Video surveillance system revolutionises COVID-19 unit at Santo António Hospital

Published: 03-06-2020

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal, following a request for help from a ward of the Santo António Hospital in Porto, with around 40 professionals (which at the time was about to become a 24-bed COVID-19 ward), Amplitude Net managed with the support of its partner JP GROUP, to supply and implement a video surveillance system by Level One, thus allowing an authentic paradigm shift in this ward.

The rigid protocol inherent to the treatment of patients with COVID-19, involves several changes of clothing of health professionals, so with the implemented video surveillance system, a remote monitoring system was created, thus significantly reducing the necessary physical displacements and personal contacts between the healthcare professionals on the ward and the infected patients. This protected the professionals by reducing the exposure to the viral load to which they were suddenly subjected, as well as saving on personal protective equipment.

Given the quality of the equipment, during the night the cameras were also able to provide great image clarity, so that even with low light, the system continued to offer optimal performance, also minimizing the direct contacts needed by the night shift ward team with infected patients.

It was with great joy that in addition to learning about the success of the implemented system, we were also surprised by the spontaneous sending of photographs by several members of the team of this ward This made us very happy, because although it was a tiny contribution of the Amplitude Net compared to the global dimension of the pandemic, it was a great joy for us to see how valuable it was for the daily routine of this team of dozens of professionals.

We are therefore deeply grateful to JP GROUP and Level One for their prompt response in embracing this cause, as well as to the Hospital Santo António team for the way in which they have adapted so well to the new system implemented.

Digital Signage facilitates communication about Coronavirus / Covid-19

Published: 14-03-2020

Coronavirus / Covid-19 in Digital Signage and Corporate TV networks

The fact that they are more and more companies to have networks of Digital Signage and of Corporate TV has simplified the speed with which these companies have been able to adapt their communication regarding the coronavirus to its employees, customers and partners.

The pandemic associated with Covid-19 has shown a truly frightening daily growth as early as the 1st week it is identified in each country. This speed of spread has led to the readjustment of behaviour in the different countries in order to combat this pandemic at a rate unprecedented in human history.

Thus, the possibility of the companies readjust daily and in real time the communication on their screens through the systems of Digital Signage and Corporate TV, have been a contribution very valuable in raising awareness of the dangers inherent in the coronavirus, and the new behaviours which fortunately many companies are adopting.

Among our customers and partners, there has been precisely this daily care, where they are placed in their broadcasts various news items or messages containing the latest information and recommendations sent by the competent authorities.

The Portuguese DGS (General Directorate of Health), also made available a daily updated Dashboard with several indicators (among the numbers of suspected and confirmed cases) in Portugal. This Dashboard has been adopted by some companies in their Corporate TV broadcasts, including Amplitude Net, as well as public TV channels such as TVI.

Currently World VDS Software has more than 5 thousand licenses commercialized so the information that reaches the screens of corporate TV channels, reaches more than 30 thousand employees. Complementarily there are also some Digital Signage emissions of companies, which make the information of the coronavirus to their customers and partners, thus greatly increasing the overall number of people directly covered by the alerts placed on the screens.

Alarming rate of spread of coronavirus leads to remote working in companies

Although on 31 January 2020 the first cases of coronavirus in Europe were identified in two Chinese tourists visiting Rome, the number remained stable for weeks, and it was not until almost 20 days later, on 22 February, that the first case of internal contamination occurred in Italy. Only about 3 weeks later, Italy is now in a state of great calamity with 21,157 cases of coronavirus infections, 1,441 deaths and 1,966 recovered.

It should be noted that the first case recorded in Portugal occurred on March 2nd, only 9 days after the first case of internal contamination in Italy, and it is this short period of time that gives a small idea of the speed with which companies are trying to react, in order to minimize risks and prevent the situation from becoming comparable to the chaos currently seen in Italy.

Like this, practically all companies have already started a new approach to work by placing a very significant proportion of their teams working remotely from home Almost all of them will still have to readapt in order to maintain their normal productivity levels. Employees who continue to need to be physically in companies have much stricter rules in their work as a way to avoid contagion, and there is also a continuous information to them through various channels of which, as already mentioned, The screens associated with the projects for the development of Corporate TV and Digital Signage.

A look at the advantages of Digital Signage and Corporate TV networks in the context of coronavirus

When you look at the inherent advantages of Digital Signage and Corporate TV systemsthat our VDS Worlds software provides, there are some that stand out in the context of what has been happening with the evolution of coronavirus and which we now present:

  • Instant presentation of newsproviding employees with easy access to up-to-date information
  • Integration with news and other Intranet or Internet content
  • Displaying Internal Information Content and interactive content at strategic points
  • Global alignment of employees with the company´s strategy and values
  • Centralized management of content and terminals
  • Abandonment of complexities and times associated with the creation of newspapers, magazines and printed news murals to keep employees informed
  • User-friendly system where even employees without technical knowledge can create and update content

A possibility of including urgent alarmist on screens in critical situationssuch as recommendations in case of fires, has always been recognised as one of the advantages of Corporate TV and Digital Signage channels.

This coronavirus situation, although completely different from the practical cases that were known, in functional terms is very similar, because it requires that at all times there can be a updating the information reaching employees via company screens, so that their health and the protection of corporate values can be ensured.

Thus, in addition to the new news that occurs daily on this topic, regular reminders on workplace displays to use hand disinfectant or to wash hands have also played a key role so that employees always keep this in mind in their daily lives.

In the outdoor segment, DOOH (Digital Out of Home) displays can also provide health tips, equally essential for the general public.

As a result of all these aspects mentioned, Digital Signage plays a more important role than ever, in these difficult times we have gone through with this pandemic associated with coronavirus.

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Published: 14-03-2020