How Care Homes Make Ethical Use Of Security Systems?

09 Jun How Care Homes Make Ethical Use Of Security Systems?

The security and surveillance industry comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Just like every coin has two sides, the applications of security and surveillance systems have too. With the increasing development of elderly care homes, the cases of elderly abuse by the employees and mainly the staff have also risen substantially. Although with the tightened security parameters and the allotment of individual supervisors to each one of the patients should curb the case of such abuse, but time and again we are being met with the cases similar to the likes of such.

Thus, the intervention of the security and the surveillance systems has become all the more prominent for the senior care facilities to pay heed to. But this intervention has given substantial rise to the other concerns pertaining to the same, which we will discuss in this blog.

Going by the statistics according to a study done by the researchers at University College London (UCL) and the Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust,

• Approximately 99% of care homes across the England witness elderly abuse.
• As per the survey of the 1,544 care staff, there are nearly 91 out of 92 care homes where one or the other forms of neglect can be detected, like acute avoidance in reference to the care and insufficient time to eat and drink.
• There were nearly 5% cases of verbal abuse and just 1% cases of psychical abuse.

These statistics were taken back in March 2018, and we are sure that these statistics now would have taken a huge leap if we will do the research again.  Also, they have come as an eye opener for how much elderly care homes need the assistance of these CCTV cameras in and around their facility.

Though CCTV cameras pave a new way for the care homes and facilities to safeguard the individuality of the senior citizens in and around the UK, they might give rise to some concerns that you must be fully aware of if you would like to fully exploit the merits of this industry.

These concerns are both legal and ethical and should be within the boundaries of the acceptance that the elderlies grant the care facilities with.

2 Key Issues That the Care Homes Need to Address before Installing CCTV cameras

Privacy: CCTV camera installation around the perimeters, in corridors, in meeting areas, and communal rooms is considerable and widely accepted, but to have them inside the rooms of the senior citizens is a different ball game altogether. Since time and again objections have been made by the residents and the families in regards to the installation of the CCTV cameras inside the rooms since it’s a direct breach of privacy which is a criminal law under the state and federal legislation and common law.

This takes us to our next step,

Consent: A vital point to keep in mind by the professionals at the care home facilities if they would like to keep their residents safe without hindering their privacy. It is important for the care facilities to have a written content of the residents and the families, granting you the permission to record the private activities of the residents and for the CCTV installations in their private rooms that completely sidetracks the installation of any kind hidden or sky cameras.

Sure Secure has in store a wide range of Security and Surveillance Cameras for the senior care facilities to ascertain the safety and protection of the residents under their supervision. Explore the website and see the catalog section for the complete range.