A nurse call button is a button or cord found in hospitals and nursing homes, at places where patients are at their most vulnerable, such as beside their bed and in the bathroom.[1] It allows patients in health care settings to alert a nurse or other health care staff member remotely of their need for help. When the button is pressed, a signal alerts staff at the nurse's station, and usually, a nurse or nurse assistant responds to such a call. Some systems also allow the patient to speak directly to the staffer; others simply beep or buzz at the station, requiring a staffer to actually visit the patient's room to determine the patient's needs.
The call button provides the following benefits to patients:
- Enables a patient who is confined to bed and has no other way of communicating with staff to alert a nurse of the need for any type of assistance
- Enables a patient who is able to get out of bed, but for whom this may be hazardous, exhausting, or otherwise difficult to alert a nurse of the need for any type of assistance
- Provides the patient an increased sense of security
The call button can also be used by a health care staff member already with the patient to call for another when such assistance is needed, or by visitors to call for help on behalf of the patient.
- ^ "Nurse Call". Intellisec.