Safety of staff is a priority at hospital (From Gazette Series)

Safety of staff is a priority at hospital

THE NEW emergency department of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, which is being built as part of a £30 million redevelopment, is set to be one of the safest in the UK with the installation of a top staff safety system throughout.

As part of the redevelopment, the department is being increased in size and will deal with more emergency cases than ever when it opens in later this year.

Determined to safeguard staff and innocent patients against the volatile conditions that can arise in an emergency department and other areas of the hospital, Gloucestershire Royal is installing a personal alarm system developed by Pinpoint Limited.

The system, which is the staff protection system of choice at more than 1500 sites across the UK, utilises a belt-worn infrared transmitter that, when activated, brings assistance to a staff member's exact location.

A report by the National Audit Office has shown that violent incidents against NHS staff have increased by 30 percent over the last three years.

When complete, the new department and other key areas of the hospital will have more than 100 receivers installed as part of the system which will play a key role in Gloucestershire Royal's own efforts to prevent violent incidents against NHS staff.

The Gloucestershire Royal redevelopment will provide a state-of-the-art health care facility with 17,000 square metres of new accommodation on two floors and landscaped external surroundings - providing all round improvements, both inside and outside, for patients, staff and visitors.

Within the new building there will also be a children's centre, new facilities for both general and specialist out-patients plus three new wards amo0ng its features.

Project manager Irwin Wilson said: "It is a great shame that in a hospital where nurses and doctors are trying to help sick and injured people that so much effort has to be made to keep our staff safe.

"However, this is the reality of the world we live in and we are delighted that the Pinpoint system being installed at the new Gloucestershire Royal Hospital will help us meet this aim and improve staff safety."

John Waring, managing director of Pinpoint, said: "We have worked very successfully with the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in the past and we are very pleased that the prestigious development will be incorporating and extending the use of the Pinpoint system.

"While violence against staff in the NHS has increased, there is now a greater appreciation of the risks to staff and the importance of protecting them. he features of the Gloucestershire Royal redevelopment will make it a state-of-the-art facility and in taking this leading role within NHS the hospital has also led by example in the care and protection of its staff."