Canadian Hospital Uses IP Video For Multi-Site Surveillance
Integrated IP video technology has been providing multi-site CCTV surveillance for St Joseph’s Health Care’s four facilities in and around London, Canada since 2001.
An IndigoVision solution has provided St Joseph’s with reliable and scalable CCTV surveillance for more than seven years. The system now includes 250 cameras, more than twice the number that was originally installed.
IndigoVision’s technology provides complete IP-based system solutions for transmission, control and storage of live-networked video. The system is location independent, allowing an operator to view live digital and recorded video from a different building, town or country. It is these features that allow St Joseph’s to monitor all of its 250 cameras from each local site as well as centrally from the Security Control Center located at the Parkwood Hospital, without the need for an expensive cabled infrastructure.
The system, which was originally installed by local systems integrator Integrated Video and Surveillance, uses St Joseph’s existing wide area network to deliver high-quality live video around the site. This provides a far more cost effective solution than analog CCTV systems and has enabled St Joseph’s to expand the number of cameras installed from the cost savings realized from the project. The system is easily scaleable allowing additional cameras to be added anywhere on the network without additional cabling. The project has been so successful that St Joseph’s has received many visitors from the security community who were interested in seeing IP-based digital video in operation.
“A live network gives my staff the opportunity to view real time images which is so important in caring for our clients,” said Mike Bessegato, Director Fire & Security Services/Emergency Planning for St Joseph's. “Emergency response is crucial when dealing with a violent person or someone in need of medical attention. We cannot afford the time delay in dispatching our officers who are the front line responders in all our color code emergencies. Viewing in real time gives us an advantage and ensures the most appropriate response is achieved. It also allows my staff to provide immediate security response to our outside areas to apprehend or investigate any wrongdoings in progress.”