Background
Purpose built facility designed with powerful video tech at its heart
The new, purpose-built Ashford Learning Disabilities Residential Unit at Tatchbury Mount provides medium secure accommodation and therapeutic care for men detained under the Mental Health Act. Run by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, the unit is one of the UK’s leading specialist care facilities for vulnerable patients who need round-the-clock care and monitoring. It has been created as a safe, secure, and welcoming environment designed to best meet the needs of patients, their families, and staff. At the heart of these facilities is one of the most user-friendly and cost-efficient surveillance systems operating in any NHS setting.
Challenges
Practical and affordable solutions needed for key challenges
An advanced video solution was designed for the facility by Triple Star Security, using the latest DirectIP® technology from IDIS to to overcome a number of challenges. To protect patients and staff it was essential to guarantee comprehensive high-definition (HD) video coverage of key areas, inside and out: these included communal spaces, de-escalation and seclusion rooms, sensory, music and art facilities, family visiting areas, external grounds, parking areas and the building perimeters. The system needed to be intuitive enough for clinical and admin staff to use easily without specialist training, allowing them to rapidly view, review and export video evidence. And it had to be affordable, providing a low total cost of ownerships (TCO) from the installation stage and through its full operational life. Other priorities included ensuring robust cyber-security, and HD image capture in all lighting conditions including in complete darkness without blind spots.
Solution
Full site coverage and cost savings with 12MP Super Fisheye cameras
38 IDIS 12MP IR Panomorph Super Fisheye cameras were installed, delivering comprehensive area surveillance more affordably than the alternative of using three or four times the number of fixed lens units to achieve the same results. Outstanding dewarping performance, in live view and playback, allows the Super Fisheyes to capture exceptionally crisp ultra-high-definition video footage even in darkness across all communal areas. And recordings are not compromised by blind spots or loss of detail, even at the very periphery of the scene. Targeted deployment of IDIS 5MP bullet and PTZ cameras around the building exteriors provides clear line of sight over priority areas and reliable coverage in all lighting conditions, with built-in IR enabling night-time image capture at distances up to 30m. These IDIS cameras also benefit from intelligent functions such as active tampering alarms, motion detection, auto-tracking, and trip zones.
A key advantage of IDIS DirectIP technology is its true plug-and-play set up, which made implementation at Ashford LDRU quick and trouble free. Mutual of devices also eliminates common cybersecurity risks associated with manual password entry and, along with the use of proprietary software, is part of IDIS’s multi-layered protection against cyber threats. This feature makes IDIS solutions trustworthy for customers, such as the NHS, which operate to the most stringent network protection standards. To guarantee the integrity of recorded and exported video data against concerns over evidence tampering, IDIS recorders use a patented Chained Fingerprint™ algorithm. And IDIS Smart Failover protection ensures 24/7 continued recording even during network instability or drop-out. The completed system is protected by the industry leading IDIS Ultimate Warranty, and without ongoing licence fees IDIS customers benefit from low total cost of ownership.
Results and Benefits
Advanced but user-friendly video supports improved patient care
Triple Star and IDIS delivered a solution which gives senior managers at Southern Health a complete video record of events, making it easy for incidents to be investigated and video evidence to be provided whenever required. The IDIS VMS lets authorised staff access live and recorded footage from workstations around the site, with video tools available to staff according to their location and role. Thanks to the video tools available to them clinicians have been able to improve therapeutic interventions, with patients encouraged to stay healthy, get along with others, and keep busy - ultimately supporting their move toward independent living in the community.
"The design of the new LDRU facility has been carefully thought out and the comprehensive video solution provided by Triple Star is a key part of that. IDIS technology is helping us to support and protect patients - whether they are socialising in communal areas or spending time alone - and it is underpinning the Trust’s efforts to improve standards of care."
Tracey Edwards
Security Manager at Southern Health NHS Trust
