Providing security whilst maintaining a sense of freedom

Peterhouse is a retirement home situated in Bexhill-on-Sea. Set in beautiful surroundings, this is a comprehensive retirement facility which provides its residents with independent living in a lively and friendly community, and is owned and managed by NABS. NABS is a registered charity, providing advice, emotional support and financial assistance to anyone working in the marketing communications sector.

Care homes and retirement homes present particular challenges when it comes to controlling access to the buildings. Older people are vulnerable to walk-in theft and bogus trades people, and the layout of premises often presents plenty of opportunities for unauthorized access.

As well as keeping out undesirable callers, an access control system must allow residents and staff free movement in and out, and must be able to incorporate a system for welcoming and screening bona fide visitors. Finally, the system must prove easy and convenient to use by older people, who may not have the agility to easily operate keys or numerical keypads.

Kent and Sussex Security (KSS) were approached by Peterhouse to install an access control system in both their sheltered housing accommodation as well as their East Wing - a Registered Care Home, which offers residential nursing and social care to its residents.

The solution in the case of Peterhouse is a networked proximity access control system made by Paxton Access and installed by Kent & Sussex Security. Rather than relying on keys or keypads, the system uses a proximity fob, which may be carried on a keyring or even worn on a necklace. The device simply has to be placed close to a reader outside a door, for the lock to release.

As it is an intelligent, networked system, controlled by a PC in an office, each door and each user of the system, may be assigned an appropriate profile so, for instance, a main entrance door may permit free access during the day when reception staff are on duty, but then automatically revert to controlled access outside those hours. Or a contract cleaner may be granted access in the early morning, but at no other time.

As the system is centrally controlled by a single computer, every event, by door and by person, is logged on the system and may be studied subsequently, including events like an unauthorised user attempting to gain access. Having an audit trail available to management can form an important part of demonstrating a duty of care.

Comments Lesley Crisford at Peterhouse “This installation by Kent and Sussex Security has worked extremely well. It is both easy to use and monitor, providing staff and residents with peace of mind, without the need for more obvious and onerous security systems.”