Keith Carey, Marketing manager at SALTO Systems, which counts healthcare among its key vertical markets, looks at some of the ways in which hospitals can update and consolidate security and access control across their estate.
The challenges involved in securing a hospital are unlike those in almost any other building. Most hospitals have relatively easy access, because they want to provide a welcoming environment, and while this dictates that it is often necessary to allow for high levels of public access to the hospital and other health service amenities – including the routes linking different departments – entry to many back-of-house areas and most other facilities needs to be restricted, for the protection of both patients and property.
Personal safety and crime prevention are obviously key issues for any hospital, but Estates and Facilities in the health service are also required to address the legal implications of effective security as well. Legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Occupiers Liability Act, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, impose a wide-ranging duty of care upon such personnel, and data protection laws also require for strengthened safeguarding of personal information, a factor with clear relevance to the health service. Precisely how this duty is discharged depends on many factors, including the level of security required in specific areas, and the number of people likely to need access to those areas in the course of their work.
Controlling access to certain areas critical
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