Glenn Foot, technical manager at Eaton, examines some of the key security issues for healthcare estates and facilities managers, and how some of the latest IP, access control, and messaging technologies are helping them tackle them.
Taking into consideration this wide range of risks, and the growing diversity of buildings, facilities, and activities taking place in modern healthcare, it is clear that no single security solution will suffice. A combination of systems, including intruder alarms, access control, CCTV, and lone worker protection, are key tools in upholding security across large and diverse estates. However, emerging technologies are enabling greater integration between previously disparate devices, providing security managers with greater visibility, control, and responsiveness, than ever before.
A view of the future
There is growing use of internet protocol (IP) communication as a means of connecting devices and creating a wider security infrastructure. In practice, this enables, for example, a camera to be activated at a hospital entry point where an access control mechanism is in place. The camera, via connection to the intruder alarm system, passes images between the camera and control panel. Images from immediately before and after the activation can be stored locally or emailed, which helps to quickly identify the person entering the building. This provides a system of event-driven verification, rather than having to record continuously across an entire site.
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