Access control systems
“We simply have to move in the direction of the best access control systems. It makes sense for everyone – for our clinical staff, our maintenance team, and especially for service-users”
night-latch cuts down on mechanical wear, prolonging the lockset’s lifespan, and both sides of the door feature an anti-ligature turn handle which is simple to operate and dual- coloured, which can help the partially sighted.
SYMPATHETIC DESIGN Aesthetics should never be ignored, of course, and wherever possible the institutional look should be avoided. Despite the robust qualities of the Passport system, its design is sympathetic, and finishes can be colour matched to décor schemes, or even personalised using permanent hydrographic transfer. By choosing adaptable hardware, it is possible to have consistency of design throughout a site, on bedroom doors, cupboard doors, kitchens, bathrooms, and service risers. Back-of-house locksets that don’t need all the safety features usually required in the service-user environment can use conventional access control fittings all integrated onto the same Amadeo software system.
ANTI-LIGATURE AND ANTI-BARRICADE The key feature that caused alarm bells to ring at the CQC was the lack of anti-ligature design, but in access control systems for mental health, another feature of locksets – an anti-barricade function – is much more than a ‘nice to have’. With patients possibly confused, agitated, destructive, aggressive, or at risk of self-harm, every detail of a lockset is critical, and however much control of day-to-day access is passed to service-users, ultimately control must always remain with staff. The best proximity access control system in the world is of little use if it does not offer the capability to override a service-user’s attempt to create a barricade. A mechanical system that demonstrates the principle of anti-barricade locksets is Primera’s Twin-Tech. Incorporating the company’s signature of anti-ligature features throughout, it recognises that some service-users will try to interfere with locks to form barricades or inconvenience staff. Twin-Tech’s patented mechanism is designed to ensure that, even in these cases, staff can still gain access to resolve what could become a disturbing, or even a life-threatening incident. Twin-Tech includes what Primera call a secondary override mechanism. Its first line of defence – its primary override mechanism – is a key that always dominates, whatever someone is doing on the other side of the door. If the keyway has been tampered with, there is a second, concealed back-up mechanism that allows the door to be opened quickly. This critical feature – the concealed back-up mechanism – is also part of the Passport Solo and Amadeo locksets. Twin-Tech is strong, easy
30 THE NETWORK OCTOBER 2016
Primera director, Jerry Smith, at this year’s Design in Mental Health exhibition in Solihull.
to install, and has proved its worth time and again in the mental health sector. In fact, it is in use in many NHS Trust units.
ALWAYS LOOKING FOR PROGRESS The Twin-Tech lockset is an extremely tough, reliable, mechanical product. However, having seen the benefits of an electronic solution, its potential to simplify the day-to-day running of the unit, and the advantages of empowering service-users, some Trusts are choosing to replace their existing mechanical locksets, opting for Passport Amadeo because its functionality includes the concealed barricade override, which allows staff access in case of emergency or clinical need. Although Twin-Tech is a great product, at Primera we’re ready to support any Trust who wants to change to an electronic solution in any way that we can. If it makes sense for everyone – for clinical staff, maintenance teams, and especially for service-users, Trusts should press on. Sometimes that means a system that was perfect five years ago no longer meets today’s working practices or patient care needs. We understand that circumstances change, and fully support the principle of progress in healthcare facilities.
INNOVATION, ADAPTATION, AND EMPATHY – A POWERFUL COMBINATION We have come a long way in mental healthcare provision, and in the design of facilities. Research has proven the importance of a positive, nurturing, and sympathetic environment. Committed and dedicated businesses and individuals are making practical changes, developing new products that have the power both to protect patients and, by empowering them, also to transform their lives. Advances take many forms: innovation, adaptation, building in flexibility to accommodate healthcare’s changing demands
Committed and dedicated businesses and individuals are making practical changes, developing new products that have the power both to protect patients and to transform their lives
– it is all progress. Sometimes it’s a small step forward, sometimes a huge leap, and sometimes it’s a pause to reconsider. Access control in mental healthcare is an issue that’s going through the process. Improvements, modifications, and adaptations, based both on the ability to empathise with facilities’ users, and to understand and respect the needs of clinical staff, will always be welcome.
About the author
Nine years ago, Jerry Smith was working with Mul-T-Lock, an internationally recognised manufacturer of high security, patent-protected mechanical locking systems. A hard-working professional with an appetite for product development, he was seeking new challenges, and a move to a smaller, more flexible organisation. Eight years ago he joined Primera Life as a director. The business specialises in the design and manufacture of anti-ligature door and window hardware, supplying its products into the mental healthcare sector. Jerry Smith’s main role today is to design and deliver safe, secure, practical, and attractive products which make a positive contribution to the welfare of both service- users and clinical staff.
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