Alarm and Detection Systems Advertisement Feature
Finding Safer Solutions
Edgware Community Hospital is a semi-secure mental health facility. Previous
fire detection systems had been surface-mounted, and the hospital was eager
to find a safer solution.
THE AVON Ward within the Dennis
Scott Unit at Edgware Community
Hospital is a semi-secure mental health
facility. The hospital, originally called
Redhill Hospital, was built in the 1920s
on 20 acres of land at Burnt Oak to
comprise 175 beds. Extensive
developments were made in 1936,
including the addition of a 329-bed
medical unit and the hospital became
part of the National Health Service in
1948. Its name was changed to Edgware
Community Hospital and it now forms
part of Barnet Health Authority. As part
of its ongoing maintenance programme,
the hospital appointed Aylesbury Fire to
review the fire detection system in its
Quiet Rooms.
The Challenge
Quiet Rooms on the ward cannot
contain any safety hazards, which means
they must be completely free from
objects that might be used to harm the
rooms’ occupants or members of staff.
Previous fire detection systems had been
surface-mounted and the hospital was
eager to find a safer solution. The ward
is open and operational 24 hours a day,
creating installation challenges to keep
engineers safe while minimising
disruption and distress to patients.
• Hazard free fire detection
• Minimal disruption
The Solution
Aylesbury Fire was appointed as installer
on the project. With extensive experience
working alongside the NHS to provide
fire safety solutions at sites throughout
the UK, they chose Apollo’s Soteria
Dimension Specialist Optical Detector to
maximise fire safety and security at the
hospital. With its innovative anti-ligature
design, the detector can be
mounted flush to the ceiling with
no exposed edges or wiring and
the face plate secured by anti-vandal
screws.
Soteria Dimension works with
unique chamberless fire detection
technology. An infra-red LED emits
light outside the detector, which is then
scattered by smoke back towards the
detector and registered by a photodiode.
This ‘virtual chamber’ eliminates dust
and insect ingress, minimising false
alarms and ensuring that cleaning is
quick and simple with less disruption to
patients on the ward.
Aylesbury Fire worked for eight
weeks to install ten Dimension Specialist
Optical Detectors throughout the Avon
Ward. Engineers worked in teams of two
to complete the work quickly and
efficiently with minimal impact on
patients and staff.
Synchro control panels from Kentec
were already in operation throughout
Edgware Community Hospital. To
ensure the existing system could
communicate with the new Dimension
detectors, a Taktis panel from Kentec
was also installed enabling seamless
interaction across the same network.
“Due to the nature of the product, a lot
of forethought is required prior to
installation to ascertain the correct
location, as failure to do so may result
in issues. Apollo’s involvement
throughout the duration of the
project was faultless and the end
result was exactly what the client
required. Because of its anti-vandal
and anti-ligature design,
Dimension has a multitude of
unique benefits for sectors like
healthcare and we will continue
recommending and using it wherever
possible.” •
Richard Lipscombe Sales Director,
Aylesbury Fire
Apollo’s involvement throughout
the duration of the project was
faultless and the end result was
exactly what the client required
E: solutions@apollo-fire.com
T: +44 (0)23 9249 2412
W: www.apollo-fire.co.uk
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