Nurse call service agreements: testing, fault response and the records accreditation asks for.
A nurse call fault is a resident who cannot call for help. An agreement puts your system on a testing schedule with a device-by-device, dated record, sets the fault response you can expect, including after hours, and keeps spares on the shelf for the systems nobody else will touch. Sedco, JCT, wireless and the rest.
The four things a reviewer asks for
A written testing programme. A record that names every device, not every room. Evidence of what failed and when it was fixed. A response commitment for the day something breaks.
Every agreement gives you all four in one folder.
Nurse call fails quietly. An agreement is how you find out first.
A flat pendant battery, a call point knocked off its cable during a fit-out, an over-door light that died in March: none of them report themselves. The fault surfaces at the moment someone presses the button. Scheduled testing, recorded against the device, is how a home finds out before a resident does, and how it shows a reviewer that it looked.
Not a sample of rooms
Every call point, pull-cord, pendant, over-door light, display and battery is tested to a written schedule and the result is recorded against the device ID. A ward-level tick hides a dead button.
Where parts allow
Faults found on a test visit are repaired on the visit where we have the part, and quoted on the spot where we do not. The report shows both.
Written into the agreement
How fast we attend a critical fault, a single-device fault and a routine job, business hours and after hours. Sites on an agreement are the only sites with after-hours fault response.
Pick the level that matches how much you want to think about it.
All three are priced from your site list, per device band, and billed annually. All three produce the same device-by-device record; what changes is how often we test, how fast we come and what we hold for you.
- Annual comprehensive test of every device
- Battery load test and supervision checks
- Dated, signed device-by-device report
- Fault list with a fixed quote for repairs
- Fault call-outs at agreement rates, business hours
- Phone support in business hours
- Everything in Test & Report
- Six-monthly testing instead of annual
- Priority fault response with written targets
- After-hours fault response included
- Remote diagnostics and configuration changes
- Labour on minor repairs included on test visits
- Everything in Test & Respond
- Spares held and reserved for your system
- Parts for like-for-like repairs included, to an agreed cap
- Software and firmware updates applied
- Quarterly response-time report and review
- An allowance for moves, adds and changes
- An end-of-life plan for the platform, reviewed yearly
Sites not on an agreement are serviced Monday to Friday, with same-day call-outs for critical faults, at standard rates. After-hours fault response is only available under Test & Respond and Full Care.
What "we'll be there" means, in hours.
Targets are attendance on site, measured from the time you log the fault with us by phone. Where a fault can be resolved remotely, it usually is, faster than any of these.
| Fault | Example | Test & Report | Test & Respond | Full Care |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | A wing or the whole site cannot raise a call; head end down; multiple devices dead | Same business day | Within 4 business hours; after hours within 4 hours | Within 4 business hours; after hours within 4 hours |
| Urgent | One room or device out of service; a bathroom point or pendant not registering | Next business day | Same business day; after hours next morning | Same business day; after hours within 8 hours |
| Routine | Intermittent fault, cosmetic damage, moves and adds, configuration changes | Scheduled, within 5 business days | Within 3 business days | Within 2 business days |
| After hours | Weeknights, weekends and public holidays | Not included | Included for critical and urgent | Included for critical and urgent |
Where a room is out of service and cannot be restored the same day, we provide an interim: a loan wireless point or pendant that raises a call on the existing system, so the room is never without a way to call.
What the report looks like.
One line per device, every visit. A quality manager can hand the folder to a reviewer without reconstructing anything from memory, and the same format runs from commissioning through to replacement.
- Every device by ID and locationcall points, pull-cords, pendants, over-door lights, displays, annunciators, head-end and batteries.
- Result, fault found, action takenfixed on the day, or quoted, with the quote number.
- Battery and supervision statusload-test result for backup batteries; check-in and battery level for wireless devices.
- Signed and datedby the technician and your representative on site.
Example only. Names, rooms and results are illustrative.
We did not install it? We audit it first.
Most of the systems we maintain were installed by someone else, and a good number by companies that no longer exist. Every takeover starts with a system audit so you know the condition of the installation before either of us commits to a maintenance programme.
Send the site list, or a photo of the panel
What is on the wall, how many rooms, who installed it and when it was last tested, if you know. If you do not, a photo is enough.
Audit visit
We test every device, inspect the head end and cabling, check the parts position for the platform and give you a written condition report with a fault list and a straight view on remaining life.
Agreement, or a plan
If the system is sound, the audit becomes visit one of your agreement. If it is at the end of its life, we say so, with a staged replacement plan that keeps calls working throughout.
Discontinued, still serviced
Austco ended manufacture of Sedco systems. We hold spares for the 6000, 7000, MCV5, Sedcare and Trinity ranges and repair at board level, so an agreement on a Sedco system is a realistic commitment, not a hope.
Sedco support →Authorised service and genuine parts
Authorised JCT service across Melbourne and Victoria: testing, repairs with genuine parts, software and firmware updates and extensions when a wing is added.
JCT support →What is in, what is not, and what is up to you.
Scheduled testing and the record. Attendance within the targets for your level. Phone support. Remote support where the site allows it. Fault diagnosis on every call-out.
Parts and labour outside the level's inclusions. Damage, water ingress, works by others, and faults caused by building works. Extensions, new rooms and upgrades. Replacement of a platform at end of life.
Weekly in-house functional checks by your staff, which we show you how to do and record. Access to rooms and the comms cupboard on visit days. Telling us when a room, wing or resident's equipment changes.
Agreements run for twelve months and renew unless either side gives notice. Response targets are attendance targets measured from the time a fault is logged with us by phone, and apply to the systems and devices listed in the agreement schedule. Nothing here changes your obligations under the Aged Care Quality Standards, NSQHS or your own risk assessment; we install and maintain systems and do not certify a facility against any standard.
Send us the site list. We'll send back a schedule and a price.
The system, the number of rooms and devices if you have it, and the level you are thinking of. If you are not sure what is on the wall, a photo of the panel is enough to start.
Service agreement questions
Can we start an agreement on a system you did not install?
Yes. Every takeover starts with a system audit so you know the installation's condition before committing. If the system is sound, the audit becomes the first visit of the agreement.
Is after-hours fault response available without an agreement?
No. Sites not on an agreement are serviced Monday to Friday, with same-day call-outs for critical faults. After-hours fault response is included for sites on Test & Respond and Full Care.
How is the price worked out?
From your site list: the number and type of devices, the test frequency for the level, and the response commitment. It is a fixed annual figure, billed annually, and it does not move during the year unless you add devices.
Does an agreement cover a discontinued Sedco system?
Yes. We hold spares for the Sedco ranges no longer made and repair at board level. Full Care adds a reserved spares holding and a yearly end-of-life review so replacement is planned, not forced.
What if a fault cannot be fixed the same day?
We provide an interim so the room is never without a way to call, usually a loan wireless point or pendant that raises a call on the existing system, and we tell you the part lead time in writing.
Can our own staff do some of the testing?
Yes, and they should. Weekly in-house functional checks are part of every level; we show your staff how to do and record them. Six-monthly and annual testing, battery load tests and head-end work stay with our technicians.