Nightingale Hammerson
Case Study
Nightingale Hammerson
London
Delivering the highest standards of care with a nurse call system
Nightingale Hammerson is an independent charity which has been serving the community for over 170 years, offering a range of services tailored to meet the needs of each of its residents. The charity runs two care homes – Nightingale House in south-west London and Hammerson House in north-west London – and is one of the Jewish community’s leading providers of care for older people.
Nightingale House prides itself on being a first-class care home with exceptional facilities for some 200 residents. Significant investment in the development of the Wohl wing of the home to create a state-of-the-art, 40-bed specialist dementia unit was very successful in providing a more comforting and practical environment for residents living with dementia. A decision was made to mothball the Kingsley unit in the oldest part of the home where the accommodation was no longer adequate for the home’s frailest residents and to create another specialist dementia facility on the Ronson floor in line with the standard of the Wohl unit.
Ray Taylor, Head of Property Services at Nightingale Hammerson, explained: “It became clear after the success of the Wohl unit this was the standard required across the home. There is obviously an ever-increasing need to ensure our facilities are geared towards residents living with dementia and this meant another programme of significant, but worthwhile change.”
The Nightingale Hammerson team settled on a specialist 28-bed unit and refurbished the Ronson unit. A main contractor was appointed to manage the project, though Ray and the Director of Care Services at Nightingale Hammerson, Simon Pedzisi, personally set about reviewing the nurse call system requirements for the new unit. Courtney Thorne was recommended and was one of three companies initially approached.
"Delivering the highest standards of care is the number one priority for Nightingale Hammerson. The Courtney Thorne nurse call system is easy to operate for staff and patients alike and adds value to the management team with up-to-date and easy-to-access data. This data ensures we have accurate information about response rates, helping us reassure relatives about the standard of care provided to their loved ones." Simon Pedzisi, Director of Care Services
Seeing the technology in action gave us confidence in the solution
Although particularly impressed with the features of the Courtney Thorne system, the Nightingale Hammerson team had concerns about the reliability of the wireless technology compared to its existing hardwired system. To allay these concerns, Courtney Thorne’s National Sales Manager arranged for Ray and Simon to visit a local home where the system was being used and this played a key part in their final decision.
Ray continued: “Visiting the reference site to see the technology in action and speaking to our counterparts gave us the confidence we needed. It was clear from the visit that what we thought were potential weak points of the wireless system just weren’t the reality. We could see the faith the team there had in the nurse call system and the impressive capabilities of the reporting function, which was exactly what we were looking for.”
Courtney Thorne was appointed as supplier of the nurse call system and engaged with the main contractor at an early point in the planning process resulting in a smooth installation with no issues. The new 28-bed specialist Ronson unit was completed with all the latest features to support the creation of a dementia-friendly environment with bespoke furniture, colours, floor coverings and larger beds and baths.
The Courtney Thorne system also has many additional features so it can be set up specifically to care for residents living with dementia, including bed, floor and door sensors that track resident movement.
Simon is delighted with how the system helps Nightingale Hammerson to provide the highest standards of care for its residents.
