Communication defines relationships. Whether personal or professional, the success of our relationships rests on our ability to communicate effectively with one another. In care this is understood clearly. Care providers go to incredible lengths to better understand, empathise and involve the people utilising support in their service. The same approach can be applied to your relationship with the regulator of your social care compliance. Regardless of the regulator of your service, talking to people to better understand the care you provide will be a central part of their inspection process. Preparing the people in your organisation for these conversations is crucial to taking control of your compliance rating. We explore how you can work on your team’s ability to communicate clearly with your regulator in this blog. Starting with your care and support team, before moving to managers and leaders, and finally central operations and quality assurance. Each of these conversations will vary in approach and focus but are unified by their ability to impact your inspection rating.  

Your care and support teams are your direct connection to your community. They interact every day with the people drawing upon your support. This gives them an intimate knowledge of the needs of your community, the processes and philosophy of your service as it is applied in action. A role that requires them to be excellent communicators. So how can you best help carers prepare for a conversation with an inspector?  

Confidence is king.  

Confidence in the care they provided, confidence in the information recorded, confidence in their approach and pride in the results. Inspectors want to see the care you provide, but they also want to ensure your carers know how and why they are providing it. Carers with a more formative role in the care development will naturally be more confident when describing it. Building this confidence over time for other carers is a matter of engaging with your team. Ask practice questions to help them familiarise themselves with the process and become more comfortable. 

Confidence with their care management system is also crucial. The right system is an accessible resource for carers to evidence their care and demonstrate their understanding. This is especially true for agency staff. Accessible records offer a level of familiarity with your service that agency staff can draw upon. Creating a continuity of care that underpins quality social care compliance. 

It’s important to remember the inspector’s perspective. Your rating is more than the evidence you provide; it is also dependent on the inspector’s ability to comprehend it. A clear and easily navigable software system can help make this information simple to access and follow for inspectors. You can offer them their own login to explore. Or have a carer guide them through the system, highlighting the work they do, their understanding and efficiency. This rings especially true for agency staff. Agency staff using accessible care management systems find it easier to fit into the unique structure of your service. 

A care management system offers you the ability to record your care accurately. This data is central to your social care compliance. When managers can draw specific and detailed reports they can take more confidence in their conversations. Not just in demonstrating the service they provided, but, crucially, pointing to the outcomes of your care. 

Ownership breeds confidence, just ask anyone with a BMW. When your care managers and leaders feel like the owners and drivers of the care they provide, they will be in the best position to talk about its quality. Pride might be a sin, but it is deadly effective in inspection interviews. When the work you do helps people live their best lives it is natural to take pride in it. Anything else would be unfaithful to the spirit of care. Managers that can harness this pride, and evidence improved outcomes over time, are well positioned for any inspection. 

For central operations and quality assurance team members you want to be able to show the big picture. This means being able to communicate your approach to oversight and how feedback cycles through your service in a responsive manner. Showing your processes backs up the evidence provided on a more specific level by your carers and managers. Reinforcing the quality of your care.  

Social care compliance is linked to your policies and procedures. You need to be able to present them and demonstrate how you implement them. Again, this comes back to confidence and ownership as outlined earlier. Care management software can also support you. Simplifying the recording, reviewing and reporting of your policies and procedures. 

Additionally, quality care management systems include an ‘audit trail’. This records every change that occurs on your system. Each assessment, each care plan update and all the clicks in between. This gives you a clearly evidencable history of activity on your platform. Painting a picture in real time of the journey of your care, the reality of your policies and the effort of your team.  

Relationships are hard, ask anyone whose partner owns a BMW. Communication is the bridge that we build between each other. And whether you are building a bridge between people utilising your service or the people inspecting it, its strength will be defined by the clarity of your communication. This is true to the point that being able to demonstrate the effectiveness of your approach to internal communication in your service is an indicator of quality care.  

But, and it’s a big but, effective communication is not telling people what they want to hear. It is telling them what they need to know. This includes pushing back when you feel misrepresented. You are the expert in your service. Set a standard of open, clear communication with your inspector and you will have the confidence to speak the truth to power. Clarity is rarely achieved easily. With confidence in your service, and the evidence to prove your points, clarity is the result that will earn you the rating you deserve.  

Professional development in social care is a fundamental building block for the future of our sector. Skills for Care’s ‘Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care’ details several benefits of investing in care eLearning and training. These range from driving quality care to improving your ability to recruit and retain care workers. Fundamentally, the impact of professional development in social care reverberates through every aspect of your service. At Nourish Care we appreciate that there are many white papers, plans and strategies for improving social care. The challenge lies in finding the time, energy and platform to pursue them.  

That’s why we are so excited to announce the latest member of our Nourish Partnership Programme, MyAko. MyAko are a Skills for Care and CPD accredited eLearning provider. We’ve partnered with them to deliver an all-in-one digital learning solution for home care agencies. Our platform links directly to the Nourish Rostering app. Enabling easy access for your staff and offering a streamlined way to manage training compliance. With over 100 thousand active users MyAko’s comprehensive library of courses covers a range of topics. Their platform has over 60 courses dedicated to professional development in social care, including Care Certificate, Safeguarding Adults and Children, and Moving and Handling People. Crucially, they are committed to continually developing and adding to the courses they provide.

We linked our home care rostering platform directly with MyAko to streamline your experience. This means you will have full access to a range of MyAko’s care eLearning features directly through Nourish. Shape the development of your teams by assigning and tracking courses. You can keep an eye on progress and monitor compliance throughout the duration of these courses for more organisational oversight as well as downloading certificates upon course completion. This gives you a throughline for recording, reviewing and reporting your teams training. So not only can you provide professional development in social care, you can evidence it as well.  

Signing up is as straightforward. Simply head over to the Admin eLearning section and click the “Sign Up” button to get started. Once activated you can set up Course Assignment Rules to establish mandatory courses for your team, based on your existing regions or job titles. It is also possible to set up unique training per person when it’s needed. You’ll find this option in the Individual Course Assignment section. 

You pay for courses with course credits, which can be bought directly through the platform. The cost of courses ranges from 1-3 credits depending on the topic. This gives you the flexibility to pick and pay for courses suited to your company’s needs. There is a report available for your course credit purchases as well to help you keep track of your costs. You can also establish pay settings to ensure that your teams are compensated for their learning time.  

MyAko boasts a range of courses covering a variety of relevant topics for social care. Including professional skills, safeguarding and clinical best practise. With over 60 courses to choose from you can shape your training to the needs of your community. Here are some examples. 

The Care Certificate is an agreed set of standards that define the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of specific job roles in the health and social care sectors. Developed jointly by Skills for Care, Health Education England and Skills for Health because of the need for official certificates in our sector. The Care Certificate consists of the 15 minimum standards people considered ‘new to care’ need to cover which should form part of a robust induction programme. MyAko’s course covers the 15 standards within the Care Certificate and checks the knowledge of the learner through the end-of-module assessments.  

MyAko offers courses that are directly tied to care skills, as well as ones that help develop other professional skills necessary to provide outstanding care. The appraisals course aims to provide the learner with general knowledge surrounding staff appraisal skills and the role it plays within the workplace. This course is a combination of both theoretical knowledge and interactive activities, designed to help the candidate learn, and practice. This develops crucial leadership and management skills for your staff and helps provide a pathway for further development.  

Duty of Candour is a common expectation from all health and care providers. It requires care providers and managers to act in an open and transparent way with people receiving care or treatment from them. While this seems straightforward from the outside all carers can appreciate the delicate touch it requires. This course shows learners that promoting a culture of openness is a prerequisite to improving customer safety and the quality of our health and social care systems. Upon completion of the course, your team will be able to classify Duty of Candour and recognise best practice. Another key point is how you can distinguish between various levels of harm and associated actions and additionally which of these are notifiable safety incidents. 

We recently released a new training matrix report. This report is available to all Nourish home care users, regardless of if you sign up for the new care eLearning courses. This exportable report provides an overview of your team’s training status, as a result making it easier to track who’s completed their training and who may need a refresher. For more information about your new report, log in to your Nourish Rostering system and check out the Training Matrix Report guide found in the Help Centre. With this new report we aim to make managing your team’s learning and development more efficient and straightforward. 

Training is a crucial part of developing the future of care. It is vital we engage with professional development in social care to continue to take charge of our own sector. Empowered care teams deliver higher quality care with more job satisfaction. Investing in care eLearning can help with the recruitment and retention of your workforce as well. With Nourish and MyAko you can lay the foundations for your future success.

Find out more and sign up today! 

Community is at the heart of quality care. At Nourish Care we are indebted to our community of users, one that spans a range of care types and locations in the UK. We know that the best results come from clear communication and committed collaboration. Our users frequently provide the inspiration and insight that drives the development of our platform. So, it is only natural that we are always looking for opportunities to connect directly with our users. This summer we welcomed over 70 of our valued users to The Gherkin in London for our customer conference. The conference took place over an afternoon and featured idea sharing, our latest product road map and some inspirational talks from guests and Nourish leaders. 

The best place to start is always at the beginning, and there’s no better beginning than a drinks reception. The conference kicked off at lunchtime with a selection of drinks and ‘mocktails’ provided by the lovely Gherkin staff. It takes two separate lifts to get to the iconic floor 39, known locally as ‘The Helix’. The magnificent view of London’s skyline slowly started to fill with chatter as the attendees made their way up. The sound of conversation quickly filled the floor and provided a wonderful soundtrack to the view. 

Once everyone had proceeded upstairs to ‘The Iris’, the famous glass dome at the top of the Gherkin for lunch, a delectable chicken ballotine followed by a lemon and ginger posset, it was time for the presentations. The first speaker of the afternoon was the incredible Dr Waheed Arian. The doctor, humanitarian, and innovator shared his story with the audience and his perspective on ‘the business of compassion’. Everyone in the room shared his vision of providing health and care support through passion. He detailed the sense of pride and joy we all receive from working with people, and implored attendees not to fall victim to overt self-criticism at our perceived failures. The last question, ‘what does care mean to you?’ carried with it an implicit instruction, ‘Do not lose sight of what you mean to others’. 

We all took a break following Dr Arian’s evocative presentation. Upon returning it was time for the Nourish representatives to take to the stage.

First up was Nourish founder Nuno Almeida. Nuno took us through a brief history of the past few years, the pandemic, supply chain issues around the world and reassured us all with the fact that quite frankly, ‘there is no return to normal’. This stark and honest reflection underpinned Nuno’s entire talk. In a world of constant change (did you know there’s 70 elections happening around the world this year?) we turn to the people we trust for support. This rings true in technology as it does in care. Reiterating Nourish’s focus on building our team to be the right people for the challenge ahead, Nuno painted a picture of a bright, and collaborative future. 

Next up was our new Chief Product Officer Matthew Stewart to discuss our new product agenda. Matthew brings a wealth of experience to his role and demonstrated how this is already benefiting Nourish. The talk focused on the key areas of our new product agenda, and how we will be moving forward. Crucially, the session ended with an open Q&A to promote collaboration and idea sharing. Several attendees shared their perspectives and helped further focus the product agenda as we move forward. Co-production is a vital tool for the future development of care, and this is especially true for the development of care technology.  

The development of care technology does not have to be a lonely road, as we learned in the last session of our conference. Our Director of Partnerships and Business Engagement Denise Tack detailed the motivation and success of our emerging Nourish Partnership Programme. She was joined on stage by Camascope’s Customer Director Saurabh Shah and PainChek’s Head of Business Development Tandeep Gill. They explained exactly why our Partnership Programme is ‘not just an API hub’ but a collaborative undertaking. One built on a foundation of philosophical and technological alignment. We look for partners whose background, motivation and vision match ours at Nourish as well as their technology.

It was a great day for sharing visions all round. We are deeply grateful to everyone who made the trip to The Gherkin to join us for the day. It was a fantastic time overlooking London Town, learning about our users’ worlds and sharing our plans with them. We can’t wait for the next one, and plans are already in place to hold it in a more northern location so we can engage with our community across the UK.  

The day was a reminder of the size, breadth and impact of the community we are a part of, and the joy and purpose we feel working with you. 

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Electronic care planning isn’t just improving the lives of those in care, it’s improving the lives of those working in care too.

Personalised care plans are the best way to ensure your care team provide the most person-centred support to those they care for. 

Each individual is different, therefore a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work, especially when you care for people with very different needs. 

When it comes to working with personalised plans on paper, things can be quite tricky. With care teams looking after many different people at the same time, a lot of carers’ time is spent looking at care plans, writing up notes and analysing information by hand, which can become very time consuming, and ultimately takes away from the time they could be spending with those they support. 

 As personalised plans become far easier to create, manage and analyse online, they can also be shared easily with members of a care team so that everyone can see the information they need at the click of a button. 

This results in people receiving a much more personal and bespoke level of care, and ensures care teams are always working with a person-centred approach. There are many benefits to personalised care plans that are empowering teams to provide a greater level of care. 

Having a team of carers who enjoy their job is so important when striving to deliver outstanding person-centred care. When care teams are happy, this shines through in their delivery of care. Here’s just a few ways personalised plans are empowering care teams working digitally……

The most common way care teams are feeling empowered by personalised plans is through increased efficiency. 

Having each care plan easily accessible at the touch of a button can save carers a huge amount of time looking through stacks of paper and spending lengthy periods writing up notes. It also means there’s no confusion or questioning when shifts change, as you handover to the next carer they have  all of the same information readily available. Knowing what’s been done and what needs to be done allows carers to ensure people are getting everything they need in a timely fashion.

The Nourish system has a handover feature which allows carers to quickly scan through what a previous member of staff has done that day or night, which means that change overs are seamless and consistent care is provided at all times. 

With personal plans for each individual they support accessible at the touch of a button, carers are feeling empowered through that added confidence in their role. 

Personalised plans provide in-depth information about a person and their needs, including everything from their allergies and medication history to their likes and dislikes. Having this information to hand allows carers to get to know the people they support, and in having this deeper understanding of their needs, carers can feel confident they are providing the safest form of care for individuals. 

The Nourish system has the ability to log notes and send direct messages to other members of staff, so if something doesn’t look right or they’re unsure of something, this makes it easy for care teams to communicate with each other and support each other in their daily tasks. 

Those who work in care do so because they want to help and make a difference in people’s lives, but when there’s mountains of paperwork to do at the end of a shift, this can sometimes make carers feel like they could be doing more if it wasn’t for all the admin that comes with the job. 

Personalised plans that are created digitally allow carers to spend less time on admin and paperwork, and more time doing what they do best, which is caring.

“Saved around 30% of the time care teams would have spent writing their notes” and “quite easily saves staff around 20 minutes per shift”. 

Personalised plans empower care teams to work with a person-centred approach, as it gives them the time to spend with those they support in a face to face environment. Spending quality time with those in care is good for both the person receiving and giving the support. 

The majority of carers’ job satisfaction comes from being able to make genuine human connections and really make a difference to those they care for. Admin is often seen as a necessary evil of the job, but a digital way of working can cut down this admin time immensely, which makes a huge difference to the way in which care teams work. 

Autonomy is the key to a smooth running team, and personalised plans can help provide greater clarity on what each individual needs, without any uncertainty. 

With a comprehensive care plan, handover notes and direct messaging available within the Nourish system, carers no longer need to search high and low for specific information about a person. A personal care plan will have all the important details of what that person needs, so that the carer on duty can simply get on with their work efficiently and effectively. 

The Nourish system has a comprehensive care plan and personalised timeline that can give carers an extensive overview of a person’s biography, care needs, medication, emergency information and more. 

Having easy digital access to personalised care plans is empowering care teams in the workplace with a better understanding of what is required of them in their role. Working digitally eliminates a lot of the uncertainty and groups all information together in one central location, which provides greater structure and direction for care teams. 

With a clearer view of the needs of each person under their care, their work becomes easier and they feel more motivated to go above and beyond. With a more streamlined system that everyone has access to, admin time is drastically cut down and teams are empowered to provide more person centred care, there’s no doubt that a digital way of working is going to boost morale in the workplace. 

With the structure and efficiency of a digital personalised plan, teams can put all their effort into providing outstanding care for everyone. 

A smarter way to care. We’ve worked with over 1,000 care services and organisations to deliver truly person-centred care plans that transform the way care teams manage and support those they support.

For more information on how the Nourish system can help your care service begin to empower your care teams, get in touch or book a demo today.

Many of us use some kind of technology to monitor our health and well-being. We’ve got fitness trackers, smart watches, sleep trackers, fluid logs, gym apps and so much more. We input our data and track our progress so we can see where and how we can make changes to improve our health. And just as it can improve our health, data and analytics can improve your care management too!

With this in mind, the same concept is now being applied in the care sector. Care teams are now able to use a digital system to record notes and assist with daily care. Moving away from a paper-based system comes with a whole host of benefits, one of which is the huge amount of data that can be analysed, which has great potential to improve the way care and support is provided. 

In order to look at ways in which care can be improved, measurable data is needed. Not only will this help to spot any initial areas for improvement, but the continuous monitoring of data allows you to accurately measure the effects of any changes made. A data-driven approach to care can really help care teams to better understand those they support, and feel confident they are providing the safest daily care to each individual. 

Fears surrounding big data 

Although the idea of using data analysis is supposed to instill confidence in carers, it is understandable that many people still have their reservations about this, mainly surrounding the accuracy of said data, and where data protection comes into the equation. But when it comes to the digital vs paper debate, it is clear that paper recording poses a far greater risk for inaccuracy and inconsistencies in patient information. 

We are already starting to see technology being implemented within the health and social care sectors. The NHS is slowly starting to work on digitalisation of patient records, and electronic care planning is now becoming the norm across many care homes in the UK. Now that the care sector is rapidly adopting a digital way of working, data analytics is the next step in evolving and enhancing the way we care. But how exactly can data and analytics improve your care management? 

Spotting trends in those you support 

One of the main benefits of analysing data is to be able to spot trends. This could be anything from eating habits to sleeping patterns, and these trends may vary between care providers. 

What this allows carers to do is look at the bigger picture. Did someone refuse their dinner or their medication one night? If so, why did they? Who was on shift that evening? When looking at the bigger picture you can start to see what’s missing or what’s changed and ask the necessary questions to get to the bottom of it. 

With paper recording, it can be a little trickier to keep up to date with the bigger picture and see things clearly, meaning things can get missed. While it may sound extreme, spotting someone’s decline in appetite could be the difference between life or death, as this could be the first sign of an underlying condition that could otherwise go unnoticed. 

Creating continuity of care  

Having data recorded electronically makes it far easier to run reports, and gain insight into individual’s needs. This type of data recording and reporting is proactive and allows you to share insight and information with your care team and other healthcare providers in a safe and efficient way. 

With data reports readily available to view, this is a far more accurate way of sending and receiving up to date information, ensuring that everyone is getting the right level of care they require. 

Creates a transparent care environment

When there is clear communication among care teams, you are better equipped to support those in your care. Going digital has its benefits in ensuring everyone is on the same page, but the analysis of data takes this one step further. 

By providing everyone with the facts and figures in a clear and concise way, these insights will empower carers to be the best they can be. With reports and data readily available, this means everyone can have clarity around the type of care an individual needs and what is being done to support them, and family members can be kept in the loop so they have peace of mind their loved ones are in good hands. 

Transparency is key when it comes to evidencing care for CQC purposes. Data analysis better equips you to provide the best quality care as well as have all the necessary information readily available for inspectors when you have an audit. 

The future of data and analytics in a post Covid-19 world

This year, the care sector has faced many challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe and sadly became one of the leading causes of deaths within care. Understanding something like this virus can become a lot easier when we’re able to analyse the facts and the figures. Care homes who were successful in preventing an outbreak within their organisation were monitoring things extremely closely. Symptoms, incubation periods, and patient-staff interactions were all recorded and able to be analysed to track and prevent outbreaks from sweeping through their care service. 

Data and analytics is quickly going to become a must within the care sector in a post-pandemic world. The Goverment have already invested £600 billion into an Infection Control Fund for care homes, and using that funding for digital transformation could help so many care services become better prepared in the future. Not only does technology make it far easier to breakdown and understand data, but using a digital device to share information with staff, families and other healthcare services is far safer as it reduces contact between one another. Staff will be able to work more efficiently when they can all access a centralised system remotely, and it’ll be easier to log and track who has been where and when which will ultimately help prevent the spread of the virus.

How electronic care planning can help

Moving towards a digital way of working has a number of advantages, and now is the time for care services who are still using paper records to make the switch. Collating and using big data allows care teams to become more aware and vigilant of the risks to those they support, understand those risks, and implement solutions. At Nourish, we want to encourage data analysis to help care organisations provide better care, which is why our electronic care planning system can also be upgraded with an analytics tool that can help spot trends and patterns to better equip you in supporting those in your care. 

We now also have a Covid-19 Tracker built into our platform, so you can track the virus more closely and understand how it is affecting your care service. To find out more about how Nourish can help you provide better care, book a demo with us today. 

Sleep disturbances can come from many different sources but those related to illness need extra care and consideration. No matter the condition, a foundation built on healthy sleep habits can help. Sleep hygiene, the term used to describe any personal habits and behaviours that affect sleep, ranges from the conditions of the sleep environment to food choices. The Sleep Institute have put together a list of healthy sleep habits and how you can use them for you and the person for whom you care.

There are many illnesses and conditions that can interfere with how the brain releases sleep hormones. It’s most noticeable with neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. However, conditions that limit eyesight also experience abnormal sleep cycles due to changes in how the brain receives light signals. Yet other conditions like diabetes and arthritis may face sleep problems due to chronic pain. You’ll have to consider the condition and unique circumstances as you’re deciding how to implement better sleep habits.

The human brain craves predictability as it’s designed to adjust the sleep cycle according to your preferred schedule. Keeping a consistent bedtime helps the brain recognize when to begin the release of sleep hormones. The more predictable you can be the more readily your body responds.

Routine creates familiarity and reduces disorientation. It also helps signal the brain that it’s time to start the sleep cycle. Try to complete any difficult or upsetting tasks earlier in the day so that bedtime can be relaxing for everyone involved.

Some people, especially those who suffer from chronic pain, benefit from relaxation activities like meditation in their bedtime routine. Meditation reduces the anticipation of pain and, consequently, the perception of it as well. It also reduces stress by helping the mind focus on the present moment rather than past or future stress-causing events.

A bedroom that’s familiar with each item in its place can bring the kind of comfort that reduces evening irritability. A supportive sleep environment should also be dark and quiet. Be careful with electronics that may have blinking lights. These devices, like a TV or smartphone, may have a screen that emits a bright blue light that suppresses sleep hormones. In general, they’re best left out of the bedroom. Anything that overstimulates the sense from images and colors to passing cars should also be removed or blocked out.

Illness or medications may cause hallucinations or fitful sleep, making some people prone to falling out of bed. Guardrails are a good option that will protect the person for whom you care and give you peace of mind. Guardrails can also prevent knocking over any necessary nighttime medical equipment.

Natural light regulates the sleep cycle by suppressing sleep hormones during the day. As natural light fades in the evening, those sleep hormones start to trickle out until they’re at full power come bedtime. It’s essential to get enough sunlight so the body functions as designed, which makes a walk outside a good form of exercise and a simple way to improve sleep.

If dimming eyesight or mobility that limits outdoor activity is an issue, exposure to natural light through normal means may not be adequate. Bright light therapy, which uses specially designed light bulbs to simulate sunlight, can be used to increase light exposure and regulate the sleep cycle as well.

Everyone needs and deserves a good night’s rest. As you incorporate healthy sleep habits into your life and the life of the person for whom you care, you’ll both get the rest you need. With better sleep comes the physical, mental, and emotional health that allows you to live a fulfilling life while providing high-quality care.

Embracing digital technology in the social care sector has many obvious benefits; not least time saving, more accurate note taking, simple reporting capabilities and a significant reduction in paper storage.

However, we are now also seeing that once care providers have fully integrated Nourish Care into their service, they are constantly finding innovative ways to utilise the technology.

Soon after the digital recording of care notes and updating care plans has become second nature, care teams become excited by the flexibility of the system and endless opportunities it encompasses.

The more time we spend with our care providers, the more we are impressed with the how forward thinking they are. Here are just a couple of examples of how our clients have been thinking outside the box when it comes to flexing the capability muscles of Nourish.

One home we recently revisited has started to record an interaction each day of wishing every resident a ‘good morning’. They also record their responses and any conversations that followed. It’s such a simple addition to their list of daily tasks, but encourages care staff to interact with the residents that little bit more, and on an emotional level. It also gives great insight into how the resident is feeling that day and can be a helpful indicator of their mental health.

Many of our clients provide care to pet owners, some of whom live in the home with them. Whether it’s cats, dogs, guinea pigs or chickens, carers have started to create daily records, and even care plans, for the animals. This is a fun and engaging way to use the system and ensures our fluffy and feathery companions are also fed on time, given any care they require and taken for those all-important walks.

Pets are often an integral part of a residents’ or service users’ life and happiness, and it’s just common sense to keep them healthy and happy too. Having care plans for the service’s pets also provides a great talking point when engaging with residents and their families, and we love how our care partners are using the system to encourage communication.

The flexibility of the Nourish system means that anything you want to personalise or remind staff of can be built into the daily records. Maybe Frank is trying a gluten-free diet; maybe Margaret likes a cup of tea while she reads in the afternoon; or perhaps Victor is going to start chair exercises once a week. Whatever the preference, goal or need, the daily records can reflect this, helping to keep the care team up-to-date of any changes.

Another innovative way we’ve seen care providers using the system is to also report maintenance issues. This could include task reminders, so that maintenance checks are completed, and even to ‘flag up’ maintenance concerns. For example, if a carer notices that a light bulb has blown, the carer can take a photo and note its location from a drop-down list of rooms on the Nourish system. They can then set a warning for the maintenance team who will see to the maintenance issue and turn off the warning when it has been resolved. It’s great to hear how the system is being used, not just to support care teams providing care, but also to support the smooth running of the overall service.

A final example of where our care partners have taken a unique approach to using our system is with regards to checking fire doors. We currently offer NFC tag technology, which many of our care and nursing homes use for night checks. These small tags are placed in the residents’ rooms so that when a carer completes a night check, they can tap their Nourish device onto the tag and it will record accurate information for when the check was completed.

Some of our care providers also use this technology to ensure fire doors are secure. The tag has been placed on the fire door, and when the relevant staff member taps their device onto the tag, a form appears which asks the staff member to check the fire door and record the task as complete or if action is required.

Our system was created to empower carers and support care teams to provide the best quality of care possible. However, we are so pleased that the flexibility of the system is encouraging care teams to think creatively and find new ways of making the most of the technology to support their care provision.

When we first went into a care home with Nourish, it took a couple of days to get users online. But time has moved on. We listened to feedback, we watched how users interacted with Nourish, and we adapted design and functionality for the very real world of care. Now when we go into a care home, we expect to see the entire care team up and running by lunchtime. This includes those people who say “oh I don’t like technology”, and those who say “I’ll never get to grips with a mobile device”, and the 76-year-old carer who recently told us that she would never use Facebook but she uses Nourish every day. Because we use design to make Nourish intuitive and fit into the way people care, not work against them.

The speed at which the care setting feels the effects is palpable. We recently introduced Nourish to a care setting which was fully online with over 200 records created on Nourish by the end of day one. We work with a care home that only has a small team but on average they create over 600 records a day – that’s a lot of information to capture, and could only happen with a system that is quick, efficient, and makes sense in the very real world of care with all its challenges. And because of the way Nourish is structured, that information is easily retrievable. With just a few clicks, that same care team can create a report on any category of information captured, with no need to return to the filing cabinet and sift through 600 sheets of paper.

And what about care plans? Will it take hours to change the fit of the care plans used by a team for many years, that work so well, into a new shape? Not at all, because Nourish is fully customisable. We work with care managers to make Nourish fit into the way they work already.

It is people who care that inspire us to do what we do. The best care will always come from teamwork, so talk to us and let’s see what we can do, together, to make care the best it can be.