HEALTHCARE LIGHTING
Patient at rest.
Benefits of integration When it comes to the patient ward environment, lighting is increasingly being integrated into nurse call cause and effect, and can now play a vital role in assisting with workflow efficiency, task management, and improving patient safety. When designing nurse call systems – as well as looking at which staff members will receive the call, and via which communication method – great attention is paid to what happens to the lights during any given event, whether that be a bed exit, a patient call, or a cardiac alarm. For example, it is widely acknowledged that if a patient gets out of bed at night, they are less likely to fall if there is low-level lighting to illuminate trip hazards. Advanced nurse call systems can be programmed to automatically activate lights if a bed exit is detected. A bed exit can also trigger lighting to be activated in areas where the patient is most likely to be heading, such as the toilet, again helping to reduce the likelihood of the patient falling, by allowing the individual to clearly see the path ahead. Bed exit can also simultaneously trigger a notification to staff via the nurse base indicator, smart devices, or telephony integration, and the nurse call system can log and analyse events.
When a patient raises a call, low-level lighting or the patient reading light can be activated, so that when a nurse arrives, they can immediately see where the patient is, what they are doing, and whether there is anything visibly wrong. If a nurse escalates a call to a rapid response or a ‘code blue’ alarm, lighting can be set to come on at full brightness, and illuminate other ward and corridor lighting, enabling the patient to be assessed and treated more quickly.
Alerting the ‘crash team’ Messages can simultaneously be sent to ‘smart’ devices, so that the ‘crash team’ receives the alert in the fastest possible time, and the nurse call system can be programmed to automatically initiate other actions, for example unlocking doors and lighting the way with blue
50 Health Estate Journal August 2019
General nursing care.
overdoor lights so that crash teams can see exactly where to go even if they are unfamiliar with the building layout. The lift can be held at the correct floor ready to go. By saving precious seconds, these measures can mean the difference between life and death in emergency situations.
Lighting and patient wellbeing Lighting is widely recognised as playing an important role in patient wellbeing and recovery. There have been numerous
Patient examination.
studies into the ways lighting affects mood and the human body’s natural circadian rhythms. The findings all point to the benefits of having colour shifts in lighting which mimic the natural changes in the light spectrum throughout the day in the natural environment. This has been proven to help maintain the natural body cycles in artificially lit environments, such as hospitals.
Maintaining this natural rhythm through the use of lighting can aid patient recovery. The basic principle is that in the
Advanced bedhead trunking solution
In June 2019, Static Systems launched Vistr Headwall (pictured), a new bedhead services trunking unit which features a decorative graphic fascia that enhances a patient’s surroundings by incorporating light and colour. The company said: “It has been designed in consultation with discerning architects and project teams to help provide a therapeutic healthcare environment, and incorporates all the essential patient bedhead services, including medical gases, nurse call, electrical sockets, and lighting, but crucially hides them from the view of patients and visitors, while allowing easy access for staff.” Vistr Headwall is available with a range of LED lighting options, including colour washing – ‘to help patients feel more relaxed and ultimately assist in a speedy recovery’; practical, PIR-controlled lighting that automatically illuminates at low level as the patient leaves their bed during times of low light, and lighting that quickly guides staff to the appropriate bedside in the event of a patient call or cardiac alarm, assisting with workflow.
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