Improving the Processes Behind the Care
Fastroi are gearing up to deliver our Real-Time Care (RTC) product to Leeds County Council this Autumn, as we do this, we wanted to share some thoughts from our latest White Paper. In it we try to understand the reasons why so many care companies have struggled to improve or even maintain their CQC ratings in the 2018 State of Care report. We believe that many companies are still using pen and paper with no form of care management software. However, we don’t think it is that straightforward either. Care Management Software is a tool that if used properly can help to improve the levels of care quality, but underneath the bonnet of any organisation are the quality processes and continuous improvement strategies that really affect a company’s ability to deliver that quality care. These are completely separate from the job of looking after our service users. In the White Paper we look at some of the ideas surrounding lean health and highlight the different forms of waste that can hamper quality if they are allowed to flourish. We also examine some practical examples of how these ideas could be implemented in the care industry. The Flaws of Inspection The CQC inspection system may seem effective at grading care services, and the reports do provide a lot of valuable information, but in fact, they only give a snapshot of the care being provided in that organisation on a particular day. We would argue that real quality can only be achieved by embarking on a journey of continuous improvement across all levels of the organisation. By involving the whole organisation we can bring about a more sustainable and lasting improvement in the quality of care. Simply put, if you want to achieve the highest levels of quality, you must first identify the areas where you need to improve, then you must fix them so that they cannot return. Keep doing this every day. If you are awarded ‘Outstanding’ status by the CQC, great, keep going. If you win national awards, keep going! Quality Comes From Within RTC is a tool that allows care companies to focus on improving their processes by taking the pressure off of the individual and putting it into the tool. By automating activities such as care planning, reporting and alerts, a company can spend more time focussing on making sure that the care they give the service users is of the highest quality. RTC enables care companies to add consistency to their business while also making it easy to demonstrate best practice when necessary. It must be very disheartening to have worked so hard to achieve a good grading only to see it get worse at the next inspection. RTC when used in conjunction with the ideas of lean health, continuous improvement and waste, gives a care company everything it needs to provide efficient, world class care without being burdened with the pressure of poor processes.
Why Should I Invest in Care Management Software?
You have probably heard about the ways that technology can improve the way you run your care business. So what are the things you need to consider when choosing Care Management Software? It might be best to start by asking yourself what you want the software investment to achieve? Many factors will affect your decision, from inspection ratings, GDPR readiness to staff retention and morale. The desire to improve quality of care within the organisation must drive everything. What Do You Need from the Software? Understanding the drivers is probably the best place to start. In other words, what parts of your business do you need to improve? For example: Operational efficiency Better care environment Regulatory compliance Inspection performance Information management Staff turnover Get Creative! Start by reviewing the basics – scheduling, rosters, staff & client management, invoicing or payroll. It might be worth getting creative and asking – Wouldn’t it be great if we could…? This gives you the opportunity to start a relationship with the software provider. They should want to work with you and develop their products to suit you. It is also good to engage your staff and get a picture of where software could help improve things for everyone. This will give you buy in from the organisation, which will help with implementation. Change is easier to implement when driven by the whole organisation not just the management. Juggling the Benefits Moving from a paper based system to a digital care management system, gives significant business improvements. But how broad can the range of improvements be? Some will have clear financial benefits while others improve quality of care. A key advantage is the possibility to measure improvement. Every action can be recorded in a single digital record. Tasks can be marked as done and reports filed instantly. Every driver can be measured. By measuring, it can be improved. This goes for CQC inspections, financial performance and efficiency. It all adds to a better care environment. A comprehensive system should give you benefits across the whole business, so it is important to understand where you are and what needs improving. Less functional software may need to be replaced early while many vendors may not have the experience when bringing new products to the market. Do your homework, ask questions and above all, understand what you need. Jim Ward, UK Director, Fastroi UK https://fastroi.fi/en/
