The Queen Alexandra Hospital Home
Hospital home rescues residents from heavy doors
CMG boosts independence for residents
Sector
Care
Customer requirements
To place doors open at any angle
Product provided
Freedor SmartSound
"Our residents, particularly those that are a bit older, struggled with heavy fire doors. Freedor really takes the weight away, and we like the fact that the door can be held open at any angle. It was so helpful that whenever I contacted Fireco, I always spoke to the same person. They knew who I was, and this continuous support made everything so much easier."
Faye Doncaster
Health and Safety Advisor for CMG
THE PROBLEM
Self-closing doors were disturbing residents
The property’s fire doors only had two options: fully open or closed. As it was important for staff to be able to hear activity throughout the building, doors had to be kept open during the day. This meant residents didn’t enjoy as much privacy as they would have liked, and there was an added problem of interrupted sleep at night.
Manager Jenny Broadway needed a solution: “It’s so important for us to give our residents privacy to enjoy their lives, but with the staff still able to hear and monitor in case anyone needs assistance. It’s also necessary to keep our residents safe by checking on them during the night. Unfortunately, this would often involve accidentally waking residents, as we’d need to fully open the door. The noise of the door and the light that would shine into the room would regularly disturb sleepers.”
the solution
Freedor SmartSound provides a safe solution
Finding a way to balance the residents’ independence with the ability to monitor what was going on was key. Keeping fire doors open just a fraction was required, so Fireco’s Freedor system was installed.
With Freedor, fire doors can be held open at any angle and will automatically close when a fire alarm sounds. This offered a safe and easy solution, with the added bonus of ensuring compliance with fire regulations.
Since Freedor was installed, Jenny has noticed a real difference: “Our residents are more relaxed, and the staff are more confident. Everyone is free to enjoy their day without being unnecessarily disturbed, but we can hear as soon as anyone needs us.”
As doors can be kept ajar, nights are happier for everyone. “We can just pop our heads around the door to check on people, so there’s no need to open the door and let in the light,” said Jenny. “Better sleep is great for everyone’s health and happiness.”
Find out more about Freedor SmartSound here
Since this case study, Freedor has been upgraded to Freedor SmartSound.
Freedor SmartSound is an overhead door closer that makes opening and closing a fire door effortless.
Freedor SmartSound is also available as part of our subscription service, Compliance as a Service.
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