Systematic Risk Assessment of Vulnerable Citizens – BVC
(Brøset Violence Checklist)
Target group
The tool is aimed at staff who work with vulnerable citizens in, for example, group homes / social housing or institutions, special education services and dementia nursing homes or dementia units.
In short, all the places where there may be a risk of violent behavior among citizens.
We have developed the solution in two versions:
For independent residences, where we have also included an administration module for citizens and staff. The solution is run in Pallas' cloud, so no local installation is required at the residence.
Adapted to municipalities or large companies with more adult psychiatric facilities, where we have integration into the group's entire electronic record system, so that information about employees and citizens can be retrieved automatically and potentially new data will be returned.
The product
BVC tool and registration
Based on the recognized professional method for identifying the risk of violent behavior – BVC – the tool helps staff describe deviations in a citizen's behavior through a systematic assessment that records changes within 6 main areas.
CONFUSION
IRRITABILITY
NOISY BEHAVIOR
PHYSICAL THREATS
VERBAL THREATS
ATTACK ON THINGS
The registrations are combined into a risk score in relation to the habitual behavior of the citizen in question and are also displayed as green/yellow/red. In collaboration with professionals from social services, we have expanded the tool with a number of additional functions. For example, an individual and specific action plan is linked to the citizen and situation in question, so that the staff always has a contingency plan ready.
All citizens' risk scores/habitual behaviors and action plans are also displayed on always updated digital overview boards, so that episodes, interventions, action plans and evaluations can be discussed together and knowledge shared among staff.
Benefits
With Systematic Risk Assessment of Vulnerable Citizens, you get a proven tool that effectively reduces the risk of violent incidents among citizens and staff, and thereby also increases the well-being of both groups.
Such a solution can both give the citizen a better life, with more understanding of their reactions - but also a better job for me as a staff member, simply because it is a tool for me to understand the citizen's reactions better. I know, as a former head of institutions, that our efforts only improve if we share knowledge and reflect on our work. But it will only be good if we actually pass on that knowledge.
Jan Hansen, 25 years of experience as an educator and manager of social housing
More information
Description of Systematic Risk Assessment
Systematic Risk Assessment is based on the principles of triage or the traffic light method (green, yellow, red method) and the Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC). Systematic Risk Assessment consists of 5 forms that help analyze the citizen's state of mind.
When a citizen first arrives at a place of residence / a group home, or there is a change in the citizen's state of mind (this may be due to a change in medication, for example), the following two forms are completed:
Target group criteria
This form analyzes whether Systematic Risk Assessment will be a good tool for this particular citizen.
Habitual behavior
This chart describes the citizen's normal state of mind. For example, it may be that this citizen is always very loud, or is always very quiet in his behavior. This is described and subsequently helps to schedule changes in the citizen's behavior.
Systematic Risk Assessment
Based on the information below, the Systematic Risk Assessment form will be used in daily life.
The form consists of a series of questions, to which the answer is YES/NO as to whether the behavior the citizen is currently showing is different from the usual behavior.
For each yes, the form will count up one risk score.
The total risk score can then be as shown here.
The risk score allows staff to analyze the situation they are in and document the citizen's fluctuations.
Pedagogical Intervention
When a citizen becomes agitated, it is the staff's responsibility to respond to this in order to get the citizen out of the mood again.
These reactions are described in the Pedagogical Intervention form. This describes what the staff is expected to do in relation to a scale of 0-5, where 0 is a normal state of mind and 5 is violently overreacting. This helps to help new staff, temporary staff or staff who find themselves in a situation where they feel unsafe. It helps to give the staff an opportunity to act on the citizen's affect.
Episode Chart
The last chart is completed when the citizen has been in affect.
This is called an Episode Chart. Here it is possible to reflect on the citizen's and one's own actions in the situation. This Chart also provides a basis for analysis and knowledge sharing between the team.
In addition, Systematic Risk Assessment has the option of displaying a digital overview board, which is ideal to have in, for example, the personnel office and/or possibly the manager's office.
This overview helps to create an overview of the state of mind of all citizens at all times of the day.
And if an incident occurs with a citizen who has a special Pedagogical Intervention, it is possible to either step in and help your colleagues, or evacuate the place if necessary.
Administration
It is also possible to administer the residence via the solution. The number of residences and sub-houses that the organization has is created. After which citizens and staff are registered in the place where they belong. This ensures knowledge sharing between residences/houses, and it ensures against an overabundance of unnecessary information that the staff does not need in their daily work with the citizens.
