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A psychiatric hospital in the Netherlands is showcasing a staff safety device which allows workers’ movements to be pinpointed in the event of an attack.
The Deploy Ekahau Wi-Fi device is permanently worn by hospital staff while at work. If they find themselves in a position where by their personal safety is at risk they can trigger the panic button.
Once notified of an alarm, the security staff can determine the employee’s exact location and react to the situation.
Ekahau’s tags are unique in that they also feature two-way communications, enabling employees to acknowledge that their emergency call was received.
Staff at the GGZ-NML unit in Venray, are trialling the system over the coming months.
“With unpredictable psychiatric patients under our care, our staff often find themselves in a position where their personal safety can be compromised,” said Erik Stijnen, project manager for ICT at GGZ-NML.
“As we were renovating our facility, we realised that we needed a safety application that could easily integrate with our new wireless IP infrastructure. We tested several real-time location tracking applications, but only Ekahau met our demands for accuracy and rapid positioning.”
Ekahau RTLS does not interfere with existing Wi-Fi connectivity, including voice telephony, data, messaging and wireless care applications that the hospital uses.
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