Health Care
How CCTV technology is mitigating safety risks in the healthcare environment.
Feb 3, 2023 • min read
Identifying and tackling threats to patient safety is a key goal of stakeholders in the healthcare industry, and surveillance technology is playing an increasingly important role in assuring the security and wellbeing of patients, staff, and visitors. In this article we look at how modern surveillance techniques are helping healthcare leadership and management gather those crucial insights needed to improve patient care.
Healthcare faces a unique set of health and safety challenges. The very nature of the sector, containing large premises with multiple entry points, expensive equipment, an elevated risk of malpractice accusations, and vulnerable people – often sedated and at risk of falls – means a fully industry-compliant, watertight security system is essential.
Concept Pro’s surveillance system provides more than just a deterrent factor for would be intruders and thieves. Thermal imaging can detect fevers, while Deep Learning Analytics can recognise behavioural patterns to prevent the escalation of violence, ensure social distancing or mask wearing is being observed, instantly alert staff to fallen, confused or distressed persons, and ensure cars aren’t illegally blocking ambulance bays.
Modern security systems provide more than a deterrent to would be criminals. Guaranteeing the safety of their patients, staff and visitors involves utilising intelligent surveillance, allowing your security team to act fast and plan better for the future. By analysing specific behaviours, such as loitering in controlled areas, patients trying to leave without authorisation, or the early stages of violent or antisocial conduct, security teams can be notified in real time, and diverted to the scene before the situation can deteriorate, resulting in fewer injuries and liability claims.
Wards can be monitored for suspicious activity, reducing the need for patrols, creating instant alerts and peace of mind. For example parents can rest assured that baby wards are being monitored 24/7, while staff will know that any threatening behaviour towards them will result in a rapid response from security.
Healthcare employees can monitor critical locations, from wards, pharmaceutical storage units and car parks, to those areas housing expensive equipment and supplies. This is achieved in real time, with dynamically-designed cameras that can be mounted anywhere, with electronic pan, tilt, and zoom views, providing comprehensive observation in high resolution, with custom views of up to 64 channels per monitor. Camera footage and audio can be accessed remotely via smartphone or tablet, allowing 24/7 coverage. This footage can then be easily used to identify, apprehend and prosecute offenders.
A list of events can be pre-programmed into the system, for example an unauthorised person entering an off-limits area, triggering automated actions such as sending an alert to security teams or other authorities, or setting off a remote alarm system. Events can later be selected for instant playback, sharing or archiving, for the provision of evidence or incident resolution. Meanwhile facial and licence plate recognition can be utilised for the early warning of known miscreants entering the premises, or for integration with staff time and attendance systems, with the highest possible levels of cyber security.
Concept Pro have allowed us to take a proactive approach, monitoring critical areas of our healthcare centre in real time, and mitigating threats to our staff and patients.
"Concept Pro’s Head of Product Development, JP, explains how algorithms are being customized to overcome those challenges specific to the healthcare sector.
“In the healthcare environment a world-beating surveillance system is crucial to meet the industry-specific challenges it faces. Monitoring patients and staff provides peace of mind while allowing healthcare professionals to focus on their jobs in the knowledge that an automated security system is proactively preventing criminal acts and aggression, reducing malpractice, detecting fallen persons and generally keeping staff and patients safe. But ultimately areas of improvement can be identified, which will improve care and the overall patient experience. Behavioural analysis will spot unwelcome visitors in restricted areas, recognise suspicious behaviour, breaches of social distancing guidelines, prevent illegal parking, and alert staff to patients wandering out of their wards, reducing workplace injury claims and maintaining high safety standards.”
What Can Concept Pro Deep Learning Plus Analytics Do For Me?
With Deep Learning Plus algorithms you can unlock the true potential of a fully-integrated CCTV solution. With features such as face and mask detection, facial recognition, people counting, thermal human detection, PPE safety detection, license plate recognition, enhanced vehicle detection, active privacy masking, fallen persons, behavioural patterns and more. In fact there’s almost nothing Deep Learning Plus can’t do. Concept Pro’s industry-leading software has a comprehensive list of human and vehicle detection algorithms, perfect for false alarm filtering. But it’s designed to solve a multitude of healthcare sector challenges that go far beyond just false alarm filtering and human detection, its potential is limited by the imagination alone.
Our advanced suite of algorithms can be fully customized to suit your needs – for more information click here.
Interested in Customizing your rules – here’s how the Process works
We caught up with Debbie Carter, Business Development Manager at Concept Pro, to understand how the process works for customizing algorithms for healthcare solutions.
“Firstly, we hold a consultation meeting with new clients which can be face-to-face at Concept Pro locations across the UK, at your premises, or an end user venue. This is our opportunity to collectively develop a brief, based upon the specific project challenges and our identified solutions. Once we have fully scoped the project, we create a timeline that factors in each key development stage, including regular check-ins, itemized costings, and key stakeholder involvement. After each element of the plan is approved, by both integrator and end user, we move onto the development itself. Then we go through an in-depth testing process, something Concept Pro takes incredibly seriously and does diligently to ensure the very highest standards are met. Testing takes time, but our customers are updated regularly through project update meetings, and is determined by the complexities of the request. Concept Pro’s testing procedure is a carefully selected blend of internal testing at CP headquarters, and once approved by a CP technical expert, moves onto onsite testing, which will always involve a real end-user environment. Or if this isn’t possible, a proof-of-concept environment. Here is where we invite the integrator and end user to witness and sometimes participate in the real environment test. Once all stakeholders are happy we then release to the customer.”