen cylinder (as seen below)
and take it to the site of the emergency.
The Hotel 3 nurse may already be at the scene and may request another RN or Healthcare Assistant (HCA) collect the
emergency ‘grab-bag’.
Emergency
‘grab-bag
Hotel 3
radio
O2 cylinder
O2
cylinder
Note: April 2014. In June 2014 the service will be moving towards the use of small O2 cylinders which will be able to fit into the
emergency bags
The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth. Guidelines for : RN’s / HCA’s.
Updated April 2013
Page 5
Attending a medical emergency ‘in-cell’
All Registered Nurses and Health Care Assistants must be able to get up and down from the floor
unaided.
First aid and CPR is often provided when the patient is on the floor.
There are no hospital beds in HMP Wandsworth, except on the Jones Unit (the six bedded medical unit).
Cells are small and furniture is often fixed to the floor /wall therefore a reasonable degree of agility is required on the part
of the staff member when attending to an in-cell emergency, and staff must be able to get up and down from the floor
unaided
The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth. Guidelines for : RN’s / HCA’s.
Updated April 2013
Page 6
A checklist for Registered Nurses and Healthcare Assistants who are applying to
work in the Offender Healthcare Service (OHS) at HMP Wandsworth
Name
Date
Title of position applied for
Please circle
PERMANENT
FIXED TERM CONTRACT
BANK
Please tick the relevant boxes
I confirm that I have read the document ‘The physical demands of working at
HMP Wandsworth’
I confirm that I can manage stairs unaided and I understand that I may be
required to walk long distances in a single shift
I confirm that I can get up and down from the floor unaided in order to be able
to provide medical interventions such as CPR
I confirm that I am able to carry the emergency bag (weighing approximately
11 kgs kilograms) up and down stairs in an emergency.
Signature
Date
Please send this completed checklist to the
Occupational Health Department
St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust
Blackshaw Road
London SW17 0QT
Tel 0208 725 0459/1662/1661
The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth. Guidelines for : RN’s / HCA’s.
Updated April 2013
Page 7
The physical demands of working at HMP Wandsworth. Guidelines for : RN’s / HCA’s.
Updated April 2013
Page 8