Designing better mental healthcare facilities

'Discreet’ staff attack alert system for Staffordshire inpatient facility

Seeking a high-performance staff attack alert system that would prevent violence toward staff members, while not causing undue noise and disruption on the ward, staff at Smallwood Manor, a tier 4 hospital in North Staffordshire offering specialist inpatient support to young people experiencing mental health disorders, have specified Pinpoint’s award-winning staff safety system.

All staff at the facility, which is part of  Cove Healthcare – and is currently in the latter stages of a major refurbishment (the building was formerly a school) – were equipped with Personal Infrared Transmitters (PITs) from Pinpoint, which explained: “Serving as personal safety alarm, to activate in case of an incident, these discreet devices are concealed within ID badge holders. The PITs have two levels, ‘Assistance’ and ‘Emergency’, which correspond to the severity of the situation, and can be activated by pressing specific buttons on the device. For example, a service-user displaying hostile behaviour may warrant calling for Assistance, whereas verbal abuse or aggressive gestures requires the ‘Emergency’ alarm. When the alarm is triggered, infrared signals are transmitted to the Advanced Receiver Units installed within the hospital, which in turn transmit the location and type of call to display units throughout the building, as well as communication devices such as pagers and mobiles. This process – from activation to display – takes just 85 milliseconds, allowing responders to act rapidly and intervene in potentially harmful situations.”

Smallwood Manor’s team was given comprehensive training on how to use their Pinpoint system and the protocol in place for responding to incidents. The training was all carried out ahead of the hospital opening, which it is anticipated will take place this summer, to ensure that that staff were well-versed in using the system.

 

 

 

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