We recently caught up with Mark Johnson from Edison Telecom, one of Intercall’s partners, to hear about Edison’s experience of supporting and installing Intercall call systems into Mental Health facilities across the UK.
The number of people seeking treatment for mental health related illness is growing at a rapid rate. The British Medical Association reports that that the number has risen from 23.1% in 2000 to 47.7% in 2024/24. With only 18,000 beds in NHS England, and 8% of the current NHS spend allocated to Mental Healthcare, there is what many in the sector have referred to as “an under-reported crisis”.
Established in 1984, Edison Telecom supply and install nurse call and staff safety systems to the health care sector, including NHS Trusts, Care Homes, Secure Environments and Mental Health units. Mark, and the Edison team, work with clients to help understand their requirements and to specify the best system for their needs. Edison has partnered with Intercall for over 20 years and can frequently be found supplying and installing Intercall’s Guardian system into UK-based Mental Health units.
Why Guardian?
Discussing the challenges his clients are facing in offering day-to-day cost-effective, accountable care, Mark told us, “Guardian is perfect for all size of facilities, but particularly for larger units, which may be made up of multiple wards. In our experience, Guardian has the best behind-the-scenes technology of any system on the market, making customisation, integration and on-going support easy and efficient”. He went on to say, “With Guardian, everyone is treated as an individual with a person-centred approach. What’s more, it’s so simple to use. The Personal Activation Device (PAD) has both a rip cord and a button offering two levels of alert, while the system can trace staff movement throughout the building, reporting the exact location and identity of the caller, helping keep staff safe in increasingly challenging environments. The Guardian system’s superior data logging system is popular with both staff and managers, for whom it can offer valuable insight and accountability in post-incident analysis. While the Guardian PADs are very cost-effective, making lost or misplaced devices easy to replace without causing a financial headache to the management team”.
Speaking about the Mental Health teams that Edison support, Mark said, “Patient safety and staff security remain at the heart of healthcare environments. We’re proud to deliver reliable modern solutions, such as Intercall Guardian, that offer enhanced communication, rapid staff attack alert capabilities and seamless integration with hospital infrastructures, in the knowledge that we are playing a small part in helping keep staff safe, while supporting patients and families who are often at crisis point. It’s no wonder that Guardian is the first choice for HPBOS areas and Mental Health units across the UK”.
If you’d like to arrange a demo of the Guardian system, or to find out how it can help support your patients and staff, call us on +44 (0)1403 713240.
