Tunstall Healthcare’s new nurse call system set to shake up industry
Connected care and health solutions provider Tunstall Healthcare has launched an innovative and revolutionary nurse call system, Tunstall Carecom. Already supporting over 60,000 residents across Europe, the advanced wireless and digital system moves beyond traditional, fixed call-points to a wireless system. Tunstall Carecom has been developed to meet the demands of modern care delivery and support residential and nursing care homes. The wireless and digital technology enables care to be more efficient and responsive, and allows for straightforward, non-obtrusive installation. Care home residents are offered a high degree of security and freedom with receivers placed around the building and locatability beacons placed at strategic locations, which interact with smart pendants. These products allow users to raise alarm calls but also offer benefits including location reporting, cancel at source, access control and geofencing. The system also supports numerous telecare integrations and sensors, including wearable devices and offers automatic alarms, along with early detection of changes in the behaviour of residents and solutions tailored for individual needs. Working across a number of devices, including mobile phones, carers are able to manage the system from anywhere at any time, securing rapid responses and enabling person-centred care delivery. An intelligent workflow algorithm within the mobile application works to create a more effective care delivery team whilst the customisable reporting platform supports management in making better informed, data-driven decisions. Gavin Bashar, UK & Ireland Managing Director at Tunstall Healthcare, commented: “As our population ages and pressures increase on over 10,000 residential nursing care homes in the UK, we need to understand the key role technology has to play. Products like Tunstall Carecom, which moves away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach, offers a modular and customisable solution, enabling nursing care homes and carers to manage challenges and deliver effective, high quality and person-centred care.” Case study: Park View Nursing Home, Halifax Park View Nursing Home in Halifax is a 41 bed home offering comprehensive and individualised 24-hour care. Park View had an 18-year old nurse call system which used wall mounted units in residents’ rooms which would emit loud alarms throughout the building if a resident activated the unit. Several screens in communal areas of the building would then give details of the resident asking for assistance. In addition, the home used telecare sensors such as pressure mats and fall detectors which would raise an alert on a CareAssist pager when triggered. As the existing nurse call system was coming to the end of its life, the Park View management team began to review options for its renewal, and how any new system could also support the use of telecare. As a result, they looked into the use of Tunstall Carecom, initially solely as a telecare platform alongside a traditional-style nurse call system, but soon realised that Tunstall Carecom could provide a cost-effective, advanced and integrated nurse call and telecare system. Park View’s Tunstall Carecom system comprises nine mobile phones for staff, three wireless receivers and a property exit system by the main door. Each phone has the Tunstall Carecom app installed. Four phones are allocated to night staff who work from 7.30 pm to 7.30 am. During the day, staff have been divided into two groups, with four carers active on the ground floor and four on the first floor, along with a team leader. All residents wear a smart pendant on their wrist or around their neck which enables them to call for help from anywhere in the building, rather than only from a room unit as previously, and gives care staff the ability to locate and quickly assist them. Pendants can also be used by staff as a panic alarm if required. Since its installation, the management at Park View have discovered that the Tunstall Carecom system has numerous advantages over a traditional nurse call system: Reduced noise levels The previous system relied on fixed alarm call points throughout the building, which meant that in order to alert staff wherever they were, a loud noise had to be emitted to reach throughout the home 24 hours a day. This impacted negatively on the atmosphere in the home, and also increased anxiety in residents and visitors as they were aware that the alerts indicated some kind of adverse event may be happening. Tunstall Carecom alerts are delivered discreetly to relevant carers’ phones, meaning residents are no longer disturbed, day and night, improving their sleep patterns and quality of life. It also means Park View is a nicer place to work. Increased dignity Tunstall Carecom means that only relevant staff rather than everyone in the building is alerted to events. This means the right staff can attend quickly and discreetly, increasing the privacy and dignity of residents. Because the name of the resident concerned is visible only on carers’ mobiles, rather than on screens throughout the building, this also supports GDPR compliance. Efficiency As Tunstall Carecom operates as an app, staff can easily call each other to communicate on their mobiles. The old system meant staff regularly had to search the building to locate each other if they needed support, such as help with a resident or locating a piece of equipment. The previous system also meant that staff had to visit a fixed room unit or display screen in order to view active alarm calls, rather than being able to view them from wherever they were in the building. Alerts can be cancelled at source from the pendant, avoiding the need for staff to cancel on a fixed wall unit. Because the system operates using mobile phones, if the emergency services are required, staff can call 999 immediately, saving valuable time. Increased morale Staff at Park View feel happier at work, due to the reduced noise, ease of communication and more efficient working practices. Tunstall Carecom has also been configured to ensure workload is spread more evenly amongst the staff at Park View. Alarms are issued to carers’ mobiles on dynamically, so if a carer has just received a call, the next alarm
Clinically connected care homes could reduce NHS demand by £1bn
A large-scale project led by senior nurses to improve the health of care home residents in Calderdale, Yorkshire has reduced emergency admissions by 33 per cent with the help of technology-enabled care. Analysis1 commissioned by Tunstall, has indicated this type of care model could release £1 billion NHS capacity if deployed on a national scale. NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has pioneered its clinically-led approach in partnership with Calderdale Council and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. In the first two years alone, the telecare supported programme made savings equating to approximately 7,000 hospital bed days and technology continues to be used for monitoring and risk reduction. Results will be revealed at the Health + Care conference in London this week (Wednesday 27 June 2018). The Quest for Quality in Care Homes initiative has involved 1300 care home residents over the past five years, with a multidisciplinary team and care home staff working to improve care and prevent avoidable emergency attendances and admissions – typically for urinary tract and respiratory infections, falls and fractures. Since 2013, care home teams have used Tunstall technology to support individual care plans for residents, enabling the prevention of incidents. Results of the project show reduction in emergency hospital admissions. In the launch phase (2014-2016) NHS Calderdale CCG: * Cut emergency admissions from care home residents by 33% * Made savings equating to approximately 7000 bed days * Reduced GP care home visits by 45% following the introduction of the Quest multidisciplinary team Telecare continues to help the CCG support care home residents and prevent falls. In the last year (2016/17 to 2017/18) emergency admissions relating to falls have decreased by 7.7% which has resulted in an annual saving through the Quest programme of more than £200,000. Katie Berry, a Quest Nurse from Calderdale said: “This type of technology is massively important. It has without a doubt enhanced safety for our vulnerable care home residents. For example, I worked with a lady who, before she became unwell, had been extremely active and enjoyed long walks. She had suffered many hospital admissions for injuries from falls. We advised giving her a falls detector, so that rather than restrict her in doing something she enjoyed, she still had the freedom to walk about the care home and grounds. Staff and relatives had the reassurance that if she did fall, they would be immediately alerted. “The technology is particularly essential in our intermediate care wards, where acutely unwell patients go to recover before being discharged. The technology has meant we are able to help more people return home rather than being readmitted to an acute ward because of a fall injury.” Liz Morley, Associate Director of Nursing, community services said: “I would absolutely recommend this type of technology to every care home, it enables a safer environment for residents, while enhancing the care we provide.” Dr Steven Cleasby, Chair of NHS Calderdale CCG said: “The Telecare service has been a really important part of what we have achieved through the Quest for Quality in Care Homes project. Our care homes have engaged with telecare and welcome the support Tunstall provide through equipment provision for residents and carers, with regular on-the-ground support. These have led to efficiencies in staff workload, reductions in falls and general improvement in the quality of care provided.” Calderdale is one of the care home initiatives demonstrating what impact clinically-led technology-enabled models could have on a national scale. Independent analysis commissioned by Tunstall revealed that the NHS could release nearly £1bn capacity annually using this type of approach – avoiding 226,000 emergency admissions and 2.5 million bed days. The study combined national government data and data from other regional initiatives that use telecare and telehealth enabled models, such as video-based remote consultation technology in care homes by Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven (AWC) CCG. Dr Belinda Coker, Clinical Director of Tunstall and a sessional NHS GP at the Hurley Clinic in South East London said: “Around 383,500 older people with multiple and complex long- term conditions reside in care homes. Although they represent just 0.7% of the population, due to their healthcare needs, they use a disproportionately large share of the NHS’s resources. That is why reducing avoidable admissions and prolonged hospital stays has become a priority for healthcare commissioners and STPs. We believe NHS Calderdale CCG has led the way in showing that proactive management by highly-skilled multidisciplinary teams using technology in care homes could deliver significant efficiencies and release major capacity while at the same time providing a high-quality service.” National analysis indicates that care home residents may represent 13.5 per cent of all acute bed days, 9.1% of emergency admissions and 10.7% of ambulance responses. Tunstall has created a reference model that allows the potential opportunities to be analysed at NHS England and regional (STP or CCG) levels. https://uk.tunstall.com/care-home-report/
