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Access to hospital

The alleged rape of a student doctor on the premises of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Gauteng on 1 August grabbed media headlines around South Africa. In so doing, the incident highlighted serious security gaps in the country's healthcare sector, says Jack Edery, CEO of Elvey Security Technologies.

This is not the only criminal incident to have occurred on hospital premises in recent times, where staff members, patients, visitors and contractors can be forgiven for letting down their guard in their belief that these are safe havens, he says. "Hospitals, which ironically are dedicated to saving lives, are also places where babies are stolen out of wards, cars from parking lots and patients' belongings regularly go missing."

Quoting an article published in The Star newspaper on 1 August 2007 ('Hospitals tighten security after rape at Bara'), Edery highlights comments by Democratic Alliance MPL Jack Bloom. "In the article, Bloom points out that this was not the first rape to occur at a Gauteng hospital and also that the results of a survey by his party last year revealed that 83% of nurses in Gauteng did not feel safe at work. This is certainly cause for concern.

"Make no mistake, securing a large entity where there is a continuous passage of public and employee feet in and out is a task only for the professionals," Edery says. "However, there are solutions and as a company, we strongly advise the use of integrated security systems."

CCTV, GPRS/GSM communication and visual verification

Owing to the fact that the public has free access to most parts of hospitals, it is difficult to identify criminals and spot potential incidents, says Elvey's new business development manager Michael Brett. "This necessitates the need for an integrated security system that combines visible guarding with CCTV (closed circuit television) and a measure of access control to restricted areas. Such a system would not only serve as a deterrent to criminal activities, but would also allow for information gathering in the event of an incident, hopefully allowing the police to bring criminals to book."

Brett believes that government needs to spend money on security in healthcare environments, to protect "the most precious commodity of all, that of human lives". In his experience, CCTV cameras are a vital component of hospital security and should ideally be part of an on-site video system that is installed and monitored by professionally-trained outsiders. The value of this type of system lies in its ability to monitor not only the comings and goings of people but also babies and other patients in order to prevent theft, malpractice and abuse, he maintains.

Along with technology, Brett advocates the use of guards - provided there are controls in place to overcome traditional problems, which include not being able to ascertain the whereabouts of guards and guards subjected to criminal duress. "Elvey assisted with the installation of an integrated system at a Cape Town hospital, which now has a CCTV system with cameras that are manned 24/7, and it is working very effectively," he says.

Guard control

"Guard control is best done by using GPRS/GSM technology, which ensures that guards are always in contact with their monitoring stations," says Tommy Klopper, Elvey's access control product manager. "These devices are taking the guarding factor to a different level."

Easily integrated with identification and access control technology, GPRS/GSM data transmission allows for realtime communication between guards and control rooms via the touch of a button. It has numerous functionalities that extend to providing immediate notification to the monitoring station in the event of an emergency. "It also speeds up intervention, which tremendously improves the security of both people and property. In addition, it enables the monitoring station to retain voice communication with the guard while on his rounds," he explains.

Essentially this technology incorporates three different devices, which Klopper says makes it a world-first. "It is a Web-based guard patrol monitoring system, which transmits data on a realtime basis through GSM networks and thereby gives the control room second-by-second updates on the whereabouts of guards," he says.

"Secondly, it has a panic button which allows for instant communication with the control room in the case of an emergency. This is a major safety and security benefit for guards, who can derive additional peace of mind from a radio facility that facilitates two-way voice communication between employee and control station. In the event that the guard fails to reach a certain point at a certain time, the control room immediately knows something is wrong and can take relevant action.

"Users are not able to make calls to the control room but they can let the operator know of their need for a voice connection by pressing a button. The technology also allows operators to call them in the same way as they would using a GSM phone.

Access control

Controlled access to restricted areas is also vital in a healthcare environment in the interests of both security and convenience, says Klopper. He is a proponent of integrating biometric interfaces with different levels of access control to allow for the effective monitoring of staff as well as the general public.

"The ideal staff monitoring system is one that uses biometric cards or tags to give them access to specific departments only." Further to this, these verification cards and tags will also prevent unauthorised access to stock rooms, pharmacies, operating theatres and other high security areas, he says. A huge benefit of modern technology is that access control can be integrated with time and attendance and that public access can be limited to specific areas with the use of temporary cards.

In addition to verification capabilities, a hospital security system should also offer realtime and after-event camera-recorded data, Klopper believes. For best results, cameras should be set up at all access points and professionally positioned in order to be able to record clear facial and vehicle images. Minimum criteria include wide dynamic range (WDR) lenses, which are able to cope with and rectify poor lighting conditions to ensure perfect pictures for recognition and identification purposes.

For employee monitoring, the latest technology uses fingerprint time clocking, which he says is highly cost-effective and allows for individual employee identification. This prevents unauthorised clocking, which has always been a problem with work-forces. Units can store up to 4000 fingerprint templates and 30 000 transaction records, and the systems can also be programmed to operate door and other access barriers, adding to their many benefits, he concludes.

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