We feel strongly that better coordination and design choices between door alarm providers and staff attack alarm system providers can save patient lives.
Working with two leading staff attack alarm system manufacturers in the UK, we set out to document how each system needs to function to provide nursing staff with an "end-to-end" alarm they can depend on in all eventualities. We are eager to develop closer partnerships with other staff alarm system providers that share our vision for better-connected, safer systems.
A staff attack alarm system provides a reliable and discreet means for clinical staff to call for support in an emergency. It usually includes a wearable device that a person can carry with them at all times and a display panel that alerts the other staff members when an incident occurs.
Staff attack alarm systems are crucial for all clinical environments but are especially important in mental health wards where those incidents happen more frequently.
It's an intelligent anti-ligature system specially designed for mental health inpatient environments. It turns the entire door into a weighing scale - detecting when the ligature is placed on the door and alarming clinical staff through a wireless connection to the control panel to attend to the incident.
With 90% of inpatient suicides occurring in the patient's bedroom or bathroom and 49% using the door or door hardware, door alarms have become a standard in modern inpatient mental health environments.
In mental health environments, even the slightest error can have irreversible consequences. Alarm service providers must take all possible security measures to ensure the highest level of safety at all times.
A fundamental aspect of this new partnership between us and staff alarm system providers was our shared view that it cannot be acceptable for an alarm to stop working and for nobody to be aware, especially when systems already exist that provide effective fault alerts and fail-safes.
Through this work, we were encouraged that our full door ligature alarm already contained all the fail-safes needed to ensure the highest level of safety. We give our customers confidence that if the product fails, it will alert someone so they can change the risk assessment for the room and arrange a repair.
The anti-ligature door alarm will now integrate with the display panel that already exists in most mental health wards - a staff attack alarm system, removing the need for additional nurse call stations - improving efficiency and safety.
Our staff attack alarm partners have provided valuable input to help us improve how we deliver, commission and manage the installation of our full-door ligature alarm doorsets so that it can be as efficient as possible. Their advice and expertise are crucial in alerting nursing staff to ligature risk in the fastest time possible to help save lives and allow patients to continue their recovery journey.
The design and technical capabilities of the full-door ligature alarm allow it to integrate with all staff attack alarm systems available on the market. To improve safety and ease the operational pressures of busy mental health wards, we are open and keen to partner with more staff alarm system providers that share our vision for better-connected, safer systems.
Find out more about staff attack alarm system providers that we've partnered with so far: