When operating a hospital, you have numerous areas of the building that require management, including your pharmacy. Given that pharmacies can store many medicines, they can be targets for theft and break-ins. Precise security is essential to ensure that medicines and care products are kept safe from tampering, theft, vandalism, etc. – but where do you start?
Really, the best place to begin would be your locks. Most pharmacy doors will use cylinder locks. To keep the building safe and prevent break-ins, you should opt for high-quality, British Standards-approved cylinder locks. Otherwise, you run the risk of having incomplete security that makes forced entry into the pharmacy a little easier. To make choosing cylinder locks easier, we asked UK ironmongery experts at Locks & Hardware for advice – what are the best cylinder locks for a hospital pharmacy door?
Why Pharmacy Security Should Be A Priority In Your Hospital
Hospitals are a place where people come to get better, right? That means that they should feel safe. The same applies to your staff; your team should be able to come to work without feeling at risk or unsafe. Some areas of a hospital are more likely to be targeted than others, though, such as the pharmacy. After all, the pharmacy is where a large quantity of your drugs will be stored.
That can make the pharmacy the target for those looking to steal from the hospital. It is also where you might store medicinal equipment that, if used incorrectly, could put someone at risk. Hospitals need to take an extra-cautious approach to securing and protecting pharmacy supplies. This includes having a high-quality lock cylinder in place on the pharmacy door, both at the main entrance and in the storage areas where medicinal products are kept.
While most traditional lock systems are going to be effective, you want something in place for your pharmacy doors that you know will stand up to scrutiny. That means likely buying a Yale cylinder lock, or another British Standards-approved lock. Choosing the correct lock cylinder makes it easier to protect your pharmacy staff and stock from vandalism, theft, or brute force attacks.
How, though, do you find the right choice? What should you look for when considering the various cylinder locks available for your pharmacy?
The Best Cylinder Lock Options For Pharmacies
The challenge, of course, is buying the right type of lock for your pharmacy. You need to find a lock type that offers you:
- Robust protection against typical forced entry methods like lockpicking and lock snapping
- Reliability, always opening and closing, locking and unlocking, when the keys are used
- Long-term durability, so you do not have to worry about replacing the cylinder locks soon
- British Standards approved security for extra peace of mind and insurance compliance
- Easy integration into the hospital’s security systems, especially if you are going smart
Now, we appreciate that finding such cylinder locks might feel like an exercise in futility. However, most of the time, your hospital pharmacy can rely upon Yale cylinder and Euro cylinder locks. These tend to be the styles most commonly used in medical facilities, as they are proven lock types known to last for years to come. They provide all of the above functionality and reliability.
Why Yale & Euro Cylinder Locks?
There are several options when looking at cylinder locks, but our recommendation is for a Yale or Euro cylinder lock. Both options offer extensive reliability and have been proven to be the ideal fit for tasks such as locking up and securing your pharmacy.
Euro cylinder locks are known for their high versatility and are available in a wide range of sizes. That means it should be easy to find a Euro cylinder lock that is the right size for your door. As long as you buy a Euro cylinder lock that has been British Standards approved, too, you can be assured that it will remain resistant to typical break-in methods, such as lock snapping.
Yale cylinder locks are also among the most popular in the UK, available in various styles to suit almost any compatible door type. Like a Euro cylinder lock, the Yale lock is highly reliable and suitable for most doors commonly used in hospitals.
Both lock types can also be easily paired with smart/electronic security systems. Alternatively, you can have a locksmith match these lock types with your master key system, ensuring that access to the pharmacy remains available only to those who possess the correct experience and credentials.
Not Sure What Cylinder Locks Are Right For Your Pharmacy?
The best thing you can do is to contact a local locksmith with years of experience. Look for locksmiths with a proven history of working within the medical industry, if possible. If not, find a locksmith with at least five years of experience.
Hiring a locksmith allows you to receive a professional assessment and better understand the type of locks that would be most suitable for your hospital pharmacy. They can find a style of lock that is easy to use, compatible with your security protocols – such as smart security, electronic locking, and/or master key access – and also up-to-date in terms of security requirements.
Do not take the risk of buying cylinder locks that do not meet the standard expected of a hospital. A locksmith can give you invaluable insight into the purchasing process, so you only invest in suitable styles of lock cylinders.
Balance Access Control & Efficiency With Cylinder Locks
The pharmacy is likely to be one of the most commonly visited rooms in your hospital. That makes it a high-priority area for securing, so you can minimise loss, damage, and even the risk of supply theft.
By having cylinder locks installed in your pharmacy doors, you make it that bit tougher for someone to break into the pharmacy. You also make it easier to ensure that staff – who have the credentials – can enter your pharmacy quickly and easily, as cylinder locks are known for being easy to operate so long as you have the correct key/access credentials. At the same time, they are very difficult to manipulate.
Reduce the risk of your pharmacy being unavailable or vulnerable to forced entry by installing cylinder locks on your pharmacy door.
