Design to Finish: Approaching Access Control in Healthcare

The multifaceted design of modern healthcare projects demands careful coordination and a tailored approach when specifying access control systems, explains Sreeraj Manjalavil of Consort Architectural Hardware.

The healthcare infrastructure is ever evolving. Facilities are no longer single entities for one, they are sprawling ecosystems that serve a wide range of users, from medical staff and administrators to vulnerable patients, visitors and maintenance personnel. Safeguarding their safety and security, whilst providing seamless operation is a complex challenge - one frequently solved by access control.

Today’s security solutions play a central role in protecting people and mitigating risk across much of our built environment. An appropriately specified system is effective at regulating, monitoring and restricting entry and exits, and allows users to navigate an integrated network and its hardware to ensure the right access is provided to the right person at the right time.

In healthcare buildings, the use of access control expands further, whereby a system can tackle a host of unique operational challenges - significantly contributing to fire safety, ease of movement and the theft prevention of equipment, medicine and sensitive patient data, and all whilst protecting human life and preserving privacy and dignity. In doing so, access control can become the cornerstone of functionality, compliance and organisation in any healthcare environment. Though, as the complexity of projects deepen, decision makers are reminded that coordination is key.

Preparing and empowering users

Between January and March 2025, there were over 832,000 patient safety events recorded in the NHS. Whilst each of these events may not be directly linked to building security specifically, the healthcare industry is faced with a considerable number of safety incidents, which suggests greater monitoring and mitigation is needed across the board.

Patient wellbeing and security will always remain paramount in the sector, and access control often provides staff with the necessary means of retaining control without impeding care. Hospitals for example, sustain a high level of footfall across large campuses with multiple points of entry and on-site patient record systems, presenting a number of simultaneous security tests as a result. Though, unlike other public buildings, where rigid security measures are active at all times, many healthcare environments must strike a balance throughout their security framework to meet a host of one-of-a-kind demands.

With a continuous influx of patients, staff and visitors, healthcare groups are habitually required to remain accessible and inviting around the clock. At the same time, they must also be prepared to deter unwanted visitors in areas of restricted access and lock down intensive wards to ensure patients remain safe and secure under periods of monitoring. For this, the use of access credentials is critical and provides a regulated system for sensitive staff-controlled areas such as pharmacies, wards and server rooms. By applying role, zone or schedule based access, decision makers can authorise personnel seamlessly, empowering facilities to manage patient care without compromising security in the process.

When it comes to the operation of these systems, training gaps are a concern, however. Over the five years up to February 2025, numbers of NHS doctors rose by 26%, with nurses also up 25%, and this influx of new staff requires education towards the usage of access control. Modern systems may incorporate the use of keycards, biometric scanners, mobile credentials and in some cases, voice-activation, with the implementation of AI powered tools and devices set to play a more prevalent role in the future. Each system presents its own benefits and may be better suited to certain projects and areas, but without consultation and proper user education, they can instead become a barrier.

Strategy, scalability, performance

To alleviate these operational threats, early-stage planning is fundamental. Just as end-user education and training should be built into project timelines, it’s important to consider the growing need for cooperation throughout the entire supply chain of an access control project.

All too often, a lack of evidence-based decision making can hinder the specification of a scheme and its accompanying hardware, whereby choices are made without understanding long-term performance or compliance requirements. Whether approaching a new or retrofit development, ongoing communication allows experts to come together and ensure that product decisions are aligned with the buildings intended use and user base. This collaborative approach becomes even more critical when innovative solutions enter the market and new sector challenges arise.

With this in mind, trusted manufacturers will no longer simply deliver the latest access control products, but will aim to work alongside the architects, specifiers, contractors and facility managers at each stage of the building’s lifecycle to ensure touchpoints are addressed. This is crucial in modern healthcare environments, where the added layer of complexity requires tailored security measures. One area that is often neglected is scalability, for example. 

As healthcare facilities manage fluctuating patient numbers and a growing level of patient data, along with new regulations, systems must be adaptable and allow for ongoing improvements and updates to the security infrastructure without the need for a complete overhaul. By adopting a scalable system that combines technology integration with ease of use, decision makers can future proof their building’s security.

In truth, access control has become more than a means of restricting access. Modern systems are more equipped than ever before to deliver environments that support care, safety and operational excellence. Nonetheless, the complexity of the healthcare industry and its buildings demands more than product innovation - it requires an industry wide commitment to collaboration, from project conception to product installation and beyond.

www.consort-hw.com

Sources
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7281/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/patient-safety-data/2024-25/q4-revised/

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