Three years after its original decision to single-source video monitoring products from Hanwha Techwin (previously known as Samsung Techwin) the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is now using the latest Wisenet camera and recording.
Over 380 Wisenet X H.265 network cameras have recently been fitted at nine mental health units around the Trust estate. Large numbers of earlier generation Wisenet cameras were installed at 19 other units during previous phases of the project.
Mark Milliard, Capital Projects Manager at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the price of the Wisenet X cameras is lower than the older models which they supersede and yet they deliver superior performance and enhanced feature sets. It was an easy decision therefore to deploy various Wisenet X models throughout the 9 mental health units.”
The NHS Foundation Trust needs to be able to constantly and unobtrusively monitor patients. The Trust, which provides care for over 40,000 people with mental health problems, offers a range of specialist services. Although some of the units are secure, most allow the free movement of patients.
Milliard said: “We are committed to the Safewards’ initiative, whose key aim is to reduce the rates of conflict within in-patient mental health settings. We believe that the use of smart technology, such as IP network based video monitoring systems, can play a large role in helping us achieve this objective.”
Mark, who has worked within NHS Estates since 1986, has over recent years overseen the migration of the Trust’s analogue CCTV to IP network based systems. He said: “The analogue systems which were installed a number of years ago became increasingly unreliable and we made the decision to upgrade them with IP network based systems. A key advantage of being able to transmit images over the network is that it provides the flexibility for any authorised user to view live or recorded video captured by any of the cameras from their PCs. We realised that this would provide us with much more flexibility in terms of how we monitor activity at the mental health units, compared to the analogue CCTV systems which could only transmit captured images to a central location.
“It made sense to source the cameras from just one manufacturer and from an ongoing maintenance point of view, to deploy the minimum possible number of different camera models. I decided to carry out my own research as to which manufacturer had a product portfolio which could best cover all our requirements, as well as offering us the value we were looking for. Part of the value formulae had to include a rock solid reputation for reliability, as well as cameras with advanced technical features which would allow us to capture and monitor high definition images, regardless of the location or environmental conditions.”
Mark’s evaluation of a large number of manufacturers resulted in a shortlist of two; Hanwha Techwin emerged as the winner. “Both companies were able to show evidence as to the reliability of their cameras. However, I was particularly impressed with the quality of the images which could be captured by the Wisenet cameras and the fact that each camera, depending on its location, could be configured to multi-stream images at different frame rates and at different resolutions. This offers a significant benefit from a network bandwidth management point of view.”
Most of the cameras installed at the nine units are Wisenet XNV-6080R two megapixel vandal-resistant network domes which have built-in IR illumination and utilise H.265 compression to minimise bandwidth and video storage. With 150dB Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) and a motorised varifocal F0.94 low light lens, Wisenet X cameras such as the XNV-6080R, have what the makers call the most powerful DSP chipset ever in a full camera range.
The processing power of the Wisenet X chipset also provides the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust with the option to run multiple on-board third-party analytics applications. Also among the X cameras recently installed are a number of XNP-6370R two megapixel 37x network IR PTZ domes which allow operators to zoom in to observe detail of any activity. A number of XNF-8010R 4 megapixel 360 degree fisheye and Wisenet PNM-9020V 7.3 megapixel 180 degree panoramic cameras have been installed, to reduce the number of cameras otherwise needed to monitor wide open areas within the units.
Images from all the recently installed cameras are being recorded onto XRN-1610S Network Video Recorders (NVRs). With 4HDDs, the XRN-1610S offers a storage capacity of up to 24TB, with more storage possible via e-SATA. It also supports WiseStream, a complementary compression which controls encoding, balancing quality and compression according to movement in the image.
Mark Milliard added: “There is nothing wrong with the earlier generation of Wisenet cameras which we currently continue to use at most of the mental health units, but there is no doubt that the Wisenet X models are making it even easier for us to maintain a relaxed and secure working environment for our colleagues whilst keeping our patients safe. Over the coming months we will continue our programme of updating the systems at other mental health units and in this respect, we have decided to continue to single source the cameras and recording devices from Hanwha Techwin.”
