In March, there a number of events across the country for care services to find out more about Nourish and why using a digital social care records platform is beneficial to your care delivery. Some events are ICS focused, for care services in specific areas to find out about what funding is available in their region. Other events are open to all care services in all areas to find out more about the benefits of using a digital social care records platform. Nourish will be attending the events listed below to give insight into relevant topics, demonstrations of our platform and answer any questions you may have about digital transformation.
The Adult Social Care Transformation Fund is supporting the Government aim of having all (but at least 80%) of CQC registered adult social care providers to use digital care records by March 2024. Registered care providers are now able to apply for grant funding from their local Integrated Care System (ICS) which will pay for 50% of their annual license fee for a Digital Social Care Record (DSCR) system such as Nourish. Find out more about the funding here.
On Wednesday 1st March at the Hilton Northampton, we will be attending the Northamptonshire Registered Managers Conference.
The sold out conference for registered managers in Northamptonshire gives managers a chance to network with other managers and share knowledge. The conference includes sessions from PainChek, Gabriella O’Keefe (ICB) and more, as well as a panel discussion.
The East Midlands “Connecting Together” Care Home Celebration Event aims to bring together care services in the East Midlands to celebrate the fantastic work and share valuable learning between peers.
On Thursday 2nd March, we will be attending the event at the Trent Vineyard Conference Centre by The East Midlands Patient Safety Collaborative. If you’re attending, pop by the Nourish stand to find out about our digital social care records platform and how we can help you access funding.
On Friday 3rd March, Bradford Care Association have organised an online webinar to enable care providers in Bradford to find out more about Assured Suppliers and how Nourish can support you in making the switch to digital care planning.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. Our team can show you our platform, discuss what going digital means and outline all the benefits that come with going digital.
Join Nourish CEO Nuno Almeida, Oli Johnson from Sona and Geraint Thomas from Guided Innovation for an in-depth discussion on how technologies can support frontline teams to deliver the best care possible. Technology is becoming increasingly present in care settings as providers digitise, but many are missing out on an opportunity to make care-focused staff a central part of that transformation. They will also explore the growing importance of employee empowerment in modern care delivery.
Held on Thursday 9th March, this webinar is open to all care providers who are interested in finding out more about the impact of technology on frontline teams.
To give all care services in the Derbyshire more information about the funding available, Joined Up Care Derbyshire are hosting the event ‘Introduction to Digital Social Care – Drop In Event’ on Thursday 9th March, 10am – 2.30pm, at the Post Mill Centre, in South Normanton.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. We will also be exhibiting, and our team can show you our platform, discuss what going digital means and outline all the benefits that come with going digital.
On Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th March, we will be attending the National Care Forum Managers Conference in the Leonardo Hotel Hinckley Island.
Hosted by NCF and Skills for Care, and in collaboration with ARC England, this sold out conference champions and supports the crucial role of managers in adult social care. It will bring together managers from across the country to share knowledge, ask questions and network with colleagues. The programme includes a mix of main plenary sessions and practical workshops, as well as panel discussions where managers will hear from others in similar roles.
On Thursday 16th March, we will be attending the Care England Conference, held in the Church House Conference Centre in Westminster London.
The conference will be of interest to all residential and domiciliary care providers, especially owners, directors and senior managers who support older people and those with dementia, learning disabilities and long term conditions. Non-Care England members are also welcome.
Held in the NEC Birmingham on Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd March, UK Care Week aims to bring together the care community and address the biggest challenges facing the care sector today.
Nourish will attending on Stand F52 to answer any and all questions about digital transformation and the NHSE funding available.
If you’re unable to attend any events or would like to know more how Nourish can benefit your care service, book your free personalised demo today!
The Adult Social Care Transformation Fund is supporting the Government aim of having all (but at least 80%) of CQC registered adult social care providers to use digital care records by March 2024. Registered care providers are now able to apply for grant funding from their local Integrated Care System (ICS) which will pay for 50% of their annual license fee for a Digital Social Care Record (DSCR) system such as Nourish. Find out more about the funding here.
Nourish are working in partnership with the 42 Integrated Care Systems (ICS) across England, to support you with accessing this funding and to make the transition from paper to digital as smooth and easy as possible.
In February there are a number of events across the country where ICS’ will provide more information about the funding and how to access it. Nourish will also be attending these events so you can find out more about digital care planning.
To give all care services in the West Midlands more information about the funding, Black Country ICS and Birmingham and Solihull ICS are hosting the event ‘Digitising Social Care Information and Marketplace’ on Thursday 2nd February, 10am – 4pm, at Bescot Stadium, Walsall.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. Digital care planning platforms, including ourselves at Nourish, will also be exhibiting where we can show you our platform, discuss what going digital means and all the benefits that come with going digital.
To get you started on your digital journey, Hampshire Care Association are hosting the event ‘All Things Digital The One Stop Shop’ on Wednesday 8th February, 9.30am – 2pm, at the Kings Community Church in Hedge End. Digital care planning platforms, including ourselves at Nourish, will also be exhibiting where we can show you our platform and discuss all the benefits that come with going digital.
To give all care services in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West more information about the funding, the ICS are hosting an online webinar on Wednesday 8th February 2023.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. We will also give a demonstration of the Nourish platform, showing what going digital means and all the benefits that come with being digital. Nourish will be on the webinar between 16.20 and 16.50.
To give all care services in Lincolnshire more information about the funding, the ICS are hosting an online webinar on Wednesday 9th February 2023, 10am – 11am.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. We will give a demonstration of our platform showing what going digital means and all the benefits that come with being digital.
Register for the event by emailing denise.tack@nourishcare.co.uk
We are working in partnership with South West London ICS and South East London ICS, to support care providers in their remit with accessing this funding and to make the transition from paper to digital as smooth and easy as possible.
The ICS’s are hosting the event ‘Digitising Social Care Engagement‘ for South London care services on Wednesday 15th February 2023, 10am – 5pm, at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in London.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. Digital care planning platforms, including ourselves at Nourish, will also be exhibiting and demoing. Our team can show you our platform, discuss what going digital means and outline all the benefits that come with going digital.
As many care providers are aware, the Adult Social Care Transformation Fund is supporting the Government aim of having all (but at least 80%) of CQC registered adult social care providers to use digitised care records by March 2024.
Digital transformation can dramatically improve the quality and safety of care. Point of care information can be safely and securely stored online to keep all staff aware of the care needs of the people they support and give the senior team full oversight of the people they support in their service. This ensures people receive the right care, at the right time, and care teams have access to the information they need. NHS Transformation Directorate is providing £25 million of funding this year as part of a 3-year programme to enable Integrated Care Systems (ICS’) to scale up use of digital social care records, alongside other promising evidence-based technologies centred around outcomes such as falls.
For care providers still using paper-based care records, this initiative provides a helping hand with starting the journey to digital care records. Taking a care provider from paper to digital may seem a daunting and expensive task but with the ICS funding taking the brunt of the year one cost, there is no better time to make the switch to digital. The funding has been distributed to the 42 ICS’ across England for them to allocate the funding to adult social care providers to support them with adopting digital care records. CQC registered care providers can apply for grant funding from their local ICS which typically will pay for 50% of their annual licence fee for a DSCR. While there is no deadline for funding, there is a risk of the funding pot running out before every care provider has a chance to apply for funding, so now is the time for action.
Nourish was selected by NHSE as one of the first Assured Suppliers for this national funding programme. We have a dedicated ICS team that works with each ICS programme lead and can help you to navigate the process of applying for ICS funding, help you complete the necessary documents to secure the maximum funding available and give you advice on what you can expect from the ICS. Each ICS has a different process so the information may seem confusing if you are trying to research the funding and processes you need to follow. By utilising our relationship and knowledge of each ICS, we will be able to support you in the process to access ICS funding and make the switch to digital. Our relationship with the 42 ICS’ means we are aware of the funding being offered to each care provider, and what the process of applying is. We have helped many care services apply for funding – we’ll put you in touch with the right person from your ICS.
As a care provider, your journey to digital may prompt lots of questions initially. Our experience in working alongside care services, coupled with our ICS relationships, gives us the knowledge and expertise to make your transition as pain free as possible. Nourish is a market leader for supporting services on their digital transformation journey. Our team is made up of people with backgrounds in health and social care who have experience and knowledge of the struggles and challenges faced by care providers.
With digital care planning, you are able to effectively pull reports and spot trends that would be otherwise difficult to evidence. Digital care planning has additional benefits such as reducing the physical footprint of records, stationery costs and clinical risk. As well as all this there are operational efficiencies such as reducing time spent on night visits and keeping track of occupancy. Having access to wider NHS systems is now also a reality with integrations such as GP Connect and local Shared Care Records, empowering carers to be part of the wider circle of care. To see the full benefits of Nourish, click here.
If you’d like to speak to one of our team about what Nourish can do to help you deliver better care, click here to book a demo.
The Project Management Institute says that 50% of all projects fail. A successful digital transformation project that gives you the tools and stepping stones to get your care services up and running with digital care planning will not fail. So, what does a successful digital transformation project look like?
Deciding to make the switch to digital is a project that involves various stages. Where digital care planning sits in your digital strategy will be entirely dependent on how technological your care services are already. Some services may already be using an eMAR or an app for pain management while others are yet to install internet into their location.
Choosing a suitable digital care planning platform for your health and social care service in itself encompasses many areas. Is it suitable for your care type, is it flexible and adaptable to your needs, is it easy to use and visually appealing, does it have the highest security credentials? But what about the implementation itself? Does the digital care management platform supplier offer dedicated Project Managers to assist with your digital transformation journey? If you have over a certain number of services and beds, a project management team from the platform is essential in assisting you and ensuring a smooth roll out the platform to your services.
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), 50% of all projects fail. A successful digital transformation project that gives you the tools and stepping stones to get your care services up and running with digital care planning will not fail. So, what does a successful digital transformation project look like? How can you make it a manageable task? What questions should you ask the project management team?
According to the PMI, 29% of projects fail due to poorly defined opportunities and risks and an inadequate vision or goal. A good digital transformation project will have clear expectations and set targets, goals, milestones and expectations as you implement your digital strategy into your care services. Ensuring you have a clear outline of all the steps you will be taking in the project will give oversight into what is going to happen and when as the project progresses.
To ensure that the project progresses at a rate that doesn’t become overwhelming, a successful project will be gated in the sense that you can only progress once certain milestones have been met. This will make the task more manageable.
“We were concerned about migrating to a new system because we didn’t know how our colleagues would cope with change. Nourish was excellent, they put a bespoke training package in place for us and took the time to walk us through each step of the journey from setup to implementation.” Golden Care
A successful digital transformation project will not just make rolling out the platform manageable but will build a centre of excellence within your care service. Providing you with the knowledge to become self-sufficient in the platform will give you the opportunity to become confident and comfortable in the platform and digital care planning as a whole. Such knowledge will also provide you and your team with the autonomy to help align the platform with your policies and procedures, so it suits the needs of the care services in your remit.
When starting your digital transformation project, it is vital to encourage involvement from your passionate and most tech savvy colleagues to help support the rollout. Encouraging change in practice and culture is not always smooth sailing so having members of the team champion this change will benefit the rollout in the long run. To ensure a successful transition over to digital it is essential to appoint champions who will be advocates for your chosen platform within your organisation.
While it is often assumed that there will be a hesitancy in the use of digital by some care staff who are less confident with technology, research shows that respondents shared consistent descriptions of a high level of acceptance. A study into Nourish and Care Worker Engagement by Graham Brittain MBA from Plymouth University, found the acceptance of the care planning technology was facilitated by both the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the system. Interviewees frequently cited ease of use in their responses and this was a common ‘particularly liked’ factor that emerged from the survey.
Choosing the order in which you roll out the platform to your services is crucial. It is important to think about leadership, staff engagement, current agency usage and enthusiasm when selecting your services for the first phase of rollouts. This is because they will lead by example for the services that follow. By rolling out the platform in this way, you are able to define what best practice means in your group and then spread that out across all your services.
A successful digital transformation project will have clear milestones and a platform provider team that supports you and your teams to become experts in the platform on the start of your journey to digital transformation.
Did you know today is Blue Monday?
Reports suggest that the 3rd Monday of January is the most depressing day of the year because of:
While Blue Monday started as a marketing campaign by Sky Travel to encourage us to book a holiday to counteract the January Blues, it has since become a great excuse to discuss our mental health. So how can you counteract the January Blues?
To combat the effects of Blue Monday, transform the day instead into Brew Monday, a term coined by The Samaritans. Brew Monday encourages us to sit down for a cuppa and have a chat with those around us, family, friends or work colleagues, to check in and see how they’re doing. Brew Monday is a great activity idea for your care service, allowing those you support to make friends or open up about how they’re feeling. Find out more about Brew Monday, here.
While exercise is proven to lift our moods, an exercise session doesn’t always have to mean a session in the gym. Sometimes a good walk will blow the cobwebs away and get the serotonin flowing. And these days, there are many different types of unique exercise such as laughing yoga or goga (goat yoga) and many exercise sessions can be modified to be chair-based. There is something out there for everyone!
Don’t be hard on yourself if you’ve slipped on your New Year’s Resolutions. We are all human after all. One slip up doesn’t mean we have to give up! Remember it takes seven tries to secure a habit.
Starting your day by saying positive statements in the mirror can be hugely beneficial. Reports show that by doing this, you can challenge and overcome negative thoughts and self-doubt while at the same time encouraging confidence and self-belief.
Improving your home space can have a massive impact on your mood. So tidy that drawer that needs sorting, go through your clothes and donate unworn items to charity, buy a houseplant, put up your favourite picture on the wall or change your bedding!
Cook your favourite meal or order your favourite takeaway, watch your favourite programme or film. Treat yourself and make yourself smile, you deserve it! Tell your loved ones what they mean to you, treat them to something they love or do something to make their day better. Even something small will go a long way to improving their day and their happiness will rub off on you!
‘The Adult Social Care Transformation Fund is supporting the Government aim of having all (but at least 80%) of CQC registered adult social care providers to use digital care records by March 2024. Registered care providers are now able to apply for grant funding from their local Integrated Care System (ICS) which will pay for 50% of their annual license fee for a Digital Social Care Record (DSCR) system such as Nourish. Find out more about the funding here.
Nourish are working in partnership with the 42 Integrated Care Systems (ICS) across England, to support you with accessing this funding and to make the transition from paper to digital as smooth and easy as possible
In January there are a number events across the country where ICS’s will provide more information about the funding and how to access it. Nourish will also be attending these events so you can find out more about digital care planning.
To give all care services in Dorset more information about the funding, the Integrated Care System, Dorset ICS are hosting the event ‘Spotlight on Digital Shared Care Records’ on Tuesday 17th January 2023, 9.30am – 1.00pm, at Hamworthy Club, Magna Road, Wimborne, England, BH21 3AP.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. Digital care planning platforms, including ourselves at Nourish, will also be exhibiting where we can show you our platform, discuss what going digital means and all the benefits that come with being digital.
Reserve your place at the event here.
To give all care services in the Black Country more information about the funding, the Integrated Care System, Black Country ICS are hosting online webinars on Wednesday 18th January, 3pm – 3.30pm and Tuesday 31st January, 2pm – 2.30pm.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. We will also give a demonstration of our digital care planning platform Nourish, showing what going digital means and all the benefits that come with being digital.
There’s no need to book, access the webinar links here.
On 19th January 1pm – 2pm, Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICS are hosting an online webinar about the funding that is available that you can use to digitalise your care records and for a nurse call data system.
This free webinar will give an overview of the funding available as well as showcase the capabilities of Nourish Care, a digital care planning tool assured by the national programme, and NurseCall data system, NexusCare. Both Nourish Care and NexusCare can integrate with each other.
To give all care services in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough more information about the funding, the Integrated Care System, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICS are hosting an online webinar on Wednesday 25th January 2023, 12pm – 2pm.
You’ll be able to find out more about the funding and how you can digitalise your care records. Digital care planning platforms, including ourselves at Nourish, will also give demonstrations of our platforms showing what going digital means and all the benefits that come with being digital.
To reserve your place at the webinar please email ASC.Reform@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
The 2024 digital deadline is fast approaching. How can you ensure your care service is on track to meet the digital deadline?
By 2024, the Department of Health & Social Care aims for all (but at least 80%) of care providers to be using a digital care management platform. This deadline is the first marker of progress for the long term digital transformation of the whole sector, as set out in their ‘Plan for digital health and social care’ and the vision for a digitally-enabled health and social care system.
The deadline exists to ensure that health and social care is sustainable in the long term and digital transformation for care providers is the logical first step. The deadline also serves to ensure that the advancements in digital health and social care made during the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Using digital care management is becoming essential for care providers. With a digital platform, care teams can track incidents and events, and by analysing the data recorded, potentially prevent such incidents happening again in the future. Having everything all in one place, without paper weighing you down and taking up your time, will have a huge impact on your care service and how you deliver and coordinate care.
“The long-term sustainability of health and social care is dependent on having the right digital foundations in place, and so digital transformation must be the linchpin upon which all of these reforms are based.” – Sajid Javid, Former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Deciding to go digital is the easy part. How do you then decide which platform provider to entrust with digital care planning? There’s a host of things to consider and we’ve created a handy checklist to help make sense of it all and what the most important things to look for when choosing a new digital platform provider.
Best practice defines the best way to achieve effectiveness and efficiency. In healthcare, this defines the best way to improve the health and wellbeing of the people supported.
Best practice defines the best way to achieve effectiveness and efficiency. Cambridge dictionary defines it as “a working method or set of working methods that is officially accepted as being the best to use in a particular business or industry.” In health and social care, this encompasses many areas from oral care to podiatry, to medication or mental wellbeing, and defines the best way to improve the health and wellbeing of the people supported. Best practice is the conclusion of high-quality evidence from recent, relevant and helpful care methods, procedures, techniques and interventions. The implementation of best practice aims to improve each individual supported’s health
outcomes and the quality of healthcare as a whole.
“Nourish has given us the opportunity to be really creative in tailoring interactions to meet the specific needs of our individuals, so that we can design a truly unique service for each person.” – Heathville Care
While the Care Quality Commission (CQC) doesn’t define best practice in care, there are independent bodies within the health & social care sector that are dedicated to researching and assisting in delivering best practice. Utilising these bodies, such as the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB), The Outstanding Society, National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE), The National Care Forum and Care England, will share the best practice that is currently being exercised. These bodies will also provide a community and if you choose a
digital platform that works with them, they will be able to put a voice to your evidence and opinions that can continue to shape best practice.
The government’s digital deadline that requires 80% of care services to be using a digital system by 2024 suggests that using a digital care planning platform is considered best practice. A digital care planning platform that is customisable, flexible, person-centred and can be tailored to the needs of your care service ultimately becomes the best practice solution as it fits all of your needs. A digital care planning platform can give you the tools to assist you in working to achieve best practice care such as Oral Health Assessments or Quality of
Life Tools.
With digital care planning, care staff can record notes on the go and at the point of care meaning their notes are more accurate and they have more time to flesh out the care note to be more person-centred. With more accurate and person-centred notes recorded on a digital system, care teams are able to track any changes on dashboards that showcases the information clearly and instantly. A digital system means any changes will be picked up quicker and don’t require searching through paper care plans.
Within Nourish, each care service will be assigned Libraries specific to their care types. These Libraries are collections of managed assets, such as interactions, assessments, care plan templates and more for managing specific pathways, conditions, needs and day-to-day operational requirements. Our Libraries have been built alongside care and clinical professionals, with a deep understanding of the sector and needs of the population. Nourish were one of the first to be accredited on the NHS Transformation Directorate Assured Supplier List and is a Quality Partner of the PRSB, working to promote best practice standards for care. Nourish were also the first to get the PRSB Digital Care and Support Plan Standard. Nourish partners with leading technologies in the health and social care sector to create an integrated ecosystem for care services so Nourish becomes the single source of truth. As standards and best practice evolve, not only does Nourish include advanced workflows for incident management, it also integrates with NHS technology systems such as GP Connect and other leading
suppliers, such as Nexus by GHM Care for nurse call alerts, Radar Healthcare for Incident Management and MED e-care for eMAR with many more to come.
The flexibility of Nourish allows for a constantly evolving best practice, not just for the care sector, but importantly your contexts of care and organisation’s evolving processes. Best practice says you should record x and y. With Nourish, if it is relevant and you think its beneficial, you can add that z also needs recording. A perfect balance between standards-based best practice and ever evolving best practice that doesn’t
stagnate.
“The timelines really help care teams keep up to date and aware of what everyone’s needs are such as turns, fluid intake, wound care, and being able to add photos really helps document some of these things and see improvements in those we support. Also seeing things like how much people are eating and how they are doing in day to day life can really help us see where the gaps are and what we can do to improve their care.” – South Coast Nursing Homes
Best practice is never set in stone. What was best practice is 2020 may not be best practice in 2022 if the evidence provided by care professionals has proved otherwise. The idea of best practice is always evolving as collaboration and evidence are built. Working towards best practice will always be an ongoing process.
Digital care planning is the way forward for health and social care and the 2024 digital deadline is fast approaching. By March 2024, the Department for Health & Social Care require 80% of care providers to be using digital care planning, with plans for this to eventually become 100%. Saving time is one of the key benefits of using digital care planning but how can digital data be used to save time and work smarter within your care service?
Using a digital care management platform that allows care note recording on the go is an instant time saver, especially compared to paper notes. Not only is time saved on note recording, but notes are more detailed and precise allowing senior staff and managers to spot any changes that require their attention and intervention.
With notes recorded on the go, information is up-to-date and available within the handheld devices. Care staff will have instant access to the essential information they need about the people you support. As and when care needs change, your care teams will always be in the loop to ensure they can provide the best care suitable for the people you support. The handover feature of a digital care planning platform will allow your care teams to see essential information from the shifts before, ensuring they are up-to-date on any events and are aware of anything that needs to be monitored or checked.
Agency carers, if used in your care service, are there to assist your staff when there are shortages. However, unless you’re lucky enough to get the same carers over and over, ensuring agency staff have all the necessary information
to provide safe, effective and person-centred care to the people you support can be time consuming. Having care plans and essential information available on a portable device means agency staff are able to immediately familiarise themselves with the people they will be supporting without having to rely on your care staff.
78% of care providers surveyed in a study by Care England reported that there has been a significantly higher and more frequent need for nurse and carer agency staff in May/June 2022 compared to April 2021. The survey also found that 50% of agency staff during this time were used to fill long-term vacancies of four weeks or more. With agency usage increasing, a digital platform that accommodates this is essential.
“The impact on the team was an immediate effect, especially in regards to time saving and daily report completion.” St Bernard’s Residential
Using a digital care management platform as a care group allows you to have an overview of each and every service within your group from a centralised location without physically having to visit. This means no more travelling to each location, freeing up your all-important time. A digital care management platform should feature dashboards and reports for the management teams to track and monitor trends and changes in the people supported. With the power of data intelligence readily available, you have the capability for early intervention on health and wellbeing changes and the ability to see if any services are in need of extra support.
“It’s so easy to access care plans, risk assessments, contacts, daily routines, fluid charts, falls, medication and more all in one place and at the touch of a button.” St James Care – Linden House
Utilising the third-party integrations available within your chosen platform will save your team’s time as all information can be found in one central location and encourages working smarter in proactive and preventative care. Integrations can be used to reduce administrative burden, reduce double entry and improve the flow of information in the circle of care. Integrations give you access to information you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. This allows you to analyse digital data and make better more informed decisions, the best possible outcomes, improve care delivery and care review for the future.
Integrations with third-party eMAR systems ensure you have immediate access to the information you need at the point of care, such as medications administered and associated notes. Prescribed medications can instantly be added to the Emergency Admission Pack if one of the people you support has to go into hospital. For integrations that focus on falls prevention, the data recorded can be analysed in order to identify early warning signs. These early warning signs will allow you to put preventative measures in place, reducing future incidents, the time spent on incident aftercare and allowing for a safer environment for the people you support.
Escalations of care need a timely response from external healthcare providers and preventative care and chronic disease management integrations encourage this. The ability to share information from your digital care planning platforms with a clinical team quickly is crucial to the person you support and the management of their care, saving time trying to get through on the telephone. Preventative care works to reduce hospital admissions with early intervention. Having systems in place enables early supported discharge which frees up beds within the NHS and supports a community-based approach to care in a more comfortable and appropriate setting for the people you support.
Nurse call software and the analysis of data surrounding call bell usage is designed to reduce the usage of call bells in care services. In doing this, the care service environment becomes less stressful for the people you support and your staff. The data analysis can show where call bell usage is higher and response times slower, allowing for adjustments to staffing levels to accommodate, easing the minds of family members and providing evidence for CQC.
“Nourish allows us insight into our care system that never existed before. This has really helped how we collaborate as a team and share information between departments and other healthcare professionals.” – The Grange Centre
Using a digital care planning platform will allow you to analyse the data that is recorded. Centralising data storage through the use of integrations allows a concoction of rich data to identify trends and patterns that will allow you to improve the lives of people you support. Using paper particularly would make joining the dots on incidents and the potential causes trickier and slower. With a digital platform, the information can begin to be analysed instantly.
By analysing the data recorded, you and your teams will be able to spot and track trends on simple and easy to use dashboards. The data can be useful to allow you to intervene before an incident occurs by spotting trends before they escalate. Dashboards and reporting functionalities allow you to track the events leading up to an incident and in the future, if the same chain of events begin to happen, intervene before the risk reaches boiling point. Not only does this save time on form filling, contacting families, external healthcare providers and more but it is also significant for the individual supported. The data analysis also provides the opportunity of learnings that can be shared across your services, helping to contribute to positive change within your organisation.
Using digital care planning allows you to become proactive in your care approach. You can see warning signs, manage and raise awareness of any triggers, inform staff of the best way to respond by having all that information in carers hands on their devices. In the short term, time is saved on note recording, double entries and information sharing and in the long term, time is saved by utilising preventative measures and being proactive in your care approach. Not only is time saved by working smarter but implementing the aforementioned measures will improve the wellbeing of the people you support and your staff.
The government set digital deadline requires at least 80% of care services to be using a digital care planning system by March 2024. But what benefits can using a digital care planning platform truly bring to your care service?
With a digital care planning platform, your paper-based care plans will be transformed. Care notes can be completed on the go allowing for more detailed and accurate records. On the go recording means information doesn’t get missed or forgotten and care teams don’t have to spend hours writing down their notes when they get a chance. The notes recorded digitally or via the speech to text function will be easier to read for all the care team, saving time on figuring out a member of staff’s handwriting.
With more accurate notes, comes more accurate care. Where care teams are able to record notes immediately after providing care, the care they delivered and any changes no matter how small in a person are fresh in their mind. This information will be recorded, and senior carers are able to pick it up and act upon it, ensuring the people you support are receiving the most appropriate care suitable for them. Gaps in records can be quickly identified and highlighted and notes are accessed quickly and easily within the online platform. Trends with regards to MUST, Weight loss, Food and Fluid management are more easily identifiable and acted upon.
As care notes can be logged on the go, your care teams will have more time to dedicate to delivering person-centred care. With all the necessary information about the people you support on the devices from care plans, care notes, handover notes, daily tasks, alerts and more, your care teams will have all the information they need, literally in the palms of their hands. Time will no longer be wasted looking for a file and reading through all the handwritten notes.
By adopting Nourish’s digital care planning platform, carers in Leicestershire County Care Ltd (LCCL) home Harvey House, save an average of an hour a week while care team leaders save at least two hours per week. In another LCCL home Whittingham House the team saves approximately 20 minutes per carer per week. With 10 carers on the floor, this works out at 200 minutes per week – just over 3 hours of time saved that can be reallocated back to the people they support.
This saving means that carers have more time to deliver quality person-centred care and time for activities and outings that are essential to the wellbeing of residents, all resulting in improving the health of the people they support.
Becoming ecologically friendly is a goal many care services and businesses across all sectors have set for themselves. The UK government has pledged to be net zero by 2050 while the NHS is working towards being net zero by 2040 with 80% of the reductions happening by 2028.
Using a digital care planning platform will help to reduce the amount of paper you use in your care service. 65% of care services using Nourish reported that they saved up 100 sheets of paper every single week just by using Nourish. Similarly, 95% of our care service managers reported that they save up £2,000 on stationery alone every year by using Nourish. We encourage more remote demonstrations and training of our platform to reduce our carbon footprint and either allow you to purchase your own devices or can provide sustainable devices so your care service can take the steps towards being greener.
Using Nourish gives you, your home managers and senior management team a bird’s eye view of every home in your remit. From head office, directors can observe trends across the whole group, while home managers are able to identify trends within residents in their home as well as trends with staff interactions, building team morale and delivering praise or training where required.
When LCCL were using paper before they went digital, if the senior management team wanted to see the care delivered and the health of the residents supported by LCCL, they would have to go each location and read the handwritten notes. An extremely time-consuming task where it is also hard to spot trends.
The ability to see an overview of every service within your care group gives a more consistent approach to care. You are able to see all the alerts and warnings that have been raised in each care service allowing you to analyse how long warnings have been open and the types of warnings being raised. This will help you identify any problems and put improvement measures in place. This ensures that all your services are working to the standards set by you and you are able to see where one service may need extra support and which home would be best to take direction from.
“At Harvey House, I can oversee all residents and staff on a daily basis to ensure all needed interactions have been met. Reports make gathering information such as incidents/accidents, ABC charts easier to manage and audit in a weekly basis, paperwork cannot get lost as everything is all in one place. I can complete these audits at home or at work.” – Lisa Pegg, Harvey House Manager, LCCL
Fully utilising the features and tools that come with a digital care planning platform can have a positive effect on your CQC ratings. Nourish is streamlined in a way that allows care teams to deliver person-centred care to all residents. Because the system is intuitive and easy to use, teams are able to spend more meaningful time with the people they support due to the time saved.
The ability to give evidence to various stakeholders quickly and efficiently is also one great benefit of using Nourish. With reports pulled instantly at the click of a button, the key information is available in an easy to read dashboard. Care services are able to give temporary secure access to the Nourish system to CQC inspectors and Local Authority Compliance inspectors if they wish to view specific care plans. In the current climate of where remote inspections are taking place more frequently, this will save an immense amount of time.
“Using Nourish has definitely had a positive impact on our CQC ratings, particularly due to the record keeping features meaning detailed care notes are recorded in the moment.” – Stuart Vive-Kananda, Leicestershire County Care LTD, Owner
