Electronic access control systems are increasingly being used to enhance safety and security in hospitals and residential care homes. The scope of the system can be extended to include; Time and Attendance, Visitor Management and Parking Management. An integrated system can reduce both the initial outlay and the running costs.
Why is access control required?
Hospitals and residential care homes generally have to deal with a large number of people. As well as the members of staff who are present on a daily basis, there are patients plus many visitors passing through the premises.
With such a transient population and potentially venerable individuals, the security of valuables, patients and confidential information needs to be of the highest priority.
In these establishments, many high value goods such as computers and sophisticated medical equipment need to be kept on the premises. The personal possessions of staff and patients also need to be protected.
Furthermore, confidential documents such as patients' notes will be stored on the premises of the hospital or residential care home as well as a range of medication.
Consequently, electronic access control systems are increasingly being used to enhance safety and security to enable access (both entry and egress) only to those people with the necessary authority.
How can access control be implemented?
Standalone Systems
For the security of storerooms containing medications, valuable equipment or patients’ records, standalone access control systems can be fitted to the storeroom doors and pass cards issued to authorised staff members. Although each door will be protected by a separate access control system, it is possible to program individual pass cards to allow access through two or more doors as necessary.
The advantages of using standalone access control over a lock and key system are:
- Lost pass cards can be disabled without a need to replace the locking system.
- A single pass card can be programmed to access several areas on a per user basis.
- Pass cards can’t be easily copied.
In smaller establishments, it may also be feasible to fit standalone access control systems to access points to wards for the protection of patients. A limitation of standalone systems is that they can’t provide the additional real-time features that a PC-based system can provide such as evacuation mustering and personnel tracking. However, it is usually possible to upgrade a standalone system to a networked PC-based system at a later date.
Networked PC-Based System
The installation of a PC-based access control system opens up the opportunity to add many additional functions to the basic door control features provided by a standalone system. Networking the system involves connecting each door controller to a standard computer network access point and connecting the host PC to the same network.
The additional benefits of using a PC-based access control system in hospitals and residential care homes are:
- An evacuation roll call for staff members can be incorporated.
- A time and attendance system can be provided.
- If all areas of the establishment are protected by access control, the reporting of any incidents is made easier by providing evidence of who was in the area at the time of the incidence.
- A visitor management system can be provided by the system by issuing temporary, limited access cards to visitors.
- The system can monitor the numbers of specific categories of staff present within a controlled area to ensure that the required number of key staff members are maintained within the area by raising an alarm whenever this number falls below the required minimum level.
- Vehicular access to the site and the use of the parking facilities can be managed by the same system.
These are just a few of the ways access control systems can be implemented in the healthcare sector. Please contact our sales team if you have any requirements that haven’t been covered here.