How ‘Mission: Impossible’ safeguards dementia OAPs
HIGH-TECH lasers are usually the stuff of movies – think of Tom Cruise negotiating the protected CIA ceiling vent in Mission: Impossible.
But now the Scottish NHS has harnessed the cutting-edge technology to help protect vulnerable hospital patients.
The laser, beamed from a small box under a bed, set on a bedside table or outside a door, is broken when they move. That sends a signal to a panel which alerts nurses and tells them which patient triggered an alarm. Staff then rush to reach the patient before they fall.
The technology is being used alongside more traditional fall-prevention measures.
NHS Lothian hope it will save money on extra treatment and time spent in hospital. The kit has been installed in eight wards at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, costing around £3,500 per ward.
The laser beam has a reach of eight to ten feet and 120 degrees wide. If staff do not respond within 30 seconds, the alarm beep gets louder.
Senior charge nurse Carol Paterson said: ‘We use these monitors more for patients who maybe have cognitive problems and aren’t aware of their own safety. For the patient, it’s beneficial because they’re not really aware the call sensors are there.
‘From a staff point of view it really does help because we’re in a single-room environment – when the doors are shut it’s hard to know what’s going on.
‘It doesn’t replace one-to-one care, we assess each patient individually and look at what’s the best thing for them.’