02 Apr A case for clear communication in hospitals and care settings: supporting residents, patients, and staff

Despite the ever-growing need for care associated with an ageing population, it is not necessarily easy to attract new clients to care homes. 

Rather than rising with the ageing population, the share of people aged 65+ living in care homes has declined: from 3.2% (2011) to 2.5% (2021) in England and Wales, despite 20% growth in the 65+ population (According to ONS, 2023 and the 2021 Census). This may be due to the increasingly common (and damaging) perception that care homes are a location of last resort for those with the greatest need.

One of the ways care settings can increase appeal is to actively embrace technology, and a hearing loop can revolutionise the way residents interact with each other and your staff.

Hearing loss is a major public health issue

Hearing loss affects a third of over-65-year-olds in the UK. With 93% of residents in nursing homes and 99% in residential homes aged over 65, this is a matter that care homes must address.

It can be especially tricky for those with hearing loss to distinguish speech or other sound sources, even with a hearing aid. In normal mode, a hearing aid amplifies all sounds. In a care home environment, this means increasing the volume of noises such as moving chairs, scraping plates, vacuum cleaners, televisions or radios and others chatting. It can all get overwhelming. 

The result is that residents often remove their hearing aids and then find it incredibly hard to contribute to group activities and talk to staff, with many retiring to their rooms and becoming increasingly isolated.

Hearing loops improve communication by cutting out this background noise and enabling the user to hear the sound source directly. Sounds such as a speaker’s voice or the television become crystal clear.

Ensure your facility meets NICE standards

A hearing loop will not only improve the lives of current residents; it will communicate to potential residents and their families that everyone is welcome.

By installing assistive listening technology at your care home, you are supporting the NICE quality standard (QS50) relating to the mental well-being in care homes and complying with the Accessible Information Standard. The 2018 revision Building Code of Practice also lists communal areas of care homes as a place where hearing loops should be used.

There are hearing loops to suit a variety of situations within your residential home. For example, personal loops are a viable solution for use with televisions. In this case, sound is relayed to the hearing device with no delay via a small loop pad, placed under a seat or via a cable installed around the perimeter of the room.  Another option is portable loops with a built-in microphone, which are perfect for one-to-one conversations. Large area loops are used in areas such as communal games rooms, allowing all residents to partake in and enjoy group activities.

How do residents use it? Simple. Once a loop has been installed, they simply need to switch their own hearing device to the “T” position. This is something that an audiologist needs to activate if they haven’t already done so.

Investing in a hearing loop is a small step that could create a huge change within your care home, attracting new business and boosting communication for residents and staff. Get in touch today to find out how it could benefit your home.

Hospitals need clear communication through safety screens

Highlighted during the uprooting of normal social conventions during the COVID-19 pandemic, safety for staff and patients has long since been an urgent priority in hospitals. 

Screens and barriers were put in place to prevent the transmission of infection, acting to increase safety at interaction points, including at pharmacies, outpatient departments, maternity wards, and A&E reception.

However, together with face masks and visors, these screens negatively impact communication. It is vital that information shared in hospitals can be clearly heard so that instructions and advice can be passed on to patients free from errors. Patients who were heard of hearing no struggled excessively during this time, due to decreased sound projection and limited visibility.

Safety or clarity? A simple solution to social stigma

Speaking more loudly sounds like a simple fix, but this puts confidentiality at risk and can cause embarrassment. Add to this the social stigma of asking for help, and some patients, particularly older people who may not want to admit to not having heard, can leave their appointment without the information they so direly need. In other scenarios, staff might come around the screen that’s there to protect them in an effort to communicate clearly on a more one-to-one level, dispensing with the physical barrier. Obviously, neither of these situations is ideal.

As the pandemic surged, we saw more and more screens fitted in hospitals and surgeries, and demand from estates and facilities managers for our Window Intercom Systems was unmatched. While we are seeing fewer of these screens in the years since the pandemic, astute institutions now that, once the infrastructure is in place, any future contagion can also be contained – all while augmenting sound for the hard of hearing. 

Contacta has a diverse range of protection screen models to suit every type of reception desk or patient window. These systems transfer speech from one side of the screen to the other, clearly and easily.

They all include high-quality microphones that pick up the person’s voice and not the surrounding background noise. Together with high-performance speakers, conversation is crystal clear.

The Contacta K07 range

Our K07 range was developed in 2020 as a direct response to the global pandemic. It wasn’t certain at that stage how long screens would be in place, so the K07 range gave hospitals, and other organisations that hadn’t needed intercoms previously an entry-level option, that was flexible enough to install easily yet robust enough to stand up to heacyb footfall.

Now, the presence of screens falls largely down to the preference of the site owners. Some facilities have phased out the use of screens, whereas others have established them as a stalwart pillar of practice. With this in mind, it’s only sensible that estates and facilities managers who are looking at all their options consider the full range of protection available,. 

For example, our flush-mounted system is perfect for smaller patient windows or where patients need to complete paperwork. Speakers are set into the counter to keep the space clear. Microphones can be set into the window itself or installed overhead. The possibilities are endless.

Simple, safe installation

Contacta’s systems are quick and simple to install. Our engineers always comply with specified infection control protocols and can work out-of-hours, so that busy departments are not disrupted. 

All of Contacta Window Intercom Systems are used hands-free, can be easily sanitised, minimising any infection risk.

Contact us today to find out more about our range.