Courtney Thorne are the industry leader in providing wireless nurse call systems for care homes. They have been supporting the care and nursing home sector since 1968 with creative, robust products and outstanding nurse call services.

With a thorough understanding of how care homes operate in both public and private sectors, and appreciation for the very unique set of needs and challenges they face every day. That’s why Courtney Thorne’s tailored nurse call systems for care homes and incorporated cloud reporting data tools work harder than any other solution available. Courtney Thorne’s nurse call systems for care homes will help you to manage a safe, efficient care environment where everyone in your residential facility, from your staff to your residents, has peace of mind.

Having a functional nurse call system, whether you are a hospital, care home, or any other more specialised form of healthcare organisation, is a non-negotiable of providing a competent care service. While all of these types of facility share one thing in common (providing quality healthcare), every single type of healthcare organisation will have its own expectations of what a nurse call solution will provide, as well as different core requirements of the system itself.

This is where the mistakes come in; if you don’t fully understand what a nurse call system is capable of, what your own facility needs out of said system, and how this system will meet the unique demands of your facility, it is quite likely you will run into some issues. From not considering the size and scope of your own organisation, to misjudging staff and patient expectations, this article will explore five of the most common mistakes people often run into when buying a nurse call system.

When shopping for the right nurse call system for your facility, there are several key factors that you must consider to make the right choice. A nurse call system, no matter the style or design, should at its core provide these basic tenets:

1. General reliability: Any nurse call system of repute needs to have a general, high standard of reliability. With patients and staff alike relying on these systems to communicate, dependable performance needs to be guaranteed during emergencies and the busiest of periods.
2. Ease of use: A nurse call system with lots of complex and detailed features is only as useful as the staff utilising them. A good nurse call system should be intuitive and easy to use for all staff, with simple interfaces and training requirements.
3. Scalability: Healthcare organisations, in tandem with the healthcare industry, are constantly evolving to incorporate newer technologies, practices, and approaches. A nurse call system needs to be able to grow and scale with the changing environment of your facility without getting in the way.
4. Integration: In the modern age of medicine, all healthcare tools and technologies should realistically provide the option for integration with things like smartphones, tablets, and other care systems where possible.
5. Support and maintenance: Even the best nurse call systems run into issues occasionally, so finding a supplier that includes ongoing technical support, assistance, and availability of local engineers is key.
6. Regulatory compliance: Considering the number of regulations and standards that need adherence to in the healthcare industry, having a system that meets all of these best practices and standards while supporting inspections.

These are just some of the core factors that should be considered when purchasing a new nurse call system for your healthcare facility. Some of the most common mistakes when making this purchase occur when misjudging the value and need associated with all of the above.

Another common mistake made when looking for a nurse call system is in only considering the current needs of the organisation in the present, while neglecting to think about future growth opportunities. As already alluded to, the healthcare industry is one of the most commonly expanding and evolving ones you could work in. Regulations, best practices, and technologies are always adapting and changing as more is learned; this means that your organisation’s healthcare environment needs to be just as adaptable and scalable.

Some nurse call systems, like our own here at Courtney Thorne, are designed specifically with scalability in mind. Our solutions for hospitals and care homes are built with wireless and hybrid technology, allowing our partners to quickly update their layouts and care services to adapt to new technologies and approaches. However, many systems are not built with this concept in mind, and are incredibly difficult and time-consuming to update or rearrange within what can often be incredibly busy hospital wards or care facilities.

Buyers of these systems should instead ensure that they review all service-level agreements and better understand all warranty and maintenance options available to them. In turn, all buyers should self-assess their own healthcare services and environments, and decide whether future expansion and upscaling are a likely outcome within the coming years. If they are, then a more scalable nurse call solution is a must.

Another common mistake made by buyers when looking for the right nurse call system is focusing too much on the product itself and what it offers, and not evaluating the suppliers themselves and what they can offer as a partner. These considerations are usually made post purchase and installation, and any lacking support features are discovered when it’s already too late.

Common examples of some of the risks associated with this factor all revolve around the lacking service provided by the supplier of the system in question, ranging from slow response times when issues with the system pop up, a greater amount of difficulty in obtaining replacement parts, lacking availability from the support team (or no support team at all), and few options for ongoing training in the features of the nurse call system. Finding a supplier that goes beyond simply providing the system, and will actually assist you when issues arise, is just as important as the system itself functioning well.

To avoid these issues, you as the buyer should check all information available about the suppliers themselves and what they offer.