Oncam video surveillance solution boosts hospital security at various levels

According to the US Census Bureau 2012, the annual revenue total of the healthcare industry is $1.668 Trillion. There are 5,724 registered hospitals in the US (American Hospital Association). Each one is estimated to be worth between $100-500m in terms of total asset value (building, staff, and equipment).

In the 2012 Hospital Security Summary, 25% of respondents reported an overall increase in attacks and assaults compared with more than 7% reporting a decrease; 34% reported an increase in patient/family violence against emergency department staff, while 7% report a drop.

Furthermore, 25% of respondents reported an overall increase in attacks and assaults compared with more than 7% reporting a decrease; 34% reported an increase in patient/family violence against emergency department staff, while 7% report a drop.

In the same report, 21% of respondents reported an increase in property damage and vandalism, with 11% reporting a decrease. Furthermore, an increase in elopements and patient wandering was reported by 17% of respondents with 8% reporting a fall.

Oncam Grandeye realises the need for zero tolerance to any criminal activities in hospitals

With statistics like this, Oncam understands the importance of effective security within hospitals on a number of levels. It is imperative for hospitals to make patients feel safe while they are away from their own homes.  Moreover, there is a large amount of high value machinery and equipment which must also be protected.

Hospitals are often targeted by criminals as they are open 24/7/365 and over the years have allowed scores of people from all walks of life to enter them, unchallenged.  As a result of the continued criminal threat in hospitals, it can no longer be possible to practice an “open door” policy. Hospitals must control the access of every single person entering the hospital in order to minimise the opportunity for them to cause harm.

There is also a duty of care to staff to ensure they are able to work in a safe environment and not be subject to harm. Health & Safety compliance is also a mission critical requirement for any hospital and video surveillance has an important part to play in enabling trained staff to respond swiftly and effectively if there is an incident. For instance, if an unauthorised individual was able to enter a restricted area, security personnel, with the assistance of video surveillance, should be able to react and prevent an incident from occurring.

In countries where there is an injury compensation claim culture, the recorded video can also play a valuable role in verifying the cause of an injury to a patient or staff member, as well as protecting a hospital’s reputation.

The Oncam Grandeye solution is designed to help hospitals create a totally safe environment.

Video surveillance has been used for many years by hospitals throughout the world to combat all forms of criminal activity. Now, Oncam Grandeye technology is cost-effective and takes video surveillance to an entirely new level. An Oncam Grandeye solution delivers Total Situational Awareness, which offers so much more than just cameras. It enriches the users’ experience and empowers them to capitalise on their expertise by providing them with the video and data needed to instantly gain an understanding of the complete chain of events in real time while an incident or emergency occurs.

“The Oncam Grandeye solution enables us to verify if there is a real threat and enables us to make a measured response to a potential crime or incident.  We are also able to retrospectively track an incident, which can be then used in resulting investigations.”

As part of a comprehensive integrated security solution which can combine the power of 360-degree technology with facial recognition software, people counting video analytics, biometrics and access control, Oncam Grandeye can provide hospitals with the ability to monitor and control access to all areas and observe absolutely everything that has occurred or is occurring. Hospital proprietors and senior management are able therefore to make fast but informed decisions on how to effectively respond to any incident which may include involving the police or other emergency services.

A solution that saves

An Oncam Grandeye solution provides a robust, highly reliable and cost effective method of monitoring activity in car parks, patient floors, reception areas, restricted areas (such as theatre rooms) loading and luggage storage areas, as well as multiple floors, corridors, staircases and elevators. A single Oncam Grandeye 360-degree camera is quite often all that is needed to monitor for example, a waiting room where a large number of standard cameras might normally be installed, in order to prevent any blind spots.

Total situational awareness

Oncam Grandeye’s Total Situational Awareness philosophy is reflected by the features which are incorporated into its video surveillance solutions. Protected by more than 35 patents, a key feature of an Oncam Grandeye 360-degree camera is that its field of view covers all directions at the same time. This allows operators to take advantage of a ‘virtual’ PTZ function to retrospectively review recorded video. The movements of individual members of staff, patients, contractors and other kinds of visitors can be tracked and if required, operators can zoom in to observe close up detail of any incident. Oncam Grandeye’s 360-degree technology take advantage of patented 3D dewarping technology to  always point in the right direction, and with low bandwidths and storage requirements, the captured video can be monitored from any remote location where there is a connection to the internet or via the unique OnVu360 smartphone app. This mobile application is a world’s first, that enables users to fully experience surveillance through 360-degrees, in full HD and in the palm of your hand. This puts business-quality surveillance and its patented de-warping facility at a customers’ fingertips-literally-giving them the ability to monitor their Oncam Grandeye cameras in real-time, enabling 24/7/365 access to the information that is business critical.

A powerful forensic investigative tool

With the benefit of Oncam Grandeye technology that enables the acquisition and tracking of ‘suspicious’ behaviour and the analysis of a potential threat, operators have the option to observe live video streams to retroactively carry out a forensic analysis of an incident.

With this extraordinary Oncam Grandeye 360-degree technology there are no boundaries, any forensic expert can literally go inside an image to find a person or an incident because the camera gives them 24/7/365 situational awareness, and the de-warping software makes an image taken with a fisheye lens smooth and readily discernible.” Leszek James, CEO, EZUniverse

Improved efficiency

With multiple operators able to simultaneously access the live or recorded images from a single 360-degree camera, security personnel and other senior members of staff can all benefit from the Total Situational Awareness capability of any integrated Oncam Grandeye solution. Helping identify what individuals or groups of people are responsible for any criminal activity and being able to quickly verify what may have occurred if there are any disputes which might arise between patients, staff or others are just two ways that an Oncam Grandeye solution provides exceptional value. Operations managers can use captured data to carry out analysis of how busy the hospital is at different times of the week in order to schedule adequate levels of staffing, whilst at the same time keep a watchful eye and control access to areas where plant and machinery essential to the smooth running of a hospital is located.

We understand that in a Hospital environment there can be no compromise on reliability

When the safety and security of patients and staff, as well as a hospital’s reputation are at risk, reliability needs to be taken for granted. Robustness and reliability are therefore key considerations when a hospital video surveillance solution is being specified. For a truly modern, effective and sustainable solution however, it is more than just providing a camera. Supported by a company which has over 10 years’ experience of 360 degree technology, it is about intelligently integrating the whole process and turning it into a scalable solution. That’s the big difference!