Introduction
When going in to hospital, every patient wants to feel secure in the knowledge that they will be well taken care of. Family members too want peace of mind, and want to know that their loved ones are in good hands.
There have always been complaints at hospitals of patients not receiving proper treatment, or of nurses not responding promptly to their patient’s calls for help. When hearing of these complaints, one can’t help but feel anxious about leaving our loved ones in the care of hospitals. Wireless Nurse Call Systems help to eliminate our worries.
What are Wireless Nurse Call Systems?
Simply put, Wireless Nurse Call Systems serve as a communicating device between patients and nurses. Patients use this to request assistance from nurses when required. A Wireless Nurse Call System consists of a wrist watch receiver, and a call button. The call button is water proof and wireless, so the patient can have it mounted to the bedside, or carry it with him/her in the bathroom or shower. The nurse uses a wrist watch receiver, and will receive a notification when a patient is in need of assistance. Aside from wrist watch receivers, Wireless Nurse Call Systems also have display monitors, LED lights, as well as a computer USB software that captures the response time of the nurses.
How Wireless Nurse Call Systems work
When a patient wants to request help, all he/she has to do is press the call button. Instantly, the nurse wearing the wrist watch receiver will receive a notification. The wrist watch receiver will beep and vibrate, alerting the nurse that a patient is in need of assistance. LED lights can also be placed strategically around the ward. When a call button is pressed, the light will flash and make a noise, informing nurses that a patient requires assistance. Display monitors can also be placed at the nurse’s station, notifying nurses when a patient presses the call button.
More details about Wireless Nurse Call Systems
The call button
The call button is water proof and wireless, so that it can either be mounted at the bedside, or used in the bathroom/shower. Call buttons can also be worn around the neck on a lanyard, so that patients can request assistance no matter where they are. Being wireless, the call button will work even if there is a power cut at the hospital. The batteries in the call button can last from eight months right up to two years, depending on how many times it is pressed in a day.
The cancel button
The cancel button is a button that the nurse will press once the patient has been attended to. The cancel button is also used to help monitor the response time of nurses.
The wrist watch receiver
The wrist watch receiver allows nurses to respond to patients while on the move. No matter where the nurse is in the hospital, when a patient presses the call button, the wrist watch receiver will beep and vibrate, alerting the nurse that a patient requires assistance. Doctors at the hospital can also use wrist watch receivers, and can be alerted in case of an emergency.
LED lights
LED lights are lights that can be placed in the passages or corridors of each floor in the hospital. When a patient presses the call button, the LED lights will make a noise as well as flash until the call has been attended to. The lights have different sound settings available as well.
Display monitors
Display monitors can be placed at the nurse’s station. There are different types of display monitors available with the Wireless Nurse Call system. Each monitor varies on the information that is displayed, and the alerts and sound settings that are available. Each monitor has different display settings.
The computer USB software
This software can be installed on a computer. It contains a detailed floor plan of the hospital, and allows management to monitor the response time of the nurses. Management will be able to ascertain which nurses respond promptly to patients, and whether there is a delay in the response time of some nurses. The computer USB software also has a back-up feature, so if the current settings are lost or corrupt, the back-up file can be used.
Why install Wireless Nurse Call Systems?
Installing a Wireless Nurse Call System has many advantages. Some of the advantages are:
- Patients can request assistance even when there is a power cut. The Wireless Nurse Call System works even when there is a power cut at the hospital.
- Wireless Nurse Call Systems give patients more security. Patients feel secure knowing that they can request assistance at the tap of a button, no matter where they are.
- Monitoring of the response times of the nurses is an advantage as well. Management will be able to note which staff members are productive, and to ensure that all nurses respond timeously to patients. Management can also take appropriate action to underperforming staff who don’t respond timeously to patients.
- Healthcare staff can also use Wireless Nurse Call Systems to call on other nurses when they need assistance. For example, in a psychiatric hospital, Wireless Nurse Call Systems can be used by nurses to call on other nurses when they need assistance with patients.
Wireless Nurse Call Systems at retirement homes
Wireless Nurse Call Systems can also be used at retirement homes. The elderly living at retirement homes would feel more secure if they know that help is available to them at the touch of a button. An advantage to having a Wireless Nurse Call System in a retirement home is, if the residence use the call button around their neck on a lanyard, they can request help even if they wander off and forget where they are, or if they fall and can’t shout for help.
Conclusion
Wireless Nurse Call Systems can be seen as a chance to improve communication between healthcare staff and patience. The system can be used anywhere, in doctors rooms, hospitals as well as at retirement homes and villages.