The importance of maintenance of the nurse call systems
Nurse call systems are vital for healthcare providers, and technology has moved nurse call from being a simple call system between patient and nurse
Designers and Manufactures of Nurse Call Systems, Wandsworth Healthcare highlight the importance of maintenance of the Nurse call system.
Nurse call systems are vital for healthcare providers, and technology has moved nurse call from being a simple call system between patient and nurse to a fully integrated information, voice and entertainment platform, which enables integration with a number of wider hospital services.
But without proper consideration, maintenance of such nurse call systems can be inefficient and costly, not only through the financial expenses but also the impact a non-functioning nurse call system could have on patients and staff alike.
How IP nurse call facilitates high levels of maintenance
One way to address potential barriers in maintaining a nurse call system is adopting an IP nurse call system, and controlling multiple services via a single access point. From this single perspective, maintenance teams can be made aware of faults or errors, and make simple changes without requiring numerous hours from a large response team.
With the biggest cost in any hospital being attributable to labour, this allows more efficient and effective use of maintenance manpower.
Terry Boarer, IP nurse call specialist for Wandsworth Healthcare, offers a good example of this: “Imagine a fault going up on screen – a lamp going out of service, for example – this fault will be logged in less than a second and the on-call engineer can be messaged to alert them to the problem, wherever they may be in the hospital.”
Pro-active nurse call system maintenance
HTM-08-03’s guidance, the standard Healthcare Technology Memorandum covering bedhead services and nurse call systems, also includes a requirement for routine maintenance to ensure equipment is functioning correctly.
Again, the use of an IP-based nurse call system offers HTM compliance, enabling system faults to be highlighted to the maintenance department automatically – via a number of different methods to suit individual working practices – allowing for much faster fault diagnosis and a more focused and efficient hospital maintenance process.
The use of an IP-based nurse call system also ensures that the system is future-proofed. “There are a host of yet unknown enhancements that could be introduced in the future, as technology advances,” said Terry Boarer. “Employing an open-system today will ensure that it is able to fully integrate with any system developments to meet future healthcare needs.”
Consider a nurse call system maintenance service programme
While IP nurse call does provide a number of key functionalities to assist in ongoing maintenance of nurse call systems, healthcare providers may opt for a nurse call maintenance contract to provide a tailored programme specific to the needs of the individual hospital or trust.
Maintenance programmes offer peace of mind by guaranteeing priority site attendance, crucial when considering the dependence on a fully functioning nurse call system.
As the designer and manufacturers of nurse call systems, Wandsworth Healthcare can deliver such a programme for their installations, including servicing and fault diagnosis and repair.
Whether a basic on-site maintenance programme is required, or a comprehensive package involving planned maintenance and 24 hour call outs are required, Wandsworth can support nurse call installations with fully bespoke agreements.
In addition, Wandsworth’s experienced engineers, combined with their manufacturer knowledge, provide a key service in ensuring nurse call systems are properly maintained correctly after installation.
For further information, or a no obligation quote on a nurse call maintenance agreement, please call Wandsworth Healthcare on 01483 713400, or e-mail service@wandsworthgroup.com
