Courtney Thorne has developed its HTM08-03-compliant Altra system with the addition of new accessories, a new software architecture and a three-year warranty as standard with all installations.
Designed specifically for hospital environments, the Altra Health range from Courtney Thorne offers Department of Health HTM08-03 bedhead services compliance with all areas of the stringent guidelines.
The system offers unparalleled wireless reliability, utilising the dedicated European 869.2Mhz social alarms frequency to avoid any risk of interference, along with ‘listen before talk’ anti-collision technology and call acknowledgement to underpin call integrity.
Bluetooth and WiFi sensors have now been incorporated into the ground-breaking wireless nurse call to enable full connectivity without using any of the hospital’s administrative bandwidth thanks to a dedicated internal WiFi network. The system can be integrated with hospitals’ DECT telephone systems to enable alerts to be answered by interdisciplinary nursing and clinical teams located across the building and further integration capabilities with Android and iOS devices are currently under development.
Courtney Thorne’s managing director, Graham Vickrage, said: “Our in-house software development team has created an entirely-new architecture for the Altra system that is not available for any other nurse call range.
“The system has been designed to provide complete peace of mind and accountability for NHS Trusts and private hospital operators while offering cost savings of up to 40% when compared to hard-wired systems along with the reassurance of a three-year warranty.”
Wireless installation of the Altra system is fast and simple, with minimum disruption to patients and no noise or dust. The system can be programmed and re-programmed remotely to meet the hospital’s changing needs and all calls are displayed on the ’Altra Touch’ touch screen unit.
The Altra Touch unit also collects call data, response times and call duration information to aid with management and planning of staffing levels and enables detailed reports to be generated for complete accountability and evidencing.
Courtney Thorne has now also introduced the new ‘Altra MiniTouch’ unit to the range, offering a smaller wall-mountable touch-screen display that can be located in communal areas to provide call alerts and location information for staff without requiring them to return to the nurses station to consult the Altra Touch.
A number of innovations have now also been included in the Altra Health range to address issues of wandering and patient falls, providing discreet wireless solutions for dementia, geriatric, paediatric and mental health environments. In addition to traditional call buttons (Altra Call), pull cords (Altra Pull) and bathroom/toilet pull cords (Altra Assist), the range will also include wireless pressure mats and floor sensors along with ‘Altra Guard’ door sensors and an ‘Altra Wear’ pendant that can be worn on patients’ wrists or carried on a lanyard around their neck, giving them access to a call button when they are away from their bed.
The wireless Altra Wear pendant also ensures that staff are automatically alerted in the event of a fall. It combines multiple sensors and a digital microphone to detect a fall and send a location signal to the Altra Touch unit so that help can arrive quickly, even if the patient is unable to raise the alarm.
The system includes the stylish ‘Altra Light’ alternative to a traditional hard-wired lamp system, which can be mounted outside patients’ rooms to provide an at-a-glance indication of calls made.
Vickrage said: “Wireless nurse call systems offer significant benefits over hard-wired alternatives because they are so easy to install, scale up and reconfigure, helping to futureproof the installation.
“The Altra range takes these advantages a step further with an integrated suite of hardware and accessories all integrated with an advanced software architecture that offers robust signal integrity and data capture.”
