What are the Different Types of Nurse Call Systems?

When looking to optimise your facilities as a healthcare provider, be it for a care home, hospital, or any other kind of health organisation, one of the best ways you can achieve this is by finding the right nurse call system solution. But what are the different types of nurse call systems available to you; what are the key points that set them apart from one another, and which ones operate the best for different healthcare scenarios? This blog article will outline all of these answers and more, allowing you to make an informed decision on which nurse call system would work best for your needs.

What is a Nurse Call System?

At Courtney Thorne, we specialise in the manufacture and installation of a wide variety of different types of nurse call systems – but the fundamental design and purpose across them all remains the same. A nurse call system is a device that is installed within a healthcare environment, that allows for the patient to communicate with their nurses, and alert them of their immediate needs. Nurse call systems are an important part of the care process, being one of the easiest and most efficient ways for patients to get the attention of their nurses.

The Different Types of Nurse Call Systems

Although the purpose behind all designs of these systems remains the same, there are lots of different types of nurse call system options out there for all forms of healthcare environments. Broadly speaking, in form and function, they can be split into three distinct categories: wired nurse call systems, wireless nurse call systems, and hybrid nurse call systems.

Wired Nurse Call Systems

A wired nurse call system is generally regarded as the earliest style of the system, and is often considered to be the traditional call bell solution for patients and nurses in places like hospitals and care homes. As the name of the product suggests, the wired nurse call system is one with a nurse call button, receiver and central control panel (usually above the patient’s bed) that is wired to a station for nurses, forming a two-way intercom between the nurse and the patient.

Wired nurse call systems utilise classic, dependable technology that is well-known and trusted across the healthcare sector, and one advantage that these types of systems have over others, is that the cost of installing the hardware can be a little cheaper; due to the lack of a need to install a built in radio module to make the product function.

However, with wired systems comes a rigidity that isn’t present with a wireless solution. Cable termination points are fixed, meaning where you can install them is more limited, and moving said points can be a lengthy and costly process. With more wires also comes the possibility of a higher risk of damage – and with a single point of failure, the whole system may need to be shut down to address this.

Wireless Nurse Call Systems

By contrast, a wireless nurse call system is exactly that – a completely cordless and wireless solution, wherein the nurse call button and control panel functions the same, but the system is instead connected to a range of different wireless receivers and wearables (commonly a wrist wearable or pendant), allowing nurses to respond quickly and efficiently when called upon.

A wireless nurse call system can be seen as a more modern solution, with a variety of advantages over its wired counterparts. For one, the installation time of a wireless nurse call system is much quicker; requiring no wiring, the entire process can take as little as a few minutes, rather than days. A wireless solution is also more flexible and convenient, as you’re not limited by cable terminal locations, and you can also go without the need to vacate rooms and wards in order to safely install the product.

With this in mind however, one potential drawback of opting for a fully-wireless nurse call system, is the reliance on things like batteries (which usually need to be changed or update at least every two years), and also the probability of the overall cost of the hardware being higher, when compared to other solutions.

Hybrid Nurse Call Systems

Hybrid nurse call systems will be the final category of nurse call system we’ll be discussing here. A hybrid nurse call system is, as the name suggests, a solution that is capable of incorporating elements of both a wired and a wireless nurse call system, making it a product that’s adaptable to almost any healthcare environment or scenario.

In our Connect Health nurse call system for hospitals, for example, call data can be transmitted using both wireless radio or cabled ethernet communication paths – depending on what your healthcare environment calls for. This flexibility in design and application makes hybrid nurse call systems, like our Connect Health product, perfect for hospital wards that may need to change overtime. This is because the modular nature of the system allows it to be reconfigured with ease, and adapt to any changes in layout and facility that a hospital ward might go through. In the image below, you can get a good idea as to what our Connect Health systems, and each of their component pieces, look like:

What is the Right Nurse Call System for your Organisation?

With the pros and cons of all the different types of nurse call systems considered, you might be left with the question: what is the right nurse call system for me? At Courtney Thorne, we lean heavily on wireless solutions being the way to go. This is due to a range of factors that we have already discussed, from the cost of installation being considerably lower, to the time and resources needed to complete an installation of a wireless system being much kinder.

We see wireless nurse call systems as being the present and future of the nurse call industry, and the vast majority of our solutions utilise wireless, industry-trusted technology for this reason. In our blog article Wireless vs Wired Nurse Call Systems, we conducted an even more thorough examination of the two, and came to the conclusion that there was a demonstrable cost-benefit of 40% for hospitals when using a Courtney Thorne wireless nurse call system, as opposed to a wired one.

Ultimately, though, the right nurse call system solution for you will depend entirely on what your healthcare organisation requires. If you are interested in implementing a nurse call system in your care home or hospital, then make sure to get in touch with us at Courtney Thorne, and our team of experts and engineers can talk you through everything, and help you come to the right decision – or you can visit our Support hub, to find a wealth of different user guides, how-to videos and further contact information, to help you understand the basics of a nurse call system.

Written by

Barry Vacher

Date

05.03.24