St Peter's Centre, Lancashire

20 Jun 2013

St. Peter’s Primary Health Care Centre is a state of the art facility combining leisure and primary health care services under one roof in the heart of Burnley, Lancashire. It was opened in 2006 at a cost of £29 million, and spans 20,000 square metres over ten floors. The Health Care Centre provides a unique range of health services from one central location and includes three GP practices, community nursing, an onsite pharmacy, occupational therapy, out of hours GP services and a minor surgery unit. It was built with the intention of bringing community services together in one location, making cost savings whilst also driving non emergency services into the community and thus allowing already stretched hospitals to concentrate on emergency and specialist care. The Eric Wright Group, who also constructed the building, oversees the day to day management of the facility, with responsibility for all aspects of maintenance and security.

The Situation

Due to the wide range of services housed at St Peter’s Primary Health Care Centre, and the 24/7 access requirements, a robust but flexible security solution was required to protect patients, visitors and staff, as well as controlling entry to highly sensitive areas and information. Due to the increasingly complex needs of the Centre, the Primary Care Trust Executive and facility managers from Eric Wright Group recognised the need to replace the incumbent security system to better meet evolving requirements and address a number of ongoing security issues. Together they specified a new, fully integrated security system, including access control and intrusion detection solutions. Eric Wright Group selected Black Box Security Alarm Systems Ltd (Black Box) based in Chorley as the installer for this project due in part to their established 25-year working relationship, but also due to the unprecedented knowledge and expertise that Black Box could bring to this sensitive and detailed project. “The main challenge on this project was integrating the new intruder and access control systems, whilst making the installation and maintenance process as smooth as possible,” stated David Barnes of Black Box Security. “The site was an operational facility and we needed to maintain security at all times during the installation, whilst minimising the disruption to the patients and services provided at the Centre.”

The Solution

After a full assessment of the Centre’s complex requirements and with the experience of having successfully delivered a number of other NHS projects with Eric Wright Group, Black Box specified a complete Honeywell integrated security solution. Honeywell’s solution was selected because of the seamless integration of its WIN-PAK® access control software with its Galaxy® Dimension intruder alarm system and the flexibility, expansion options and overall reliability it could provide. “Price isn’t always the driving factor in projects of this nature,” said Dawn Willis, East Lancashire Health Trust Centre Manager. “We needed to provide the Centre with a reliable and trustworthy solution to ensure security could be maintained at the highest standard 24 hours a day whilst also having the capability and flexibility for cost effective expansion in the future.” By integrating WIN-PAK with Galaxy Dimension, Black Box was able to provide a single user interface to create a more robust platform with increased functionality than the previous system. Functions that have traditionally been tied together through physical relays and input devices are now controlled logically, which directly addresses the need for differing levels of access and security across the facility. Full-scale system management of single or multiple areas is possible and resources can be moved, controlled or shared across multiple areas/groups from one system as required. For this project the Honeywell WIN-PAK access control system includes 147 smart card proximity readers. Expandability is the most important feature of many access control systems, and this system is no different. The ability to expand the system is of upmost importance as the usage and requirements of the Centre change and develop.

The Benefits

St. Peter’s Primary Health Care Centre is a hub of activity within the Burnley community, and with over 5,000 people visiting the Centre each week and more than 500 staff, it is imperative that the security of people is well managed and the integrity of information is properly retained. The chosen Honeywell solution provides a robust, accurate and proven security system giving peace of mind to the Primary Care Trust at all times. The reliable integration also delivers other major benefits for the customer. The large number of smart door readers installed across the site provides controlled access to many different areas. Access to non-public areas can be strictly controlled allowing access only to authorised personnel. This also ensures card holders who no longer require access to certain areas, or to the building can have access revoked directly through the WIN-PAK system’s user interface. It also allows the restriction of access to public lifts only allowing visitors access to the appropriate floors. Due to the 24/7 requirements of the Centre, one major benefit of the system is that it allows total shut down of certain areas at predetermined times, allowing the necessary out of hours areas to function normally without compromising the security of the other services in the building. The system is easy to use and manage and allows complete control of people in the building at any given time, allowing real time identification of security breaches and ensuring a safer more secure environment for all. The integrated and flexible nature of the Honeywell products allows for growth and expansion of the system as the Centre’s needs evolve. It allows additional areas of the building to be opened to the public whilst maintaining the appropriate level of security throughout. WIN-PAK also integrates with CCTV systems to allow cost-effective future expansion should additional security be required.

Partner of Choice

Black Box Security

Black Box Security is a fully accredited company for the provision of intruder Alarms, CCTV and Access Control Systems. The company’s NSI Gold approval incorporates BS EN ISO 90001-2000 for the installation and maintenance of security systems, and reflects the high levels of technical expertise and commitment that the Black Box team possesses to protect people, property and their assets. Black Box is also BAFE accredited, BAFE is the not for profit, registration body for Companies who achieve third party certification for their fire protection services. Companies who are registered to BAFE schemes demonstrate a commitment to service excellence. Black Box Security has always been committed to a totally integrated and managed Quality Assurance programme recognising the benefits to both the clients and its employees.www.blackboxsecurity.co.uk/

Eric Wright Group

As a Group, Eric Wright has wide-ranging experience within the industry. This comes from decades spent in commercial construction, with vast experience in design and build, property and facilities management. The Eric Wright Group’s property portfolio is valued at over £80m, with Eric Wright Facilities Management handlings all planned and responsive maintenance including domestic services, catering ,grounds maintenance and site supervision. The Eric Wright Group are the selected partner to the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) for East Lancashire, Wigan, Bolton, Rochdale, Heywood & Middleton and currently has sixteen operational LIFT schemes in the region.

The Products

• 46 x NetAXS 4 door access controllers
• 1 x WIN-PAK SE Access Control system
• 147 x OmniproxTM smart card door readers
• 1 x Galaxy Dimension intruder detection system

For additional information,
Please visit www.honeywell.com/security/uk