How care homes can benefit from access control equipment

clip_image002Care homes act as a refuge for our nation’s elderly people, offering them respite, round the clock care and a good quality of life. Unfortunately care homes are also considered an easy target for criminals looking to take advantage of their vulnerability and gain access to valuable equipment, possessions and personal records.

Owners and operators of care homes have a duty to safeguard and protect the wellbeing of their residents. However, with the level of ongoing care that is often needed it can be difficult to rise to the challenge, especially when coupled with staffing issues and overcrowding.

Care homes often have a number of different visitors throughout the day, from care providers and health care workers to social workers, friends and family. In order to protect residents it is important that you are able to personally greet each visitor and verify their identity; however this is not always easy – especially if you are at the other side of a large site when the door bell goes.

Intercom systems can allow you to quickly respond to a visitor requesting access even from a distance, verifying their identity and business either by audio or video for extra assurance of their identity.

Care homes also keep sensitive information on file of residents, information which needs to be protected. They may also have expensive equipment, shopping supplies or valuables kept away for which access needs limiting too. Using biometric devices such as fingerprint readers, swipe cards, keypads or smart cards you can make these areas accessible only to your staff.

Gateway Automation provides a range of products to help businesses and individuals secure their sites. We also provide nationwide servicing and repairs to gates, barriers and other perimeter security equipment. To find out more please call us on 01522 682255.

Why we recommend intercom systems to businesses

clip_image002Intercom security is one of our top recommendations for businesses with lots of visitors who are looking to secure their premises and limit entry to authorised persons only.

We hear cases every day of criminals gaining access to buildings unchallenged. If an unauthorised person takes advantage of your open door policy, or even just happens to go unnoticed by your front of house, then they could quite easily cause trouble.

Unwanted visitors could steal from your property, commit acts of vandalism or even intimidate and attack your employees or guests. Installing intercom systems gives you and your employee’s peace of mind that your building is secure, allowing you to go about your normal working day without the fear of intrusion.

Not only do intercom systems help to protect your property from opportunistic criminals and unwanted visitors but they also help you to communicate at long distances. This means that you can grant access and open doors or gates without having to travel all the way there to physically do it. This can even help you to save money by removing the need for a front of house reception.

Intercom systems have another valuable benefit in that they cut down on the number of keys that need to be distributed to employees. When an employee misplaces a pair of keys, or leaves your business without returning them, you are left with the costly inconvenience of changing locks and having new keys cut.

With intercom systems employees can gain access either by speaking through an audio intercom and you recognising their voice, or through video for visual verification.

Click here for more information on our range of intercom systems and start taking steps to improve your business security today. Gateway Automation can provide free, no obligation quotes and feasibility surveys for your premises to assess your security requirements, contact us here.