Ensuring the safety of people and premises lies at the heart of any access control system, but personal safety is even more important when the building is home to older people and those with additional health needs.
BEN is a UK charity for those who work, or have worked, in the automotive industry. As well as providing support and advice for families in need, BEN also provides home away from home care in four locations across the country, including the state of the art Lynwood Care Centre in Ascot, Berkshire.
Although Lynwood residents were enjoying brand new facilities, staff and managers at the centre were concerned that the security which had originally been installed wasn’t fit for purpose. They invited in FTL Secure Solutions and Grosvenor Technology who identified that access control could be both improved and simplified. Locks had been poorly installed, break glasses were missing and most importantly, the system wasn’t networked – meaning that every time access procedures changed, 30 keypads had to be individually re-programmed.
Staff at Lynwood needed a failsafe way of making sure that patients feel safe and secure; while ensuring that access for staff, families and visitors is stress free. The Lynwood Centre has 96 beds and 69 apartments and offers facilities for patients with dementia, physically disabled younger people, respite and day care, and rehabilitation services, as well as residential nursing care – so sees a diverse range of staff and visitors on a daily basis.
“Access control is largely in the hands of nursing staff,” explains Andrew Wylie of FTL. “Understandably their priority is Lynwood’s residents, and they aren’t security experts, so they needed a security solution that would take less time administering and securing – so they could spend more time caring.”
Lynwood now benefits from Grosvenor Technology’s Sateon Enterprise system, which is 100% browser based, so the system is networked and can be controlled by the Lynwood team using a PC. Access control is now integrated with Lynwood’s fire system and automatic doors, and the centre will also be taking advantage of Sateon’s escorted guest feature, whereby staff swipe cards control visitor’s access.
