Integrated Access Control Systems could help reduce the level of thefts in UK hospitals

Integrated access control systems that only allow authorized personnel to access specific areas could potentially help reduce the rising level of theft across UK hospitals.

UK hospitals are affected by thefts up to 15 times every day but less than 5% of thefts result in criminal cases. The criminals are mostly targeting vulnerable patients for their phones, cash or jewellery but they have also stolen a prosthetic leg, passports and even teddy bears, a news report has been able to suggest.

Two thirds of police forces who replied to a Freedom of Information request revealed there were more than 17,000 instances of theft within a hospital involving £5million worth of property.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "It appears that nothing is being done. When people are in hospital they are often at their most vulnerable and the NHS must do more to prevent theft."

Tensor Integrated Access Control Systems — the perfect integrated security solution for hospitals

Organizations looking to improve their site's security and prevent crime can do so by installing a comprehensive, high-end CCTV surveillance system, fully integrated with a secure and reliable Access Control solution.

Tensor has an extensive experience in both segments (CCTV and Access Control) and we are able to easily offer such an extensive level of functionality for all of our systems.

As they're built around the same cutting-edge technology platform, Tensor.NET, both the WinAC.NET and WinTA.NET suites support an extensive level of CCTV integration.

Video clips retrieved from CCTV cameras are associated with access control activity are available when CCTV is integrated with Tensor.NET.

The cameras are allocated to location entries created in Tensor.NET, which are then linked to smart card scanners or push buttons in the Hardware Manager. Furthermore, multiple cameras can be allocated to the same location, or multiple locations can be assigned to the same camera and lock sensors are connected directly to the CCTV's DVR.

As a lock is released, an alarm event triggers the recording of video footage for the event. This footage is then available for playback in Tensor.NET, either by location or as a link in an access control report. Screen displays are provided to report upon access events, including links to play the related video clip.

Additionally, the application allows either live or historic video to be viewed for periods not linked to any specific Access Control event.

If you'd like to find out more about Tensor's CCTV integration options, as well as the multiple useful features provided by our Time and Attendance and Access Control systems, just contact us or Book a Demo, we'll be sure to answer all of your queries on the matter.