On-Call Quick Guide

This is a brief guide for quick reference while you're on call. It summarises the key points from on-call training. Use it as a refresher if you've done the training and want a reminder, or as a first orientation if you're new to being on call. A more detailed policy is being developed to sit behind this guide; please speak to your line manager or Dan Northover when in doubt about what to do.

Before you are authorised to be on the on-call rota, you will need to complete the training video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k4QASA6x0I

The on-call rotas

We currently run two rotas. The Hummingbird rota is covered by the Hummingbird team leads, given the complexity of the scenarios involved; if you're not on that team, you're very unlikely to be asked to cover it. The Engage rota covers Tyne & Wear, Durham, and Middlesbrough together. This means more ground to cover when you're on call for Engage, but you'll be on call less often as a result.

Before you go on call

Before covering a shift, make sure you have:

• Key safe information for every property you may get a call from.
• Camera access tested in advance: don't find out a login fails at 2am.
• The EDT number for every area you're covering that night.
• Manager contact details, and a clear sense of when you'd need to escalate to them.
• Emergency contractor information, gas and electricity guidance, and a registered supermarket app or delivery service.
• Laptop and Airtable access for every resident in your area; your phone alone won't always be enough.
• Your preferred on-call number confirmed in advance, and know how to get the line transferred to it correctly.
• The Zecure X app signed in and working (see Lone working and the Zecure X app).
• A signposting guide for your area, saved somewhere you can actually find it at short notice.

If you're missing any of this, speak to a manager in advance so you're properly set up before you're on call. It's also worth knowing the basics of troubleshooting common issues in the properties you cover, as this can save an unnecessary call-out. Talk to your team about the quirks of your properties and what's worked before.

Step 1: First contact and assessing risk

Pause and respond, rather than panic and react. Before deciding anything, think through:

• What's the actual risk?
• What information do I need to understand the situation properly?
• Can this be resolved safely without attending? (This is always our preference, while still being ready to attend if genuinely needed.)
• Am I responding to pressure, or to genuine urgency? Pressure might come from you, particularly if you're new to being on call, or from a determined young person. Agreeing to everything asked of you isn't the same as keeping someone safe.

Aim to respond to first contact within 30 minutes. It's fine to tell a young person you're going to look into things and call them back shortly, rather than deciding under pressure with them on the line.

Step 2: Check the safety plan, curfew and visitors

Review the safety plan to understand any known risks: violence, aggression, substance use, or community issues. Every young person has their own individual curfew, agreed with them; not a blanket 11pm default. Check what someone's actual curfew is rather than assuming. We don't track every young person's return; that isn't feasible. For a small number of young people with a specific, known risk, a safety plan may set a fixed return time; check for this.

The safety plan will also list safe contacts approved to visit, and may include restrictions on providing food or other items. If you're not sure where to find a young person's information, ask a manager in advance.

Step 3: Decide the response

Consider the full range of options before attending in person:

• Remote advice, reassurance, or problem-solving over the phone.
• Signposting to the right service.
• A planned check-in (this doesn't have to be you, as long as the handover is clear).
• An in-person visit. This is the exception, not the default, and only once you've confirmed it's safe and the on-call manager knows you're lone working.

If you do need to attend somewhere unfamiliar, do a quick location risk assessment: think about parking, lighting, and consider carrying a personal alarm between the car and the property. If you're lone working, share your location through the Zecure X app (see below).

Contact EDT for advice or to report a concern whenever you're unsure. You will never get into trouble for calling EDT. It's always better to call than to sit at home wondering if you should have. For a live emergency, it's always 999 first, before anything else.

If a young person needs to attend A&E

• You can or should attend, but for a maximum of 2 hours.
• After that you have permission to leave. Give the ward or A&E the on-call number, and arrange to check in with the young person or ask for updates.
• This is a principle, not a rule. If you're unsure, work it through with the on-call manager.
• The right response depends on the young person, so read their safety plan for any guidance.

Risk of suicide: attending in person

For a young person at immediate risk to life, 999 is always the first call. Stay calm, keep them talking, and try to establish where they are as early as possible; staying on the phone and keeping in touch is the intervention. Once emergency services are on their way, contact EDT, then a manager.

Searching for someone, or staying with them until emergency services arrive, isn't within our remit. We would normally go, but we wouldn't be the first responder. Often the better plan is a check-in agreed with the young person, later that night or the next day. Being physically present can get in the way of someone receiving the clinical care they need, and can leave us holding a long, difficult responsibility we aren't clinically trained for. Before a follow-up visit, contact the relevant professionals to find out what treatment or intervention has already happened.

If police or ambulance ask you to sit with someone in crisis, you're entitled to say no. Explain that we work in supported accommodation rather than residential care: the legislation and expectations are different, and the call handler may simply not know that. It's fine to be assertive about that distinction.

Signposting

Build up familiarity over time with services like Shout, Kooth, and the Mix: text or phone support young people can access day or night. You don't need this memorised straight away; use the signposting document while you build confidence. Where you do signpost, follow up afterwards to check contact was made and what advice was given. Many services also offer safety planning over the phone or online, which can be more helpful than what we're able to offer over a call ourselves. If someone is having suicidal thoughts, connecting them with a crisis team can be more helpful than us rushing in to take over.

Crisis and suicide-prevention support

In an emergency

• 999: if you or someone else is in immediate danger.

Urgent mental health support (24/7)

• NHS 111: call 111 and select option 2 for urgent mental health support.
• Samaritans: free, confidential support any time on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org.
• Shout: free 24/7 text support. Text SHOUT to 85258.

Emotional support and advice

• SANEline: support for anyone affected by mental health problems. Call 0300 304 7000, 4pm to 10pm every day.
• Mind: mental health information, advice and local services at www.mind.org.uk.
• NHS Talking Therapies: free NHS support for stress, anxiety and low mood. Young people can refer themselves without seeing a GP. Find your local service at the NHS service search.

Making a safety plan

• Staying Safe: a free website that helps you make a safety plan, with clear step-by-step videos. You can make your plan online or download a blank form. Visit www.stayingsafe.net.
• Stay Alive app: a free app from the charity Grassroots Suicide Prevention. It includes a safety plan you can personalise with your own reasons for living, and a "LifeBox" for photos and memories that matter. It also has tips for staying grounded, guided breathing, and links to local and national crisis support. It can help if you're struggling yourself or worried about someone else. Download it free from your app store.

Community support

• If U Care Share Foundation: support for emotional wellbeing and for anyone affected by suicide. Call 0191 387 5661 (Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm) or visit www.ifucareshare.co.uk.
• Andy's Man Club: free peer support groups for men aged 18+, every Monday 7pm to 9pm except bank holidays. No booking is needed. Find your nearest group at andysmanclub.co.uk/groups.

Bereavement support

• Cruse Bereavement Support: free emotional support for anyone affected by any kind of grief, including suicide. Call 0808 808 1677 (open weekdays; check www.cruse.org.uk for current hours). There's no minimum age to call, and they can link you to local one-to-one or group support.
• Help is at Hand: a free guide for anyone affected by suicide, written by people who have been bereaved by suicide themselves. It covers what you might be feeling, practical matters, and where to get further support. Download it or order a copy at www.supportaftersuicide.org.uk.

Calling EDT

Local authorities vary in how they want concerns reported: some by form, some by phone. EDT will typically ask for the young person's name, address, the nature of your concern, relevant background, and what's already been done. Ask for the name of the person you spoke to, and record it along with the advice given in an Airtable note.

If police or ambulance are meant to be involved, always confirm their attendance yourself, directly. Never take someone else's word for it. Don't enter a property until you know for certain the right people are already there.

Lock box codes: if a young person won't let emergency services into a property and you're unsure whether you can share the lock box code, the answer is yes: share it. If emergency services can't get access, they will force entry, which has happened before and has cost significantly more than a locksmith would. Share the code, and simply change it afterwards.

When to call a manager

Not every situation needs manager contact. Use your professional judgement, and lean more on EDT as your confidence grows. Contact a manager for:

• High-risk situations or major safeguarding concerns.
• Significant uncertainty about safety, yours or the young person's.
• Serious incidents, such as domestic abuse or a serious assault (see Reporting serious incidents).

For very severe circumstances (a fire, an attempted suicide, a death), bypass any other manager and go straight to Dan.

For an ongoing emergency, always contact EDT and the police first; don't let looping in a manager slow that down. When you do call a manager, it helps to come with a plan already in mind: "I'm considering doing X, because Y and Z; can you confirm I've covered everything?" Managers are there to support your decision-making, not to replace your judgement. If you can't reach your manager and need an urgent response, escalate to Dan.

You no longer need to contact a manager just to share your location before responding to a low-level situation; use the Zecure X app for that.

Recording and handover

• Record notes in a timely way, ideally the same night; your on-call pay covers this, not just the call itself. Complete notes before the day team starts at 8:30am.
• Tag the relevant colleagues and managers directly in your notes; don't assume a note alone means people will see it.
• Use the on-call box on Airtable to track out-of-hours responses.
• Follow up with the social worker or young person's adviser, and copy in managers.
• Any messages to a young person should always come from your work number, even if they've contacted your personal number.
• Make sure the handover to whoever's picking things up next is genuinely clear about anything still unresolved.
• Keep professionals' contact details current. They are listed at the top of the safety plan, but go out of date quickly if nobody checks them, and the last thing we want is to contact the wrong person in an emergency. If you notice something is out of date, say so.
• Resolve issues within working hours wherever you can, rather than letting them roll over to whoever is on call that night. The day team has more resources than one person working alone overnight.

Reporting serious incidents

As a registered supported accommodation provider, we must notify Ofsted of serious incidents, usually within 24 hours. A manager submits the notification, but it is built entirely from your records. If it isn't in your notes, it can't go in the report.

Your job

1. Respond and keep the young person and others safe.
2. Escalate to the on-call manager straight away (and call emergency services if needed).
3. Tick the Safeguarding box and the Serious Incident box on the incident record.
4. Get your notes complete and up to date by the end of your shift or end of the day.

You do not need to submit anything to Ofsted. Managers do that.

What counts as a serious incident

• Death of a young person.
• A staff member referred to the DBS (s.35).
• Known or suspected sexual or criminal exploitation (CSE/CCE).
• Police involvement that the registered person considers serious (police contact on its own is not notifiable).
• Any allegation of abuse against our service or a staff member.
• A child protection (s.47) enquiry starting or ending.
• Anything else with a significant, direct impact on a young person's safety or welfare, or significant property damage, for example serious assault, serious illness or accident, serious self-harm, a serious complaint, or a young person missing where we're worried about them.

We don't use restraint. If any physical intervention ever happens, tell a manager immediately. If you're unsure whether something is serious, tick the boxes, record it, and ask your manager.

What to record

• Date, start time and end time.
• Exact location.
• The young person's initials, initials of all staff involved, and anyone else present.
• A factual, step-by-step account in time order.
• What you saw or heard yourself, kept separate from what you were told (and by whom).
• Any injuries, first aid given, whether a doctor was called, and the outcome.
• Emergency services called: which, when, and any log or reference number.
• Who you escalated to and when.
• Who was informed (social worker, EDT, host local authority, family where appropriate), with date and time.
• Immediate actions taken to keep everyone safe.
• How the young person was supported afterwards, and their views.
• Any immediate safety changes (risk assessment, safety plan, increased check-ins).
• Your full name, role, and the date and time you wrote the record.

Writing tips

• Do: use initials, give times and dates, say who did what and who was told, and include the young person's voice.
• Avoid: opinions or emotive words ("kicked off", "attention-seeking"), full names, and guesswork. If something isn't known, say so.

Looking after yourself

If a call or visit has been distressing, ask for a debrief; this is a normal part of the process, not an extra ask. Don't hold things alone, and don't go to bed worried about a decision you've made, as we'd always rather hear from you. WhatsApp is fine for non-urgent updates, but ring rather than text if you need an urgent response, especially after 10pm.

Lone working and the Zecure X app

Make sure you are up and running with the Zecure X app, and use it as your default for sharing your location when you are lone working out of hours. You can log when you're heading to a property and set a time frame; if you don't check back in, it escalates automatically. A manager no longer needs to be contacted just to share your location if you are going to respond to a low-level situation.

If you find yourself lone working out of hours in an unplanned way, you can still contact a manager to let them know you're going out, but you should still use the Zecure X app as well.

Training:

• Zecure X video overview
• Zecure X training materials

Five things to hold onto

1. Attendance is the exception. You are not expected to attend every time.
2. Be safe first, always.
3. Signpost to the right service, genuinely, not to pass the buck.
4. 999, then EDT, then manager: Dan if there's no response.
5. Follow up and record, every time, even when nothing happened.

Key reminders

• Set a reminder for both ends of your shift (4:30pm and 8:30am).
• Confirm your on-call number well in advance.
• If you're not on call, turn your phone off and let the WhatsApp Business bounce-back do its job.
• Complete lone working training before requesting a place on the rota.
• Make sure the Zecure X app is signed in before your shift.