Operator discusses benefits of intelligent care management system

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Intelligent care management provider everyLIFE Technologies talks to owners/managers Dr Curry and Sue Carry about choosing and implementing The PASSsystem at The Manor House Residential Home.

eT: What made you choose PASSsystem over other digital care management platforms?

Dr Curry: Initially we wanted to address drug recording issues and to get rid of paperwork, and there weren’t too many other products that actually would do that, so that was the main attraction for us. Then we had a demo and they were quite nice, really seemed to understand our business which was quite impressive. We had looked at one other system but it didn’t actually do as much as we needed it to do.

THE INITIAL SALES PROCESS

eT: Who was part of the sales process?

Dr Curry: We were both involved, and the senior staff. Between us we decided that it would be a good thing to do. There was a general agreement that it was a wise purchase, and to go ahead with it.

TRAINING AND IMPLEMENTATION

eT: How have you found the process of training and implementation? How many people were trained initially?

Sue: I thought the training was very good. The trainer did some practical lessons with us which I think was really helpful.

Dr Curry: She trained us and the seniors in those sessions and then we went on to train the other staff. She gave us tasks to do. We had to put some care plans into the system with her help to start with. That part was really good.

EVERYDAY USE IN THE CARE HOME

eT: What’s your policy concerning tablets around the home? Do you give one to every member of staff?

Sue: We have five tablets and most of them are situated in the staff room unless we need one in here.

Dr Curry: Or staff take them around with them.

Sue: Everyone’s happy with using them. They’ve got familiar with them very quickly.

eT: What about remote access for management? How has that changed or impacted your working day?

Dr Curry: Well, not much for us to be honest, because we actually live here in the home, so all we need to do is come downstairs!

SUPPORT

eT: How do you find the customer service and support from everyLIFE?

Dr Curry: It is pretty good. Once we got used to using PASS, we haven’t really had many issues.  We have used the suggestion board to put forward some ideas.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PASSsystem

COMPLIANCE AND MANAGING RISK

Dr Curry: Initially we purchased the system to get on top of drug recording and MAR sheets and that has proved itself.

Sue: I think after the initial small hiccups, which were just us getting used to the system, it’s been a lot better, hasn’t it? I think we feel a lot more confident that we’re on top of that.

Dr Curry: We do get a lot of medication changes here. I mean that’s not that unusual. Each week, various residents will have something added or taken off or a dose changed or something like that. That is okay. Most of the seniors can change it themselves. If they have a problem, they just come to me, it has made it much simpler and more reliable.

Sue: Also, I would say the voice recording feature has been great too. The fact that people can speak into it has made our note-taking much better, hasn’t it? Because a lot of people have issues with writing, dyslexia and this has improved. It has meant that the handover notes are better too. It’s all written down and we can see what been said. And I feel that more things are probably being recorded than before too.

Dr Curry: For instance today, we have a podiatrist coming to visit one of our residents. He’ll be able to add his own notes straight into the record. And the visiting nurses and doctors do this too, which means everything is just where it should be, no mistakes in transferring it all. Taking pictures of stuff is quite handy as well. Saving them straight to the files.

Sue: Say you’ve got a rash or something, the picture is just there when the doctors come to see.

Dr Curry: You know you have a more accurate record of everything and more complete notes.

eT: How has PASS helped to improve these?

Dr Curry: More things are being recorded, notes are fuller and more accurate because. I think before, if you had to write stuff down, some people were, ‘I don’t have time’. They didn’t bother, they just wrote down the bare bones, and they would also be having difficulties expressing themselves. I might look at notes and see some sort of written data and think, ‘What the hell is that?’ So staff are speaking into it because they all speak English. It does tend to be more fluent.

Sue: And it’s quicker. It is much easier if you want to look at history. Especially checking on notes and pictures added by other visiting health professionals. Whereas before, you’d have to go back through reams of paperwork, which could take ages, now it all just comes up on one sheet and it’s all neat and tidy and you can see it in date order, which I think is a great plus, really. So I feel that safety has been improved – things like weight management, for example, if somebody’s losing weight. It’s all there. You can see the differences.

BUSINESS EFFICIENCY

eT: What are the main efficiencies that you’ve gained through using the PASSsystem? How do you sum up the benefits?

Dr Curry: Well, most obvious is the fact that we’re not spending a bundle on stationery which we used to with the system which we had. I don’t know, at 25 sheets per each individual, that was a huge amount of money, and hassle as well. We just have one cover sheet now. And with everything stored on the cloud now, pretty soon we’ll end up with a whole new room in the loft too!

Sue: Staff are saving so much time these days. Now that we are all so used to PASS, it’s so much quicker for them to record their notes rather than sitting down and writing it all up later. I would say the reports used to take at least half an hour, whereas now they’re doing it as they go really. Senior carers are saving half an hour but then the other carers would be saving time as well, I would say at least two hours per day overall.

BETTER CARE

eT: Has PASS helped to improve your care?

Sue: Yes it has because, most importantly, it just gives more time to be with our people. That freed up time that can be spent taking them out and about more, or just sitting and chatting with them.

Dr Curry: You don’t need to keep going over everything and making sure it’s being done properly. You don’t need to chase things, you don’t need to guess things. You know it’s there.

eT: Have your residents taken to having the digital technology around them? Is that something they’ve warmed to?

Sue: Yes I think so, I think when it started they were a bit curious, but they’ve all taken to it now. They all sign on their care plan reviews and stuff. Nobody’s really passed any comment

eT: How do you tell residents’ families about the PASSsystem?

Sue: I think everybody just expects it wherever you go now, don’t they? It’s probably more unusual if we still had the old system! Families have not really passed any comment because they just see us using it right from the start, at enquiry and assessments, so it just seems natural to them to see it on a daily basis in the home.

THE REGULATOR

eT: I see that your last CQC inspection was good all round, how do you feel that the PASSsystem will contribute to the success your next visit?

Sue: Well for instance, when they’re asking you to provide information about a resident or a situation or sometime in the past, it should be much easier with PASS. You’re not having a good day diving into old paperwork, scrabbling out on the loft. I think it will be better.

RECOMMENDED

eT: Would you recommend the PASSsystem to other businesses?

Sue: Yes.

Dr Curry: I have actually, so yes.

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