Evolving demands see major advances

Kerry Morris, marketing manager at Medicare Systems, considers how nurse call systems have evolved since their early days to address changing patient and staff needs, and sets out some pointers, from the company’s own standpoint, on what to look for when specifying such a system today.

Call systems have been an integral part of the hospital ward since the Victorian era. In order to understand the evolution of the nurse call system, we first need to look at its roots, and to understand the growth and development within the healthcare sector. When asked what he feels have been the biggest changes over the past 30 years of supplying call systems, Medicare Systems’ MD, Derek Timoney, said: “The information required these days is far more than just an acknowledgement that the patient in Bed 3 has pushed the call button. The growth in technology, and the needs of both nursing staff and patients, have seen massive changes in the way call systems operate. We have seen systems with just audible or visual identification evolve into ones with numerous functions – including emergency call, cardiac alert, and real-time data records, and wireless systems being installed in hours, rather than days, all working efficiently in the busy environment of today’s hospitals. Ever more sophisticated technology is increasingly being called upon to meet ever higher expectations, as well as patient and staff needs.” 

The journey’s beginning