Why January 2020 was a bad month for care homes
So far 2020 has seen a run of bad luck for care homes as multiple closures, a council investigation and a poor CQC rating hit three areas in the space of a few weeks. Third inadequate rating in a row St Nicholas Care Home in Sheringham, Norfolk was shut down on 24 January following its third consecutive ‘inadequate’ CQC rating.The care home was operated by ADR Care Homes, which also runs Hill House and Keneydon House – rated by the CQC as ‘good’ and ‘requires improvement’ respectively.Following the most recent inspection, carried out in November but only published last week, the CQC report began: “At this inspection we found a continuation of failings at this service. Sufficient action had still not been taken to address the seven breaches of the regulations we found at our previous inspections in November 2018 and May 2019. At this inspection in November 2019, we found an additional breach of the regulations.”Continued breaches concerned failures to implement robust governance systems, which included a manager in post for 9 months who had not been registered as a care home manager with the CQC. Residents’ care records contained “incorrect and inconsistent” information and a safeguarding incident had not been reported.As well as failures over privacy and leadership, the report said cleanliness was an issue and infection control measures were poor. Seven care homes in one area set to close Over in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, an online petition was launched by relatives of those living in The Spinney after the council moved to close the facility along with six others.Put on the chopping block by Derbyshire Council Council (DCC) due to the need for extensive repairs, the Spinney was deemed to have been below the required standard for local residents.Surveys carried out in the seven homes found that even after remedial repair work was carried out, standards were still low and the layout of the homes impractical for use with disabled residents.Karen Tracey, who started the Change.org petition to save The Spinney as her grandmother resides there, said: “When we heard the news that The Spinney, amongst other local care homes, was likely going to be closed we were very upset. Not just for the residents, who will likely need to be placed elsewhere, breaking up friendships and social bonds, but also for the dedicated staff who work there.”Helen Jones, DCC’s head of adult and social care, said the closures were “regrettable” but cited a number of health and safety risks, including faulty electrics and roofing, as the reason for the decision.As the seven care homes are under threat of closure, three have been earmarked for refurbishment to improve standards. A consultation with the public is launching on 31 January. Legionella risk at care home Meanwhile, a Shrewsbury care home was rated ‘inadequate’ due to poor medicine storage and the potential risk of Legionella in unflushed water pipes.Although the caring, responsiveness and effectiveness of Coton Hill House was deemed to be good, the overall CQC rating was ‘requires improvement’ as safety and leadership were called into question during the inspection on 2 January.Coton Hill House, which is run by Coverage Care Services Limited, had failed to record the required safety checks for Legionella – despite some rooms with sinks and taps remaining vacant for long periods, which creates the perfect environment for Legionella to thrive.Medicine had also been stored in a fridge past the recommended 90 days after opening, and then given to a resident.The report said: “These issues were a breach of regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.”
From good to outstanding: how to improve your care home’s CQC rating
Getting an outstanding Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating can sometimes seem unattainable, especially given the current challenges faced by social care in the UK. From staff shortages, an ageing population and the need for keeping up with emerging technological advancements, it goes without saying that there is a lot of demand in this industry. Despite the challenges being faced within this sector, the CQC has found that improvements relating to care home ratings are being made. Blueleaf has summarised the behaviours and practices in place at some of the top care providers in the UK to offer advice and actionable tips on how to be rated Outstanding, as well as the benefits this title comes with. The benefits of being ‘outstanding’ Services that are rated outstanding perform exceptionally well – this is what differentiates them from good services which perform well, but only meet rather than exceed expectations. In a recent CQC report, one care home was compared to a 5-star hotel and this level of service should be at the forefront of your mind when you are working towards an outstanding rating. Making the extra effort to achieve an outstanding CQC rating is worthwhile for many reasons. Boosting staff morale and enhancing levels of absenteeism are among the most important reasons. So is staff retention rate. Recognition is the key to retaining staff – by recognising and rewarding hard work, your workers will feel valued. Feeling valued, recognised and respected is within some of the top reasons for employers staying at their current place of work, so is definitely an aspect to take advantage of. By having an outstanding rating it will also become easier to recruit top talent to look after the people in your care homes. It is clear that employers within this sector are struggling to find, recruit and retain suitable people to the sector and within specific roles. As your reputation for excellence grows, people will be more likely to choose you to take care of their loved ones. Don’t overlook the importance of good leadership No matter what industry you work within, you cannot underestimate the effect good leadership can have on making changes to the level of service provided. Good leaders can make a difference to the culture in a place by being approachable, so staff feel comfortable raising concerns with them allowing them to carry out their core tasks more effectively. In fact, in a recent report from the CQC, leadership was highlighted as one of the underlying reasons for care providers achieving an outstanding rating. The report stated “services that improve tend to have leaders who are visible and accountable to staff, promote an open and positive organisational culture, and engage effectively with partners.” Top CQC rated care homes were also shown to have leaders who were committed to continually improving their service, despite already performing well. In the good and outstanding care guide, leaders at outstanding care providers were said to: ● Have a strong, visible person-centred culture ● Deliver stretching but realistic objectives ● Involve people in shaping the service; from recruitment to making developments ● Strive for excellence and seek out the latest best practice and new technologies ● Be externally recognised and work collaboratively with other services ● Take pride in your workforce Staff are any organisations biggest asset and are invaluable when it comes to identifying how improvements can be made. To help shape your service, staff should know the details of your CQC reports – not just the overall rating – and they should understand inspection criteria. So, transparency and decent internal communications is pivotal. Staff should also feel confident about the inspection process and explaining what they do at any time – not just when a CQC visit is imminent. As well as feeling recognised and valued, career growth, learning and development is an important factor amongst talented employees. Investing in staff training should therefore never be deprioritised, even when resources are stretched. To allow carers to provide unrivalled levels of care, they need to be given time to work on developing their expertise. In some cases, this might mean going into a clinical setting to refresh their skills, for example. You can’t get outstanding CQC ratings without giving staff the support and training they need to do their job effectively. Inspectors are likely to ask staff questions about: ● What their role involves ● Their length of service ● The recruitment and induction process ● How their learning is kept up to date ● How supported they feel They may also check their understanding of safeguarding, dignity and respect, feedback, complaints and recording incidents. Focus on the importance of caregiving Unfortunately, when pressures are high and staff levels are low, the people being cared for might not be given the attention they deserve. It can be hard to give each person individualised care when you are rushed off your feet due to being understaffed. However, this is exactly what outstanding care providers need to do. Work on recruitment, recognition and retention. Staff need to be given the time to get to know the people they care for and build a relationship with them. It is important that they also have time to speak and listen to the family or advocates of the people they care for. For each person they care for they should ask: ● What are their likes and dislikes? ● What are they passionate about? ● What is their background? ● What is important to them? ● What is likely to upset them? ● Do they have cultural or religious needs? ● Do they have dietary preferences? Take advantage of modern technology Software solutions have allowed for digitisation of records including care plans, residents’ medical records, and staff employment and management records. This has led to the optimisation of operational and administrative processes in UK care homes. Systems such as eMar have played a large role in reducing the pressure on staff within care homes by providing a faster
The importance of oral hygiene in care
Roger Daniel is CEO at Red Homes Healthcare. Having grown up working in and around care homes, Roger has vast experience in delivering care. Here he discusses how important it is to have an oral hygiene policy in place… CQC research released earlier this year found that 52% of care homes were without an oral health policy, and 73% of care didn’t sufficiently cover dental health. This is such an important but often overlooked aspect of care that protects residents’ oral health and in turn their overall wellbeing. Conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia which affect a person’s ability to brush their teeth effectively, medications which reduce saliva and the fact that natural teeth are now maintained for longer all lead to greater oral health problems. For those in our care. we must not only address these issues as they arise but also put initiatives in place to prevent them from occurring in the first place. The effects of poor oral hygiene in care A bad oral hygiene routine can severely impact a person’s wellbeing and if we as caregivers are not on top of residents’ oral health it can have significant implications. Loneliness is something which all of us in the care sector are aware of and having teeth which we are uncomfortable with others seeing can lead to low self-esteem and a resident not partaking in social activities. This results in them feeling disconnected and unable to build relationships with those around them. Aside from the cosmetic implications that bad oral hygiene can have on a resident’s self-esteem, not upkeeping oral health can have numerous repercussions on physical health. Just some of the these include: • Respiratory issues as a result of ingesting bacteria from gum disease (recognised in The Journal of Periodontology) • Cardiovascular disease, put simply, as a result of bacteria entering the bloodstream, travelling to the heart and causing plaque to build up in the arteries • Inflammation of the mouth (stomatisis) resulting from a lack of dental care • Increased symptoms of diabetes, as gum disease makes it harder to manage blood sugars. Those with diabetes are also more prone to gum disease. The steps towards positive oral health When someone moves into a care home, they should undergo a full oral health assessment as this helps to identify any issues from the outset. Some simple questions this initial evaluation should include are how they normally manage their oral hygiene, what dental aids they currently use, whether they have dentures (checking they’re clearly labelled if so) and whether they already have a dentist. If dental information is recorded using the oral health assessment tool recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and specific needs are outlined in someone’s personal care plan, it’s easier to keep on top of ongoing dental requirements. This also ties in greatly with offering person-centred care which is tailored to each individual. In order to maintain a positive dental routine, it’s important that staff are aware of how they can best support residents. This includes the basics of general oral hygiene such as brushing their teeth or dentures twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and using their preferred products. As well as a good daily routine, staff must be aware of the implications that bad oral health can have on residents’ wellbeing and know the steps to take if they are concerned about a person’s dental condition. Working alongside doctors, dentists and community nurses is key to ensuring all aspects of optimum health. Having an effective oral health policy in place can have a huge impact on confidence and social skills, which helps those in care build relationships with both staff and other residents – massively increasing their quality of life. Not only this, but it ensures that residents are able to enjoy food comfortably and can get the night nutrition they need to keep fit and healthy. [1] https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/major-report/smiling-matters-oral-health-care-care-homes [2] https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/life-stages/oral-care-age-55-up/the-importance-of-oral-health-for-older-adults-0914
CQC: ‘3 rehab facilities in same London road are Inadequate’
Local people in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea will be dismayed to learn that three locations, all run by the same provider in Kendrick Mews, have been rated Inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). All the drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities, run by PROMIS Clinics, have been placed into special measures following inspections in May 2019. No 11 Kendrick Mews is a three-bedded unit based in a mews house. It is run by PROMIS clinics, which has two other services on the same street at No 12 and No 4. While the three are registered separately, they operate as one service with the same manager and the same staff covering the three locations. CQC completed the inspection which reviewed the three registered locations. Fire protection was not adequate Clients in the three services use the same communal areas in No 11, including a kitchen and a living room. The clinic room for the three services is in No 11. There are some therapy rooms in No 12, which are used by clients across the services. The premises were not being properly protected from the risk of fire. The service provides medically monitored alcohol and drug rehabilitation services including a psychological therapy programme. CQC inspectors were concerned that the provider had not full taken account of a CQC briefing (supported by Public Health England) on the quality and safety of detoxification in residential substance misuse services. This was circulated to providers of all relevant services in 2017. The service did not provide safe care for clients undergoing alcohol detoxification. The provider accepted clients for alcohol detoxification who had a history of alcohol withdrawal seizures and delirium tremens. This carried a level of medical risk that was not fully assessed prior to admission. Clients did not have a comprehensive assessment before commencing alcohol detoxification treatment. There was no record that clients had a physical examination, including for clients with a reported physical health problem. This included clients with possible or actual liver disease. Clients’ medical and mental health history was not always obtained from other healthcare professionals prior to detoxification treatment. Lack of training for alcohol detoxification treatment One of the GPs prescribing for clients undergoing alcohol detoxification treatment had not had any specific training in treatment for substance misuse. However, at CQC’s last inspection, inspectors identified that physical health monitoring equipment had not been regularly serviced and staff were not aware of their duty of candour. At this inspection, these matters had been resolved. People were cared for in a clean and comfortable environment and there were enough staff to meet the needs of the client group. Clients were supported and treated with dignity and respect and were involved as partners in their care. Clients were supported to understand and manage their care and treatment. The service offered family interventions and post discharge support groups. At number 4 Kendrick Mews there were no clients in residence, but inspectors rated both safe and well-led categories as Inadequate. CQC could not gather sufficient evidence to answer the remaining key category questions. Dr Paul Lelliott, Deputy Chief Inspector at the CQC (and lead for mental health) said: “We have placed all three PROMIS Clinics in Kendrick Mews into special measures. “I am placing the three services into special measures due to their failure to follow best practice for the safe detoxification of clients withdrawing from alcohol, their failure to protect their premises from the risk of fire and the lack of management oversight of safety and quality. “The service will be kept under review and, if needed, we will take further enforcement action. We will conduct another inspection within six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service.” Read the reports in full when they are published on CQC’s website at: No 11: cqc.org.uk/location/1-506886543 No 12: cqc.org.uk/location/1-507813693 No 4: cqc.org.uk/location/1-2673104638
CQC calls for improvements to oral health in care homes
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has today published the findings of an in-depth review on the state of oral health care in care homes across England. The review draws on one hundred inspections of care homes on which CQC inspectors were accompanied by inspectors from dental regulation. It reveals that three years on from the publication of NICE guidance on oral health in care homes, steps are often not being taken to ensure that people get the oral health care they need to ensure that they are pain-free and that their dignity is respected. Key findings include: The majority (52%) of care homes visited had no policy to promote and protect people’s oral health Nearly half (47%) of care homes were not providing any staff training to support people’s daily oral healthcare. 73% of residents’ care plans we reviewed only partly covered or did not cover oral health at all – homes looking after people with dementia being the most likely to have no plan in place. 17% of care homes said they did not assess people’s oral health on admission Whilst two-thirds (67%) of the care homes that CQC visited said people who used their services could always, or nearly always, access NHS dental care, the report did reveal a lack of dentists who were able or willing to visit care homes. Other challenges people faced involved local dentists not accepting new patients and the length of time it took to get an appointment with an NHS dentist – even for a procedure such as getting dentures fitted. Of the homes visited, 10% reported they had no way of accessing emergency dental treatment for people. 34% of homes told us they had no or limited access to out-of-hours services. Some care home managers stated that they had to call GPs, NHS 111, or even take the person requiring emergency care to A&E. CQC is calling for a cross-sector approach to tackle the concerns raised by this report, and highlights examples where this has been achieved. The review includes case studies of productive, joined-up relationships between care homes and local dental practices, including dentists providing routine check-ups, ongoing treatment and emergency care, both in and outside the care home. The recommendations include a call for mandatory staff training in oral care, oral health check-ups for all residents upon admission, better signposting to local dental services and the convening of a multi-agency group tasked with raising awareness among people living in care homes, their families and carers of the importance of day-to-day dental hygiene and the need for routine check-ups. Kate Terroni, Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said: “Oral health has a huge impact on our quality of life and we need professionals across a number of sectors to make changes to ensure it is given the priority it needs in care home settings. “Oral health cannot be treated as an afterthought. It can make the difference between someone who is free from pain, enjoys eating and is able to confidently express themselves through talking and smiling – and someone who is in pain, unable to enjoy their food and who covers their mouth with their hand when they smile because of their poor oral hygiene but unable to address it themselves. “Care home managers must recognise the significance of oral health – and professionals including GPs, dentists, dental hygienists and community nurses need to work together to elevate the importance of oral health in care homes and to prioritise this as part of their work. “The changes needed can only happen with the efforts of all parts of the health and care system coming together, supporting people who use services, their families and carers to be aware of the importance of oral care. By working in partnership, we can make a positive impact on the quality of life of people living in care homes.” Charlotte Waite, Chair of the BDA’s England Community Dental Services Committee said: “This welcome report shines a light on services that are failing some of the most vulnerable in our society. “There are residents left unable to eat, drink and communicate, as an overstretched NHS struggles to provide the care they need. “We require nothing short of a revolution in the approach to dentistry in residential homes. Oral health can no longer remain the missing piece when it comes to care planning and budgets.”
Sherwood Lodge and Sherwood House rated ‘Outstanding’
Cygnet Health Care’s Sherwood Lodge and Sherwood House rated ‘Outstanding’ by Care Quality Commission Sherwood Lodge rated ‘Outstanding’ across all five CQC categories.Cygnet now has the only two learning disability hospitals in the country to have achieved this extremely rare accolade Cygnet Health Care is delighted to announce that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the care provided by Sherwood Lodge, Cygnet’s specialist learning disability hospital and Sherwood House, Cygnet’s specialist rehabilitation mental health hospital as ‘Outstanding’. The services provided by both hospitals, near each other in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, have been rated as ‘Outstanding’ overall, and Cygnet Sherwood Lodge has achieved the extraordinary accolade of being rated as ‘Outstanding’ across all five of the CQC’s assessment categories for caring, safe, effective, responsive and well-led services. The hospital joins Cygnet Elms as the second of only two learning disability hospitals in the country to have achieved this extremely rare honour. The CQC’s report for Sherwood Lodge praises the hospital’s ‘innovative and pioneering approaches to care’ and highlights how employees treated service users ‘with kindness, respected their privacy and dignity and understood the individual needs of patients’. The efforts of all staff are commended in the report for the ‘compassionate, inclusive and effective leadership’, to the staff in general who empower patients ‘to have a voice and realise their potential.’ The CQC also commended the ‘highly motivated’ team at Sherwood House with carers informing the CQC inspectors that ‘staff went the extra mile and their care and support exceeded their expectations’. The specifically tailored nature of the care was singled out in the report which describes the ‘proactive approach to understanding the needs of different groups of people’ and how care was delivered to meet those needs. Claire Griffiths, Hospital Manager at Cygnet Sherwood Lodge said: “I am incredibly proud of the entire Sherwood Lodge team. To achieve an ‘Outstanding’ CQC rating in all five assessment categories is a fitting testament to the excellent care and support we provide. “This report is a welcome acknowledgement of the commitment of our staff to ensure patient-centred care, quality and innovation are at the heart of our service.” Nita Roper, Hospital Manager at Cygnet Sherwood House said: “The team at Cygnet Sherwood House already had a strong belief that we were an outstanding service so this report is a fantastic recognition of our hard work and dedication to providing the best of care to our service users. “This is a remarkable achievement for everyone involved and we are proud to have set the standard for mental health services across our region.” Tony Romero, CEO of Cygnet Health Care said: “Many congratulations to all staff at Cygnet Sherwood Lodge and Sherwood House, who thoroughly deserve this fantastic acknowledgement. The dedication and enthusiasm they show in caring for some of society’s most vulnerable people is an inspiration to us all. “Cygnet Health Care is proud to run the only two learning disability hospitals in the entire country to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ across all five assessment categories.”
Hartlepool nursing home provider prosecuted by CQC for failing to provide safe care
A care provider that failed in its duty to provide safe care and treatment has been fined £24,000 and ordered to pay £14,000 towards the cost of the prosecution, and a £170 victim surcharge, by North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court. The Care Quality Commission brought the prosecution following the death of an 83-year-old woman at Gretton Court care home in Hartlepool. The provider, The Hospital of God at Greatham, previously pleaded guilty at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, on 13 March 2019, to two offences: failing to provide safe care and treatment resulting a resident being exposed to a serious risk of avoidable harm, and a failure to provide safe care and treatment to the residents of Gretton Court from being exposed to a significant risk of avoidable harm. The court heard how a new resident was admitted to Gretton Court on 25 November 2015. Due to them being at risk of falling from bed when resting, it was decided that they needed bed rails and passive infrared sensors (PIR), that sound an alarm when they detect movement. The resident’s need for bed rails was reassessed throughout 2016 and they were found to be of low risk of falling from bed. However, the provider had failed to ensure that staff, responsible for assessing these needs and the safe use of bed rails, had received appropriate training. A relevant safety policy was also not available. The bed rails remained in use. In the early morning of 25 December 2016 the resident was found, having passed away and trapped between their bed and bed rails, the infrared sensors had not activated. A post mortem revealed they did not die as a result of the incident but had suffered a heart attack due to severe coronary artery disease. On 30 December CQC conducted a comprehensive inspection, in response to concerns raised. The inspection found that health and safety checks were not always completed and the management of risks at the home was poor. Care plans were also not being updated and the provider was not ensuring improvements were identified or addressed. The service was rated Requires Improvement overall. Two requirement notices were issued, meaning the provider was required to report back to CQC on how it intended to make improvements to the service. Investigations conducted by CQC after the resident’s death confirmed that the bed rails had been previously broken between October and November, and the provider had repaired them. However, evidence collected showed that the bed rails were again broken during December 2016 but went unnoticed and therefore remained unrepaired for a number of weeks. Prosecuting Counsel Ryan Donoghue, acting for CQC, told the court that The Hospital of God at Greatham failed to provide safe care and treatment and exposed the concerned resident, and other people in the home, to a significant risk of avoidable harm. The failures were due to the provider not ensuring staff were competent in their roles and supported by relevant safety policies. There were additional failures in correctly using and maintaining the PIR sensor system and the safe use and maintenance of bed rails. The combination of which led people to being exposed to significant risk of harm. The Hospital of God at Greatham was fined £24,000 for failing in its duty to provide safe care and treatment to residents in the home and ordered to pay £14,000 towards the cost of the prosecution and a £170 victim surcharge. Sue Howard, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said: “Everyone who depends on services is entitled to safe high-quality care and to be protected from harm. We found this provider had failed to ensure risks to people had been fully assessed or actions taken to prevent people from being exposed to avoidable harm. “The combination of a lack of the home assessing risk and its poor governance meant that it failed to identify where improvements were needed and ultimately resulted in CQC taking this action. “We would like to offer our sincere condolences to everyone concerned with the death of the resident. “Where we find poor care, we will always consider using our enforcement powers to hold providers to account and to ensure the safety of the people using services.” CQC returned to Gretton Court in March 2018 and rated it Good overall, and in each of the key questions we ask: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?
What to consider when extending care home services
James Thomas, QFP, Commercial Manager at d&t business planning, discusses the need for careful planning when extending care home services. The expansion of care home services requires the mitigation of risk through analysis and proper planning both to protect the business and those it cares for long term. Extending an existing facility by nature often requires significant investment and therefore, commercial backing. Securing appropriate funding will be a key part of the successful expansion of services. Here, a balance needs to be struck between the need for borrowing and the income likely to be generated from providing care services. An independent funding sourcing organisation that has relationships with all the main banks, satellite lenders and funding circles will be able to secure the best deal possible. A funding sourcing organisation will initially undertake a viability check prior to approaching any lenders, in order to assess the likelihood of securing borrowing. They will look at an individual’s or company’s background, assets and liabilities and the business idea. Because they understand the criteria for lending from numerous financial organisations, they can help set expectations. Here it is important to provide accurate information to ensure a realistic evaluation and assessment. Armed with this information, they can select the most appropriate lender to potentially back the project. To secure any business borrowing it will be necessary to provide a detailed business plan. This is a document setting out goals for the future and the strategy to reach those objectives. It will need to include information on cash flow, budgets and projections, but also an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Business plans should be realistic and achievable using existing financial records to help with forecasting. They should also detail milestones and set out a roadmap indicating thresholds when, for example, additional staff can be taken on, or when the business can afford to expand further. The starting point with any business expansion plan is analysis of existing figures. So, step one of the process of expansion is to ensure accounts are fully up to date. Getting to grips with the technology to enable regular reporting online will be something everyone needs to get used to and we recommend getting in the habit of keeping your information up to date so you are ready to complete the quarterly submissions when they are required. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are also an essential part of business planning. Monthly Turnover, Cost of Sales and Gross Profit will always be the most important key performance indicators, as at a glance, you get a good idea of how a business is performing at a high level. There will, of course, be some more specific metrics that are tracked behind these, which might include for example: variable and fixed costs such as staffing, training, recruitment, heating, cleaning, marketing, etc… Tracking back KPIs helps with planning. Consider a target of increasing residents in a care home by 30%. Work back and isolate what can directly affect the goal and monitor these metrics. • 30% growth = 10 more residents = 5 more staff, 10 more beds, 5 more items of equipment etc The same logic can be applied to marketing. How many leaflets and adverts are needed to create xx number of enquiries which ultimately become xx number of residents? So, whether you’re starting out, looking to grow, or an existing business, raising finance requires a workable and detailed plan tailored to your goals. This will help you source funding from the most suitable lender, and using an independent funding expert will help you shop around and secure the best deal for carefully managed expansion. For further information on independent funding and business planning when extending care home services please see: team-dt.com
Improving residential care through digital transformation
Colin Yates, chief support officer at WorkMobile – an award-winning mobile data capture solution – discusses the links between going paperless and the quality of residential care. Over the past few years, digital transformation has become an increasingly hot topic in business circles. There is a very good reason for this: done well, digital transformation drives efficiency and improves productivity, saving a business both time and money. Enterprises in almost all industries stand to benefit from their own digital transformation projects, and the residential care home sector is no exception. The question is, what would this look like? At its most basic level, digital transformation is the use of digital technologies to solve traditional problems. So, there is a need to identify which areas of a business have historically proved challenging and could be improved by incorporating new technology such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. Residential care homes are often very reliant on paper-based processes. From care plans and risk assessments, to safeguarding reports and health assessments, there is inherently a lot of paperwork involved in the day to day running of a care home business, and given that there didn’t use to be an alternative to physical documentation, many have continued to operate with traditional processes. However, a heavy reliance on paper can cause significant problems. If essential paperwork is not completed and filed in a timely and correct manner, this can lead to standards of care slipping and concerns being raised by the CQC. As a result, some forward-thinking care home operators have begun their digital transformations by implementing cloud-based electronic care record software. This type of software has the ability to completely eliminate the need for paper, with all documents being completed digitally instead, often via an app on a mobile device or tablet. The information in these documents can then be saved automatically to a central reporting platform, that can be accessed instantly by all authorised members of staff, wherever they’re based. Modernising care home businesses by going paperless can have a host of wide-reaching benefits for all of those involved. Care workers For staff working on the front lines, outdated paper-based processes create an unnecessary administrative burden. Completing all paperwork by hand takes time, and each document must then be filed away carefully. In some cases, the information in this paperwork is also manually inputted into a digital database, taking up even more time and being open to errors. With digital alternatives, documents can be accessed much more easily and filled in much more quickly, with no need for any time to be spent on filing. Information can be recorded in real time as staff go about their duties, meaning that data held about residents is more likely to be complete and accurate. Where appropriate, certain sections can also be pre-populated to save time and unnecessary repetition. This means that care workers don’t have to worry about having to stay late after their shift to complete outstanding admin tasks, offering them a better work-life balance and giving them more time to concentrate on providing the best possible service to those in their care. Residential care home operators For care home operators, one of the main benefits is a significant reduction in operational costs. Relying on paper-based processes is expensive, with one study suggesting that it can cost even a very small business as much as £14,616 each year. Implementing a digital care record solution can greatly decrease ongoing expenses, by minimising or even eliminating the need for paper, printers and physical storage. One major problem caused by relying on paper-based processes is that it can be difficult to ensure the confidentiality of patient information. Digital solutions can allow management to set permissions dictating who has access to which levels of information saved on the system. For care homes that experience a high turnover of carers, or rely heavily on agency staff, this is an easy and effective way to protect patient confidentiality. It can also be extremely difficult to keep large amounts of paperwork organised. This makes it much more likely that important documents will be filed incorrectly or misplaced altogether. Missing paperwork puts patients at risk, and leaves care providers vulnerable to compliance issues which could negatively affect their CQC rating. Digital systems eliminate this issue, while also making it much easier for staff to interrogate previous reports and see any outstanding tasks. With this additional safety net, care home operators can feel confident that they are providing the best possible quality of care and meeting the CQC’s high standards. It’s clear that embracing digital transformation is a relatively simple way to overhaul a care business. Just by going paperless, it’s possible to improve working conditions for staff, reduce costs, and increase CQC compliance, making it worth serious consideration for care home operators looking to improve their excellent standards of care. For more information on Improving residential care through digital solutions, visit www.workmobileforms.com
