Wireless nurse call system
Nothing goes into the wall. Battery call points talk to the nurse station over the air, nurses answer from a handheld anywhere on the ward, and an unanswered call escalates on its own. Two models: long-range RF for buildings that defeat ordinary wireless, or Wi-Fi for the fastest rollout we can do.
The difference is the building, not the features
Both models run the same console, the same call points, the same handheld and the same reporting. What separates them is how the signal gets across your building — so start by picking the one that matches yours.
Signavanc LR
Long-range RF · self-healing mesh
Long-range radio on a mesh, where each calling unit can relay for its neighbours. The model for buildings that defeat ordinary wireless — thick masonry, basement levels, long wings and separate blocks on one campus.
Signavanc Air
Wi-Fi · fastest rollout
The full platform over Wi-Fi — on the hospital's own network, or on one the system generates itself so your IT department is never asked to carry clinical traffic. The quickest way to bring a working ward online.
Signavanc™ LR or Signavanc Air
Everything that differs between the two, in one place. Full detail on each model page.
| Signavanc LR | Signavanc Air | |
|---|---|---|
| Carried over | Long-range RF | Wi-Fi (IP) |
| Calling units per station | Up to 256 | Unlimited on hospital Wi-Fi · 30 on ours |
| How coverage extends | Units relay for each other | Repeaters where needed |
| Thick masonry & basements | Its whole reason for existing | Depends on Wi-Fi coverage |
| Separate blocks on a campus | With a wired link between buildings | |
| Depends on hospital IT | Only if you use the hospital network | |
| Speed of rollout | Fast | Fastest |
| LCD console & call points | ||
| Bedside unit options | 3 or 4 module | 2, 3 or 4 module |
| Pull-cord & indicator link | Wireless or 2-core | Wireless or 2-core |
| Mobile unit & head-nurse dashboard | ||
| Turn Over Time (TOT) on the console | ||
| SMS alerts to staff | Optional | Optional |
| Call forwarding between stations | ||
| Scheduled reminders | ||
| Cloud dashboards & HIS / EMR | Optional | Optional |
What putting one in actually involves
Almost nothing, which is the point — and the part worth checking against whatever else you are being quoted.
No cabling, and no prior cabling either
There is nothing to chase into a wall and nothing that has to already be there. A ward with no nurse call wiring of any kind, or with old wiring nobody wants to touch, is not a harder job — it is the normal one.
Battery units that tell you before they die
Calling units run about a year on an AA cell and report their own battery level back to the nurse station. A weak cell shows up as a line on a screen weeks before it matters, instead of as a button that did nothing.
An occupied ward stays occupied
No civil work, no dust, no beds moved out and no ward closed for a fortnight. We have commissioned wards where patients stayed in them throughout — which for a hospital running near capacity is often the only version of the project that can actually happen.
Coverage planned before we quote
We walk the floor plan with you and place the station, the units and any repeaters against the actual building — the wing that turns a corner, the basement level, the block across the courtyard — rather than assuming a clear rectangle.
Is wireless the right route for you?
It is the most capable range we build and it is not automatically the right answer. Both sides of it, before you go further.
Choose wireless when…
- The ward is occupied and cannot be closed for a cabling programme
- The building is old, heritage-listed, or has walls nobody wants to chase
- You want nurses answering calls on a handheld rather than only at a station
- Unanswered calls should escalate to a head nurse on her own screen
- You want the option of cloud dashboards or HIS / EMR integration later
Look at a wired model if you have…
- A building being constructed or fully rewired, where cabling is going in anywaySignavanc IP
- The most deterministic possible system for an ICU, with no radio at allSignavanc IP
- An LCD nurse station at the lowest cost, on cable already in the wallWired on 4-core
- Room and bed identification only, at the lowest cost per bedSignavanc Lite
Wireless nurse call — common questions
Choosing between the two models, cabling and whether wireless is dependable enough for a ward.
What is a wireless nurse call system?
A wireless nurse call system carries calls from the bedside to the nurse station over the air instead of over cable. The bedside panel, the pendant and the toilet pull-cord are battery-powered and talk to the station by radio, so nothing has to be chased into a wall. What arrives at the station is the same as any wired system — the exact room and bed, latched until a nurse clears it — plus the things only a wireless system makes practical, such as answering a call from a handheld anywhere on the ward.
Signavanc LR or Signavanc Air — which should we choose?
It comes down to the building. Signavanc LR uses long-range radio on a self-healing mesh where units relay for each other, so it carries through thick masonry, down into basement levels and across separate blocks of a campus — and it supports up to 256 calling units on one station. Signavanc Air runs the platform over Wi-Fi, either the hospital's own or a network the system generates itself, and is the fastest of everything we build to bring live. If your building is difficult, choose LR. If it is straightforward and the ward needs to be working next week, choose Air.
Does any cabling have to be in place first?
No. There is no cabling to the bedside on either wireless model, and no requirement for existing wiring to be there. A ward with no nurse call infrastructure at all, or with old wiring nobody wants to disturb, is the normal case rather than a complication. Mains power is needed at the nurse station itself, and optionally for repeaters on the Signavanc Air model.
Is a wireless system reliable enough for a hospital?
It has to answer three questions honestly, and ours are these. Interference: the calling units use frequency-hopping, so they move across frequencies rather than sitting on one that something else can occupy. Dead zones: Signavanc LR relays unit to unit, and Signavanc Air extends with repeaters, both planned against your floor plan before we quote. Batteries: every unit reports its level to the station. A wireless system that answers those three is as dependable in a ward as a wired one; one that cannot answer them is a risk regardless of the brand on it.
Do the two models differ in what a nurse actually gets?
No. Both drive the same LCD nurse station, the same bedside panels, pull-cords and multi-colour door indicators, the same mobile calling unit and head-nurse app, the same escalation, call forwarding, scheduled reminders and reporting. The choice between them is a decision about your building, not about features — which is why each model has its own page covering how it reaches, and what that means for your ward.
Send us the ward layout
Bed count, the shape of the building and anything unusual about it — a basement level, a wing that turns a corner, a block across the courtyard. We will tell you which of the two models suits it, where the units and any repeaters go, and quote the same day.