Care Homes

A care home is a workplace, a home and a regulated service at the same time, and the systems in it have to respect all three. We know the sector from the inside, and we design for it: safeguarding first, dignity always, and a paper trail that stands up at inspection.

Doors. Access control in a care home is mostly about keeping residents who may wander safe while letting staff, visitors and deliveries move without a jangling bunch of keys. We fit controlled doors with fobs and keypads, video door entry at the front so staff can see and speak to a visitor before letting them in, and every door on an escape route wired to release on the fire alarm.

Cameras. CCTV has a place in a care home, and a limit. Entrances, corridors, lounges, the car park and the outside of the building can be covered for the protection of residents and staff; bedrooms and anywhere intimate care happens cannot. The regulator expects the home to have considered less intrusive options, involved residents and families, and set a lawful basis, a retention period and a policy. We design to those principles and set the system up to match the policy, with signage and controlled access to footage.

Fire. The fire alarm is designed from the home’s fire risk assessment to the category it calls for, with the interfaces to door releases the building needs, and documented so the assessor and the insurer can see what was fitted.

Wi-Fi and phones. Care planning and medication apps live on tablets that need signal in every corridor and bedroom, and the nurse station phone needs to ring the right people at night. We design Wi-Fi to reach the whole building, cable it properly, and fit phone systems with call routing that follows the shift.

Everything goes into the home’s customer portal: plans, photos, device register, door schedules and user guides, so a new manager or a compliance visit can see exactly what is in place.