OmegaIP has released a phone-based lone worker protection system aimed at health and social care staff that allows users to discreetly alert others if they are in danger as well as synchronise with their appointments calender.
The Lone Worker system (seen right on a PDA emulation) can be set to call the user’s mobile every 10-30 minutes. Users are invited to enter a PIN to confirm they are not in danger. If the user does not answer the call, enters the wrong PIN or hangs up an alarm is flagged and emergency contacts are alerted.
If the user presses the star key on their phone, the call is recorded and saved to a central database. The call intervals can be user-defined and can be set according to risk level.
Appointments can be entered into the system over Microsoft Outlook, a web browser, e-mail and even telephone and WAP, and the system can be configured to integrate with existing scheduling systems.
When users book appointments, they are supplied with a ready-made list of emergency contacts, but the flexibility is there for them to add their own.
According to Omega, the system is scalable, based on open standards, and the appointment scheduling frontend can be customised so that it carries the organisation’s branding.