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cctv
Call for care homes to consider how
they protect residents & staff
As a recent BBC Panorama exposes yet another care home scandal, security
specialist Gary Trotter urges Care minister Norman Lamb and management
of the other 20,000 care and nursing homes across the UK to think about
how they are protecting their residents to avoid future incidents.
Care home group HC-One,
which provides for elderly
people, is planning to offer
CCTV cameras in residents’
rooms to help stop abuse,
neglect and theft by staff,
after secret filming resulted
in seven members of staff
being dismissed, and two
were convicted of assault.
Gary Trotter, general
manager at Hadrian
Technology, a north-east
based company which offers
CCTV security solutions,
believes that CCTV could help
put a stop to the re-occurring
wrongdoings which are
exposed in care homes each
year, along with the moral
implications that institutions
would have to recognise if they
were to install surveillance in
a care home environment.
‘anyone with an
elderly or sick
relative would be
devastated to find out
their loved one was
being mistreated’
Gary said: “Anyone with an
elderly or sick relative would
be devastated to find out
their loved one was being
mistreated, when they have
trusted an organisation that is
expected to provide care.
“Introducing CCTV should
be a carefully considered
decision, as obviously having a
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THE SEP/OCT 2014 ISSUE
SPONSORED BY ADVANCED KEYS
survey of 2,000 adults carried
out for the company earlier
this month, 36% strongly
supported the installation of
visible cameras in care homes
and a further 44% somewhat
supported it. Only 14% said
they opposed the idea.
camera installed that observes
an elderly or sick relative is
a sensitive topic for anyone.
The idea of using CCTV in
care settings was floated last
autumn by the Care Quality
Commission, the sector
regulator, but understandably,
the commission retains
serious reservations about the
filming of care procedures.
With the innovations in
technology that have been
created over the last decade,
however, you would think we
could come up with a solution
that will stop misdemeanours
occurring in places of
care where residents are
particularly vulnerable.
“CCTV is now at a stage
where it could be considered
as a helpful tool, bespoke
systems can be designed so
they are both inexpensive and
easy to run. There are also
ways that you can run CCTV
so footage may never be seen,
unless a cause for concern
is raised and footage from a
specific, time, date, or location
needs to be checked.
“If CCTV is used correctly,
which would be of the utmost
importance in this case, and
those who have access to it are
properly vetted and trained,
care home employees who
act professionally will also be
protected if they are made to
feel vulnerable or threatened
by a resident.”
Care minister Norman Lamb
said that while CCTV cameras
raised important issues of
privacy in care homes, “there
are occasions when it may be
appropriate for their use to be
considered.”
‘The key is figuring
out how it would
be policed.’
The public opinion survey
that HC-One has carried out
shows 80% support the move
towards an opt-in CCTV
scheme, and in a Comres
‘36% strongly
supported the
installation of visible
cameras in care
homes and a further
44% somewhat
supported it. Only
14% said they
opposed the idea.
Gary continued: “I believe
if used correctly, CCTV could
help prevent abuse in care
homes, as well as provide
evidence for care homes when
there is an incident between a
resident and carer, as long as
it’s consensual and the key to
it working is figuring out how
it would be policed. That is
why I urge the care minister
Norman Lamb to consider
what legislation is in place to
protect the sick and elderly in
these institutions, and I ask
the management teams that
represent the homes - of which
there are more than 20,000
- across this country to keep
thinking about what they do to
protect both their clients and
employees.”
To read more, visit www.locksmithjournal.co.uk