SERVICE-USER SAFETY


Our design principles prioritise reducing restrictive practices, improving patient autonomy, privacy, and safety, and ensuring that all stakeholders are fully informed and empowered throughout the process


Philip Ross


The advocacy groups argue that the use of cameras to observe patients in bedrooms has the potential to breach Article 12 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights,6


which focuses on the


right to privacy. This creates the possibility that healthcare providers using cameras will face a dilemma trying to balance the Right to Privacy and the Right to Life (UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article Three).6


Safehinge Primera


providing the best possible care. The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health Annual Report 20232


reveals a harsh


reality: 94% of lives lost are at low level, and 91% of lives are lost in private spaces, of which 63% are in bedrooms, and 28% in bathrooms. To paint a picture of reality, we must highlight that typically patients are only observed for approximately 3% of the time (assuming 30 seconds every 15 minutes), potentially leaving 97% of the day as higher risk, unmonitored time. The restrictive nature of this observation method places a significant burden on nurses, leading to stress at a time when workforces are already under strain.


Limited observation’s drawbacks Limited observation can severely impact patient recovery. In mental healthcare, where patient behaviour and verbal cues are critical for assessment, the lack of continuous observation can lead to misdiagnosis or delayed treatment.3 Dedicated mental health nurses face unique challenges. While long shifts, high patient volumes, and complex patient interactions, are part of the role, Project X has been developed to support them by providing real-time insights and alerts on activity in bedrooms, bathrooms, and en-suites. This can help ensure that nurses feel physically and emotionally supported, empowering them to deliver the best care they can. The mental health workforce, and particularly nurses, has been facing increasing strain. Despite a rise in university applications for mental health nursing, the number of mental health nurses has declined by 3% over the past nine years. This decline starkly contrasts with the rising demand for mental health services, which saw an 89% increase in IAPT referrals from 2011/12 up to 2019/20. Equally, with forecast retirement of permanent staff as high as 40% within 5-10 years at some Trusts, the issue is only going to get worse.4 The NHS Long Term Plan is a beacon


of hope, recognising these challenges, and committing to integrating more technology into clinical practice.5


This


vision includes digital products and services that enhance the efficiency of care delivery, manage and encourage patient interactions, and improve outcomes by ensuring that care is tailored


THE NETWORK | MAY 2024


The intuitive software application delivers real-time updates on patient location and activity, alerting healthcare staff to potential risks such as falls, sensor tampering, or excessive time spent in high-risk areas.


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and delivered in the most appropriate settings. Safehinge Primera sees this as the key role for technology; creating the right ‘tools’ for the job, enabling more people to come to and stay in mental healthcare as a career.


Based on decades of mental health


experience, a deep understanding of the design challenges, and significant experience co-creating products that blend safety and patient dignity, Safehinge Primera is proud to support this technological revolution and help nurses have more time to care for patients. Project X is based on the long-term success of our existing door products, close stakeholder relationships, our co- production ethos, and data-driven design decisions. Deep empathy and listening to all stakeholders, including people with lived experience and nursing staff, have led to this evolution into the digital healthcare space.


Although cameras can be used as a means of patient observation, especially in communal spaces, the suitability of cameras in bedrooms has been the subject of a great deal of controversy, and has generated challenges from a range of organisations, including advocacy groups such as Stop Oxevision.1


Cameras


cannot be deployed in bathrooms and en-suites, creating obvious blind spots for patients and staff within a bathroom area. Triggering alarms after just three minutes in a bathroom leads to alarm fatigue too.


is committed to preserving patient safety, while also reducing restrictive practices in all clinical areas. Our discreet patient safety aid removes the risk of mental health organisations being forced to choose between these two Rights.


Safe, low-power radar As a non-camera-based safety aid, Project X uses safe, low-power radar to monitor patient activity and detect critical events, such as a person collapsed on the floor. The aid consists of a sensor unit mounted on the ceiling, and blends seamlessly into the care environment. A mobile app displays the information to staff at the point of need (on the ward), keeping healthcare professionals informed, active, and responsive, no matter where they are. The sensor unit emits very low-power radio waves that are safe and unobtrusive. The sensor unit also has a reduced ligature housing that is robust, discreet, and tested to MSU robustness standards, and will be independently certified with the Informed Choices scheme in due course. The system uses advanced technology


to generate a non-identifiable ‘point cloud’ – a completely anonymous digital model of the patient’s position and movements. The point cloud is then translated into a simple graphical display that indicates the patient’s status, such as location, whether they are still or moving, standing, or have fallen down. The patient status is then displayed on the mobile app, along with other relevant information, such as the time and duration of the event, and the room number. The mobile app also alerts


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