Comelit VIP Securing Sheffield Children’s Hospital

6 Sep 2017

children’s hospital is benefitting from enhanced new levels of security thanks to the installation of an IP video entry system from Comelit. The ViP system at Sheffield Children’s hospital has been integrated with the hospital’s existing unified Cisco infrastructure network.

As part of a £40 million redevelopment, the advanced Comelit video entry and access control system has been installed in a new section of the hospital, which is home to a new outpatients’ department and three wards, featuring more single rooms with en-suite facilities for parents staying with their children. The new building also includes priority car parking, a main reception area, an iconic play tower and an inner courtyard play area.

The entrances to the wards have been equipped with ViP Ikall and ViP vandal-resistant video entry panels, which allow staff to control the access of visitors. The entry panels transmit calls to ten Icona monitors at nurses’ stations, where staff can communicate with visitors and allow or deny access. If the nurses’ station is not staffed, the call is automatically routed to the paging system to alert staff.

The Ikall panels enable audio and video communication with visitors via a built-in colour camera and a two-way speaker. Sporting clean, attractive lines the panels have LED backlighting and screen characters, offering optimum visibility for users and featuring touch-sensitive keypads. The panels can also be set up to include options such as numerical pushbuttons, digital name directory and proximity RF readers as part of a bespoke configuration to suit the needs of the installation.

The Icona monitors have a 4.3-inch colour screen and are equipped with sensitive touch technology, a hands-free function, audio ringtone (which can be selected from a range of polyphonic ringtones) and colour/contrast adjustment. The full duplex audio monitor is fitted with an SD card slot.

Two Comelit help points – which connect to the new building’s reception area – have also been installed on the network to help visitors and others with general queries or calls for assistance. One is situated in the internal staircase, the other at the internal car park.

Nick Stevens, Comelit’s Business Development Manager, Northeast said: “The most striking aspect of this installation is that it resides on the hospital’s existing unified network, rather than having the inconvenience of installing dedicated cabling. The hospital’s IT department was very positive about having our equipment on its network and the installation shows that our IP equipment is suitable for integration with enterprise level networks.”

Having an IP-based system enhances the performance of video intercoms and is versatile and easy to install. It can be integrated with existing networks or installed using dedicated cabling. The system can accommodate multiple users (in theory, an unlimited number) with simultaneous audio and video conversations. There are no distance limitations and the Comelit ViP system allows for remote connection and diagnostics.