Kicking a bad habit is difficult, we get it. Pagers have been around with you for a long time and helped you out over the years. Sadly, like all things, their time has come to an end. Pagers are no longer as productive as they were once thought, and they don’t fit the modern style of working quite like they should.
Even though pagers were meant to be phased out by 2021, there are still a large number in use, costing the NHS £6million+ a year. Connection issues are one of the reason pagers haven’t been removed from the system, but modern technology created by Sense navigates that problem.
In this article we look at why it’s time to make the change to Sense Badges and get rid of pagers for good.
What is a Sense Badge?
Sense Badges are produced by UK-based company, Sense. A Sense Badge can be worn by a frontline worker, such as a doctor or nurse, and used for many purposes, for example:
Sense Badges link with Sense Gateways, which help to accurately locate the wearer indoors, while ensuring data is relayed in real-time to and from the Sense Console, even in difficult environments where signal strength can be problematic.
The Sense Console is software which digests and displays information, ready for real-time management of people or assets, or in-dept retrospective data analysis and reporting, helping you to understand and improve frontline processes.
What’s wrong with Pagers?
Pagers did a great job of helping frontline workers connect, once upon a time. But pagers pale in comparison to Sense Badges, even if we just look at cost alone – a pager with very limited functionality can end up costing you more than a Sense Badge, and it won’t even do half as much.
Here are some more reasons to make the switch from pagers to Sense Badges:
- Most pagers can’t help you locate colleagues or equipment. Sense Badges can – both indoor and out. A Sense Badge can help you to find the nearest qualified worker quickly, helping you respond to emergencies faster. Or if you can’t find that blood pressure monitor that you left on the ward, your Sense Badge can pinpoint where it is to the nearest 10cm, across large sites with multiple facilities and floors.
- Most pagers don’t help to protect your frontline workers. SOS alerts and built-in fall detection help to keep your frontline workers safe. That’s why Sense Badges come fully equipped with that functionality. And yes, you can get pagers that will provide fall detection, or alerts, but they cost considerably more – and they don’t easily link up to your other workflows or processes for end-to-end automation.
- Sense Badges can handle task management; pagers can’t. Need to run a patient discharge process involving multiple professionals? Or perhaps you simply need a nurse to change a dressing, or a porter to move a bed? Sense Badges make light work of task assignment, with filters for nearest colleagues, availability, or even relevant skills so you can make sure the appropriate person knows exactly what they need to do. Workflows can be set up in advance to trigger task lists upon entering a certain location, or at a particular time of day.
- Pagers can’t handle time and attendance. Sense Badges can clock employees in and out of their shift using biometric authentication and location-aware geofences. This helps to ensure timesheets are accurate, and that nobody forgets to mark themselves in or out.
Why not replace pagers with smartphones?
Some hospitals are giving more of their staff smartphones as an alternative to pagers, but these can create a bigger burden on staff – and don’t always perform the functionality that’s really needed.
Sense Badges are a better choice to replace pagers than smartphones, as they are specifically designed to endure the rigours of a healthcare environment, such as being easy to clean, operate, charge, maintain and/or replace. The easy-to-set-up workflows and choice of functionality protects your workplace from wasted time through employees scrolling on apps or playing mobile games, and the fact that Sense Badges can be clipped to any belt, collar or pocket make them less of a drop risk during a busy shift.
A Sense Badge is more cost effective, too – you can load up your frontline workers from as little as $10 a month, complete with all-you-can-eat data plan and no need to purchase any equipment.
So, if you’re still desperately trying to oust pagers from your workplace, speak to Sense today and we’ll talk you through how we can help.
