Personnel Tracking Systems = Rapid Response
Threats & Violence Towards Hospital Staff can be Reduced by Implementation of Real Time Personal Tracking Systems.
Personal Tracking for Duress Alarms can save Lives
Emergency Departments and many other areas of hospitals are reporting serious incidents by unstable individuals. Doctors, Nurses, and support staff are being punched, spat on, yelled at and scratched in hospitals by the very patients they are trying to treat. Sometimes knives, guns, furniture, and other dangerous weapons are used in the attacks.Most hospitals have an onsite security force and well established plans in place to neutralize threats and get fast police response if a serious incident occurs. However, there is much more that can be done to be aware of the situation before, or as it unfolds, and be aware of the exact location. This creates greater situational awareness and can prevent further harm or loss of life.
Some hospitals have now installed personal tracking systems that staff can activate in the event of duress and their position is displayed on a graphical map displayed on a large monitor in the control room and this enables security personnel to respond immediately, even if no one else is aware of the incident unfolding.
Additional monitors can be installed in other key areas such as nurse's quarters and emergency areas to give greater visual awareness of incidents to as many staff as possible.
How Personal Duress Tracking Works
In an emergency, the transmitter carried by the staff member
transmits an alarm signal identifying the user which is then
detected by the receivers. The receivers forward
this information to the central console PC where the user’s
name and current location are graphically displayed
on the alarm map along with a picture of the user and any additional
information. Security personnel can then be immediately dispatched
to the location of the alarm. Once an alarm has been initiated, the transmitter retransmits every few seconds, constantly updating the central console PC of the location.
Most of the personal tracking systems can be integrated into other common access control systems so everything is on one platform with one common set of maps. Cornerstone would be happy to advise on the benefits of these solutions and please call us anytime on 1300 952 785 for assistance.
Protection for Lone Workers
Organisations Have a Duty of Care to Protect & Monitor Lone Workers in a Facility or in the Field.
Working alone always comes with some risks and various issues
of welfare. Any organisation that employs lone workers has a
duty of care to ensure their work environment is healthy and
safe. However, some lone workers face higher risks than others.Nurses, mental health workers, real estate agents and many others are particularly vulnerable as they must enter private homes and may face dangerous or hostile situations without warning. In other cases a lone worker my be injured or suffer a medical episode and it can often take a long time to realize they are in trouble.
Australian laws require due diligence on the part of directors and other officers to ensure they are compliant with all relevant regulations, including carrying out risk assessments, providing lone workers with adequate education and training, and equipping them with the right tools and equipment to carry out their work, safely.
Integral to this safety is the ability to monitor the lone worker's location and condition and be able to communicate with them in real time if they are in trouble or an emergency.
There is a great deal of reliable technology available to support lone workers ranging from simple phone apps to wearable devices that provide satellite tracking, two-way communications, staff-down alerts, and duress monitoring from 24/7 monitoring facilities.
Below is a typical wearable device that has tracking and two-way audio communications as well as amber and red alert levels. If the wearer believes their situation could escalate then they press the amber alert button and the monitoring centre can listen in on the conversation and respond accordingly.
However, if the red alert button is pressed the monitoring centre can send help to the precise location of the worker and advise them help is on the way.
Cornerstone