Many people think of hospitals as places of healing. But they are also businesses, and the patients are their customers. When running a hospital, besides all the medical concerns, administrators should also consider the security of their customers. With all the different threats out there, being assured of their safety can help give them peace of mind. Here are some options for increasing security.
Establishing The Outer Perimeter
While hospitals should be welcoming, people should not be able to walk onto the grounds or leave easily. This can mean more security breaches than you can handle. The best way to prevent intruders is to have a simple aluminum fence. A sufficiently tall fence with sharp spear tops discourages casual thieves and forces people to go through specific entrances. This is a good thing since you will be able to keep track of anyone entering. Have them sign in or leave an ID at the gate so that you have an idea of who is on hospital property at any given time.
Training Guards And Staff
The human side of things is also important. Hiring a security service to provide you with guards can be a big boost to your efforts. They can check out visitors and keep track of suspicious people. They can also be called on if a patient gets violent. It is not just guards who have a responsibility to look out for patients. Your staff needs to know what to look out for and help identify any suspicious characters. Importantly, you need to train your people on certain things. For one, a major concern is medication theft. Teach your staff to detect this and put a stop to it.
Requiring Identification Checks
Your security must also be strict when it comes to the identities of the people wandering around your hospital. If they don’t have an employee badge, a visitor ID, or a patient tag, then they should immediately ask to display a form of identification. Letting unknown people wander around the hospital just puts patients in danger. They are also suspicious and maybe there to steal a variety of things from personal identities to valuable. Medical identity theft is on the rise, and all thieves need is to get patient information, which they can get by strolling into the hospital.
Specify Restricted Areas
Another excellent way to secure a hospital is to implement restricted areas and visitation hours. While it is nice that people want to visit their loved ones, patients need some rest and alone time. Visitation hours give them that. Additionally, it stops people from going around the hospital at all times. This controls the flow of people so you can better protect patients. You can also specify restricted areas that are only for doctors or staff. Medical professionals need rest, and giving them places to relax is a nice move; besides that, there are some places that you want to limit access to, like the pharmacy.
Installing Alarms And Cameras
Like any place that needs security, cameras and alarms are a big help. But installing them into a hospital is not going to be simple. While the need for security is there, there is also the privacy of the patients to consider. Work with your team and professional installers so that you have the perfect balance between security and privacy. Besides that, alarms are also a necessary part of hospital safety. Fire alarms ensure that your staff knows they are in danger, while personal alarms can be installed so that staff can call for an emergency response to specific rooms. Security alarms are also great for protecting valuables.
Going Digital
One important change you have to make is with patient records. Instead of having them in paper and stored in cabinets, it’s better to have them uploaded to a digital cloud server. This gives you the security of preventing physical theft of records. You will have to beef up digital security and have restricted access to ensure that the files stay private, but they can be worth the effort.
Increasing the security around your hospital is always a good investment. Patients need calm and safety if they are to recover. Unfortunately, there are many people out there who would take advantage of people’s convalescence to do them harm or aggression. Additionally, a hospital is also full of a lot of valuable material, from expensive equipment to controlled substances. Thieves can easily target the place if it has no security precautions. Implementing various security measures only makes a hospital better and is often worth it.