Hampshire County Council adopted Nourish as their digital care planning system in 2019. They have 16 adult social care services in total, and now that they’ve fully rolled out Nourish across all their services, we caught up with them to find out how things are going so far.
How easy have you found Nourish to use?
It’s a challenge getting everyone to change their habits from our old way of working, but overall it’s been very easy to use with very few teething issues. Our team have really worked together in assisting each other with the system, which has helped things run as smoothly during the implementation phases.
What do your care team think about the Nourish system?
We had staff members who said they would leave if we switched to a digital way of working, but now those same people are the ones who love it and say they would leave if we ever went back to our old way of working. They’re loving the time it’s saving them.
“The support team in particular have been fantastic and have always been very thorough when assisting us with changes and solutions. It gives us peace of mind to know they’re on hand should we need anything.”
Have you had any feedback from residents or families about you using Nourish?
For the most part they haven’t noticed too much of a change, which is a good thing. We didn’t want them to think our staff were just walking around on their phones all day. But they are very curious and happy to see how we’re recording information now, as it makes it easier for us to share it with them. We definitely want to look at implementing the Family Portal feature so we can get them more involved in how we care.
How has Nourish helped with meeting regulatory requirements and audits?
Nourish allows us to record in real-time, which provides us with a reliable audit trail and detailed information on every interaction. This makes it easy to carry out reports and inspections, both internally and externally.
How long did it take for you to notice Nourish was making a difference?
It was pretty much instantaneous. Instead of people waiting until the end of the day or doing admin during their lunch breaks, they are able to record as they go. This saw a huge difference in efficiency and it freed up a lot of time to be spent with those they support, which ultimately makes everyone happier.
How much time on average do you think Nourish has saved you and your staff?
Adopting Nourish has allowed staff to save one hour or more a day easily. Before they were writing up notes at the end of the day but now that time can be used for other things, including spending more face to face time with those they support.
How has Nourish helped you to report on the care your services are providing?
We’ve been able to see instantly from the system who is doing what and when, so if things get missed or something isn’t done on time, we can pinpoint why and take steps to rectify it. We have 16 homes that all run independently and of course do things a little differently, but by implementing Nourish we are able to introduce a certain way of working that’s the same for everyone, so that we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet.
“We had staff members who said they would leave if we switched to a digital way of working, but now those same people are the ones who love it and say they would leave if we ever went back to our old way of working. They’re loving the time it’s saving them.”
Did you have any concerns about going digital? How did Nourish and the team help you overcome these concerns?
We were a little nervous about going digital, purely because it’s a different way of working. Some of our staff aren’t as technically advanced as others, so there was the worry that some wouldn’t adopt Nourish as well as others, but in the end, this wasn’t an issue at all. The support team in particular have been fantastic and have always been very thorough when assisting us with changes and solutions. It gives us peace of mind to know they’re on hand should we need anything.
What has the ongoing support been like since going live with Nourish?
We haven’t had any major issues since going live but if we have had queries or there’s something we didn’t know, the support team have been incredibly helpful and provided us with answers very quickly. The whole experience has been straightforward, and we’ve had ongoing support from Nourish the whole time.
Hampshire County Council provide a range of services including care homes, respite and day centres. For more information, visit www.hants.gov.uk
