IPCCTV provides healthy solution for NHS Trust’s security needs

Intensive but not intrusive – that sums up the requirement for an IPCCTV system to serve a community hospital and seven minor injury units (MIUs) in a south of England NHS Foundation Trust.

Secom plc won the competitive tender for the tightly specified project. Mal Fairless of Secom’s Major Projects Team, says the Trust wanted a system for 24/7 surveillance of strategic public areas at the eight sites, to provide security, especially at night, for staff and patients, without intruding on the privacy of consulting rooms or wards.

“To secure the contract we had to show that Secom was registered with Contructionline and thus able to comply with Government construction criteria. We also had to prove our platinum Approved Installer status for Milestone video management software (VMS),” adds Fairless. “In addition competitive pricing, the installation engineers had to be our own employees, not subcontractors.

“To satisfy this requirement, we drew on our High Security Services team, which consists of engineers who are not only well-qualified, but also have security clearances recognised by the banking sector.”

The Secom team installed multiple HD IP cameras at each site, with some camera positions presenting challenging above-ceiling cable runs. In addition, Secom had to observe strict fire-stopping requirements where cables passed through fire compartment bulkheads.

Each site has local monitoring, typically a screen at the reception desk, driven by the VMS which enables staff to watch live footage from one or more cameras. Feeds from all cameras are transmitted over the internet (subject to the strict NHS protocols) to the Trust’s central security department where they are stored on a Milestone recorder.

“The Trust’s security manager has full control of the recorded images. Requests to view (by police, for example) have to be agreed by the security manager,” says Fairless. “This ensures that imagery is subject to the same high standards of confidentiality as patients’ medical records.”

The VMS for this application is from Milestone’s XProtect portfolio of solutions ranging from single store coverage to surveillance over substantial geographic areas.