The concept of nurse call systems is not a new solution as such, however, the solutions that are available today can – thanks to technological advancements in the past few decades – offer multiple new important features. While your older nurse call system may still be fully functional and still serve you well, the new and innovative features of today’s nurse call systems should be enough to warrant an upgrade.
Simply put, a nurse call system allows the care receiving client to call or contact the nurse station with ease – through devices such as pendants and other helpful elderly care devices – and allow them to receive care as soon as possible. The systems ensure the safety of the clients while at the same time provide a sense of security for involved parties – the nurses and carers on one hand, and the patients and other care receiving clients on the other.
The calls or prompts from clients can be used for emergencies, but they can in some cases be for less urgent or less critical matters such as needing assistance using the bathroom. In both situations, nurse call systems are important to make sure that the needs of the patient or the care receiver are accordingly being attended to. Some nurse call systems already available, are able to indicate the specific concern of the patient – e.g. through use of elderly care devices – as opposed to older and outdated solutions that simply alert the nurse stations whenever a call is made by the patient.
With multiple options being available, choosing or building a new nurse call system can possibly seem both difficult and confusing for any provider. There are, however, a few factors that should be considered in choosing a nurse call or a warden call system.
Cost-effectiveness – All providers will have different needs from one another, so it’s most important to choose a nurse call system that can meet the specific needs, and at a reasonable cost, without having to opt for unnecessary features.
Interoperability – A good nurse call system should be easily accessed and operated by any parties integrated into the system. Some modern nurse call and warden call systems come with mobile apps, allowing users to easily manage calls and alarms within the system.
Scalability – The nurse call system must be able to accommodate as many devices or pendants as are required to meet the needs, with the possibility to easily be able to integrate even more devices in the future without having to constantly expand the system.
Future-proof capabilities – A nurse call system that can be utilised alongside other elderly care devices, such as fall detection solutions, can be very beneficial. The importance of a future-proof system, is that seamless integration of these solutions into your unique system, and it also gives room for further integrations; i.e. solutions that are yet to be introduced in the market.
In addition to the new and innovative features being offered by modern nurse call systems, another factor that must be considered when talking about upgrading, is the upcoming analogue switch-off wherein all devices based on analogue platforms, such as the telephone land lines, will cease to function. In the United Kingdom, this is set to be in full effect in 2025. While we’re still a couple of years away from this, it’s important to start transitioning to digital solutions. Providers have already begun to drop their technical and service support for analogue-based solutions, to give space and focus on new, adaptable solutions and modern devices connected to digital, cloud-based platforms.
This means that devices integrated in nurse call systems that are still on analogue platforms will cease to function when the analogue switch-off takes place.
The availability of existing cloud-based platforms can, however, help providers transition to digital and modern solutions.
Read more: 5 Ways Fall Detectors can Improve the Quality of Your Nursing Home
To partner with a capable platform provider can make the process of building a new nurse call system very efficient, and provide an almost seamless transition. This will allow all your needs to be met and fulfilled; as will the needs of involved staff, carers, and also care receiving clients and patients. Skyresponse provides a 100% cloud-based, future-proof, and fully scalable platform, giving you the flexibility you need in building a modern nurse call system.
Skyresponse offers a flexible vendor-independent nurse call solution that can be tailored specifically to your needs, as well as to the customers’ requirements. Skyresponse offers a ready-to-launch solution for your nursing home for those who wish to implement a nurse call system right away, while still having the flexibility and all the benefits of a modern, powerful nurse call solution.
A modern warden call system is offered by Skyresponse, with a cloud-based routing platform that allows the linking of dispersed alarm units via a smartphone app, which can be used regardless of the users’ position.