A physical security breach in a healthcare facility can have serious consequences for staff, patients, and the general public, especially if that breach occurs in a high risk area, such as a server room, pharmaceutical storage unit, or radiological room. Here, Mike McColl, managing director of high security panel manufacturer, Securiclad, highlights the importance of a ‘last line of defence’ when protecting both people, and a wide range of equipment and ‘assets’, in healthcare facilities.
Healthcare facilities have always been at risk from crime, such as theft from patients by opportunistic thieves, or staff taking advantage of their access to pharmaceutical products or equipment. Hospitals can sometimes appear to offer ‘easy pickings’ for criminals, with a wide variety of ‘assets’ – from pharmaceuticals to autopsy tables, and from beds and defibrillators to IT equipment such as laptops, computer monitors, and ‘tablet’ devices, plus, of course, lead from hospital roofs – among the items to be stolen from NHS sites in recent years.
Although there are now a multitude of security measures in place to counter this kind of criminal activity, specialist healthcare facilities, and areas within hospitals containing hazardous substances (including chemical, biological, and radioactive materials), blood supplies, and high value pharmaceuticals such as vaccines, can be at risk from more determined criminals. Their motives may include financial gain, sabotage, or obtaining ingredients for use in terrorist devices. The areas which house these items clearly need to be afforded a high level of protection against serious attempts at forced entry, since the perpetrators may be employing heavy duty equipment, such as power tools, to gain access.
Threats to the server room
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