NHS walk-in centre guarded

Security and safety of staff and users have been given top priority at Knowle West Health Park where Avon Health Authority has developed the concept of providing many different health, social services and community facilities on one site. While such a culture poses significant challenges in giving ease of access to the community, security measures were budgeted for and planned in from the outset of the project. A walk-in NHS centre comprises one of the buildings where CCTV, intruder and panic alarms have been integrated into one control point to give confidence to both staff and users that the site is as secure as possible.

The four-year phased project has been constructed on a 10 acre site in an area of Bristol and houses a variety of medical and social services, as well as community facilities such as a bike track and allotments, all set in landscaped gardens. BWS Security Systems won the deal to install the security systems and worked with the health authority and property consultants BJP over several months.

The whole site was already covered by BWS CCTV cameras, for which the company provided a new control system, added new cameras as well as intruder and panic alarms. Also installed were pan, tilt and zoom cameras for the £2million William Budd Health Centre and the caretaker's house.

The Walk-In centre comprises a completely new CCTV (camera, monitor, multiplexer and VCR) system as well as an intruder alarm linked to Bristol City Council's central station. Each room in the centre is equipped with a staff panic alarm, also linked to the central station.