We all understand the importance of valuing and respecting those we care for, when we speak about how you can truly deliver dignity in care, it might be hard to conjure up an exact idea of what that really means or looks like. Luckily Dignity in Care has come up with the 10 Dignity Do’s – an easy list that describes the values and actions of a high-quality care service that respects and upholds people’s dignity to the highest standard.

A Dignity Champion is a person who believes that being treated with dignity is a basic human right, not an optional extra. They believe that care provision must be: compassionate, person-centred, efficient and effective, and are willing to take action in order to achieve this.

“I have handed out Dignity in Care 10 Point ‘Dignity Do’s’ Cards to all staff in my care home – each time we have a team meeting we focus on one of the 10 Dignity Do’s and discuss what we can do to meet that challenge. Each meeting results in us making changes to the way we provide care.”

– A Dignity Care Champion

Dignity Champions are those in a care organisation that champion and uphold the 10 Dignity Do’s, as well as advocate and share the importance of dignity in any form of care. This includes:

You can find out more about becoming a dignity champion and the 10 Dignity Do’s by visiting Dignity in Care’s becoming a champion or register page. Another helpful resource is the Dignity Champion’s Toolkit for Action, which includes actionable insights, ideas and advice for people in a range of different care roles to help make a difference and bring dignity to care.

There are many ways that the Dignity Do’s can help care groups, teams and organisations improve their level of care and adapt to offer a continuously improving level of service. Championing the Dignity Do’s is only the start, we believe that in order to provide the highest quality care, moving to digital care planning enables you to create personalised care plans, record care accurately at the time of providing care and understand and act on trends about those you care for. By using digital, you can be much more efficient and spend more time providing person-centred, quality care.

To find out how care software and technology can be used to enhance your care service, or help you to better care for those you support, book a demo or get in touch with the team.

Getting enough fluids is incredibly important for our health, and even more so the older we get. After all, our bodies are made up of mostly water, and our organs need water in order to function properly and remain healthy. It may seem so simple to drink water, but there are so many things that can cause us to lose fluids without even realising it. Here’s our top tips on how to prevent, detect and treat dehydration in older adults. 

Dehydration can become far more serious than we might imagine, especially for the elderly. As we age, the body loses its ability to retain as much water, meaning older adults need to ensure they are re-hydrating more frequently. Again, the answer seems so simple – drink more water, but the older we get, we also begin to lose our sense of thirst! This means we may not realise that we’re becoming dehydrated, so by the time we reach the point we feel thirsty, we’re essentially already dehydrated. 

There are many different opinions on how much water one should drink daily, but the NHS website recommends 6-8 glasses as best practice. However, this really depends on a number of factors such as how active you are, what climate you live in and your height and size. 

We get about 20% of our water intake from our food, so the general rule of thumb is to aim for around two litres of water per day, topping that up when it’s hot or if we’re doing exercise. And as mentioned above, if you’re thirsty, this means you’re already dehydrated, so it’s important to get into the habit of drinking small amounts throughout the day to keep your fluid levels up. 

There are a number of different reasons why dehydration can be more common in the elderly, and it’s important to be aware of these so that you can spot the signs of dehydration early. In recognising these factors, you can be better equipped to prevent, detect and treat dehydration in older adults. 

Medication is something to be mindful of when trying to prevent and detect and treat dehydration in older adults as certain medications can cause excess loss of fluids and electrolytes. This is why you may notice your doctor telling you to drink more water than usual when taking a course of antibiotics, for example. If you have older adults in your care taking daily prescription meds, extra fluid intake should become a natural part of their routine. 

Older adults may start to experience incontinence issues, which can make them reluctant to drink fluids regularly in case they have an accident. This can be extremely harmful to the body, so it’s important for anyone experiencing these types of issues to speak with their GP for advice on how to control incontinence in a safe way. 

Older adults living with dementia may forget to carry out daily routines such as drinking water, so it’s important that those caring for people with dementia keep track of fluid intake and encourage it regularly. In advanced stages of Dementia, patients can sometimes develop dysphagia which is difficulty swallowing – making the basic act of drinking water incredibly painful. In these cases, providing fluids intravenously may be the best way to prevent dehydration. 

It is important for carers, and the elderly themselves to be able to spot the signs of dehydration quickly in order to treat them, but many of the early signs of dehydration can easily be ignored or misdiagnosed. 

Early signs of dehydration can include obvious symptoms such as thirst, and can also commonly present itself in headaches, dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue and lethargy, infrequent and dark urine. Most of these early signs of dehydration can be treated simply by immediately increasing fluid intake. The easiest way to know whether you’re hydrated enough is to check the colour of your urine. A light yellow or clear colour indicates hydration levels are all good. 

However, more severe signs of dehydration may include diarrhea and vomiting, confusion, and blood in your stools. If you notice any of these symptoms in yourself or someone in your care, it is important to contact the GP immediately for medical intervention. 

Water is undoubtedly the best option when replenishing fluids, however any drinks will contribute to your daily fluid levels. It is generally advised that caffeinated drinks such as coffee aren’t the best source for hydration because they can have a diuretic effect, but that’s not to say these drinks should be avoided altogether as part of a balanced diet.

Alcohol is also not recommended, especially in people who are already dehydrated as this will just make things worse. Older adults can also be very susceptible to Urinary Tract Infections, bladder and kidney problems, which can all be triggered by dehydration. 

Of course, the best way to prevent, detect  and treat dehydration in older adults is to encourage more fluid intake. Hydration can often be something we forget about, but with some of the issues listed above, it’s imperative that older adults in care are encouraged to drink more in any way possible. Tips you can try include:

If you are someone caring for an elderly person and you’re concerned about dehydration, keep a log of fluid intake. You can also make note of bathroom trips, diet, mood and anything else that may be affected by their hydration levels. 

Overall, water plays an amazing role in the healthy functioning of our bodies, from assisting the heart in efficiently pumping blood around our bodies, to flushing out toxins from our liver and other organs. Drinking water has a huge range of health benefits including giving you more energy, improving skin, weight loss and it can even reduce your risk of heart attack. 

To find out more about how Nourish can help you track and monitor things such as fluid intake, book a demo today! 

The UK’s population is growing rapidly, and the over 60s make up over 20% of us. With people living longer, there is expected to be over 3 million people aged 85+ by 2041. With this in mind, the growing number of elderly people living in residential care homes is also set to increase dramatically, but are they getting the quality of life they deserve in social care?

The ever-growing population means an increasing demand on the social care sector, and while we often think of care in a physical sense, mental health care is of equal importance and can often be overlooked due to not recognising the signs. This is something that could be said for society in general, and in recent years there has been a huge emphasis on recognising mental health and just how big an impact it can have on our lives.

The World Health Organisation reported that around 15% of those aged 60+ suffer from a mental disorder and have said that mental health problems are often under-identified by healthcare professionals as well as older people themselves, as the stigma surrounding these conditions contribute to making people reluctant to seek help.

Those in care homes may be more far more susceptible to these challenges for a number of reasons. Depression and loneliness are extremely common in the elderly, and being in an unfamiliar setting or environment can often be distressing (particularly for those who also have Dementia), so that initial transition from independent life into a social care setting is one of the most important times to be conscious of the possible signs of declining mental health.

Despite the fact we’re all living longer and staying active into later life, there is still a stigma around getting older. This is not something that should be feared, and the care that is provided to the elderly should be reflecting this key message. I’m sure most of us would struggle with the thought of getting older if it means we lose the ability to do certain things independently, which is why it is important that those in care experience very the best quality of life possible, maintaining both their dignity and their happiness.

This is best achieved through a person-centred approach to care. The person-centred approach is all about understanding the individuals’ needs and providing a unique care routine that works for them, rather than treating everyone the same. What works for one person may not for another, so here are five ways you can help improve the mental health and well-being in elderly care homes

The best way to keep the mind healthy is to keep it stimulated and active, which is why it’s so incredibly important to encourage elderly residents to participate in a number of activities throughout their week. A sign that they might not be feeling themselves is a sudden disinterest in socialising, engaging in activities or doing things they usually enjoy, so if you notice someone is not joining in as much, consider why that is and think about how you could shake up their routine.

Better still, speak to them and find out what things they would enjoy or are in the mood to do. Activities should be of genuine personal interest to individuals in order to really enrich their lives, and what one person likes, the other may not. For example, some activities on offer may not be suitable for some people with physical or learning difficulties, so it’s important to come up with a range of different activities that can be enjoyed by all.

Just because someone has moved into a social care setting, doesn’t mean they instantly lose their own individualism and identity, it’s important for carers to strongly encourage those they support to continue to embrace their personal identity.

If you want to improve mental health and well-being in elderly care homes, then simply having meaningful conversations about someone’s past, looking through old photos, and sharing stories with them, will allow carers to connect with those they support on a much deeper level; as a person rather than a “patient”. By finding out more about someone’s personal history and life, carers can better cater to their individual needs in care, and allow them to feel like they are still living their own life or have a sense of independence.

Dignity is extremely important to identity, and elderly people in care should be encouraged to do as much for themselves as possible, wherever possible, and this can be as simple as picking out their clothing and deciding what they want to do or eat that day.

Relationships are an important, if not an integral, part of who we are, and therefore play a huge role in the improvement of mental health and well-being in elderly care homes. As we have mentioned, loneliness is one of the primary causes of depression in the elderly population, and for some, their carer may be the only person they see or speak to all day. Those in residential care should be encouraged to stay social as often as possible, with visits from family and friends, or speaking on the phone/video calling if they are not able to come in person.

Having familiar faces in a care setting can be extremely helpful for someone trying to relax and feel more at ease, especially if they are in a new environment for the first time. It’s good to encourage friendships with others in care, and to form bonds with people they have daily interactions with. If someone suddenly stops wanting visitors or to interact and engage with other residents, this is almost definitely a sign that they are not quite feeling themselves or are feeling anxious or and depressed.

If someone is dealing with pain physically, this often affects the mind too. It is important to be incredibly thorough when checking in with those you support, as pain may not simply and clearly present itself to the eye. A lot of people can be embarrassed about an issue or not want to speak up and cause a fuss, so be sure to talk to them, and encourage them to open up about any discomfort they may be experiencing.

It is also really important to take physical or digital notes on any physical ailments, so that the right care can be provided and you can allow them to be seen by a healthcare professional if needed. This means you can tailor the care they receive and any activities they do to ensure maximum comfort and well-being.

Everyone’s mood fluctuates, and this could be for a number of reasons which are all very normal. It could be they’re simply not a morning person or they get cranky when they’re hungry, but it’s important to recognise when dips in mood could be an indication of something more serious.

In order to improve mental health and well-being in elderly care homes, it’s worth keeping track and logging the changing moods of the people you support. In doing so, you can gain a deeper understanding of trends (low mood linked to medication, for example), or whether there is something else that needs to be addressed.

Depression can present itself in many different ways which can often be so subtle that they get missed entirely. A person-centred approach to care requires carers to really get to know and understand the individual needs of those they support, so that they can quickly notice personality changes that might be a sign of depression or other mental health issues.

Those are our 5 ways to improve mental health and well-being in elderly care homes. At Nourish, we’re all about keeping people connected and promoting person-centered care. For more information on how we can help improve the health and wellbeing in your care homes, get in touch with the team or book a demo.

Moving away from what we know and stepping into the unknown can be a daunting experience. For both businesses and individuals, change isn’t easy and is often something we fear given it isn’t something that comes naturally; but should it be or should we actually fear just standing still? . In the words of Susan Jeffers sometimes we just need to ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’. This is particularly true when it comes to using digital in social care.

This notion of change and not being fearful of it is something that our founder and CEO, Nuno Almeida, touched upon at this year’s Care Show. Representing the ‘Care Software Providers Association’ (CASPA), Nuno addressed the issue of change in relation to the use of digital technology within the care sector.

Although more and more care services are adopting the use of digital technology, there is still an enigma that surrounds the evolution of it within the care sector. It’s hard to believe that in the UK, over 75% of care providers still use a pen and paper for planning and record keeping, rather than using electronic care planning systems. Whilst the care sector has evolved over the years, changes have been slow. There are still a lot of fears associated with digitalisation and its perceived risks. Key concerns revolve around:

All valid and understandable reasons as to why care providers are cautious of changing to a digital way of working. However, as Nuno raised the point, could paper present a bigger risk?

Records can be lost; information can be hard to find, and it can be hard to provide carers with context in terms of what is needed for those they are supporting. In the main paper records are seen more as a statutory obligation. A log of evidence to show standards of care to the likes of CQC and local authorities. The data isn’t being used in a way that can help us to improve and enhance care, something that digital technology can help overcome.

When records are input into a digital system, they become so much more than just evidence for inspection. They open up a whole new world of possibilities that simply wouldn’t be possible with stacks of paper. For example using an electronic care planning system to record digital records enables:

Clearly digital technology such as electronic care planning can provide care providers with a range of benefits, but how can the fear of change be overcome?  Like with most things, when you are armed with the right information and the right guidance, change becomes less like something that should be feared and more like something that is manageable and exciting.

In Nuno’s words ‘with the right co-ordination, the right strategy and the right partners, we can get the right digital use in social care’ and this is one of the key aims of CASPA. To help promote and continue to grow the use of digital technologies in the social care sector to improve the quality of care delivered.

To ensure a smooth transition, there are a number of actions care providers can put into place to help when moving to electronic care planning. CASPA suggest the following guidance on how to source and implement digital transformation software.

So you’ve chosen the provider you want to use, but what next? Well you will need to consider how you will implement the new digital system. CASPA suggest following a three-step process for implementation:

Ensure you communicate with families and care teams in a way that is reassuring and clear about the reasons for adopting digital. Try to build excitement and show that this change is positive and something that they don’t need to be nervous about.

Agree whether your chosen supplier will train all your staff or just your internal training team who will then deliver the training to the remaining members of your staff. Once this has been agreed deliver your training accordingly. Give your team reassurance that they can tackle and deal with the change and help them to feel in control by showing them that there are clear plans in place for training and roll-out.

Agree how devices are prepared and deployed. Tell staff where they need to be and when. Ensure you know how user accounts are created and how records are created for the people you support.

Good providers will be able to provide you with all the information you and your team need to ensure you are comfortable and ready for the transition to digital. From giving you clear guidance about GDPR responsibilities to how to manage devices and lock them down should they go missing. When looking for a provider CASPA recommends asking the following questions to help you find out whether they would be a good fit for you:

About the Care Software Providers Association (CASPA)…          

CASPA has been established in the UK as an independent, not for profit, member-driven association. The association is currently led by a volunteer group of founding board members, each of whom manages a well-established software company that provides solutions for social care providers

CASPA Mission…

Find out more about whether using an electronic care planning could help you and those you support here.

We spoke to Anne Weston from RHW and asked her what she would say the, “Top 10 essential care planning tips care providers need to consider when considering care plans and their management” would be. This article covers the areas she feels care providers can really make positive gains and improve the care they are able to provide.

The care planning process needs to follow an organised, systematic and deliberate format, which supports and guides care delivery. This means there should be a logical and systematic flow of the information, right through from the initial assessment to the final evaluation.

The retired and ageing hold two invaluable commodities time and knowledge. With employment, affordable housing and free university education, the older generation accumulated a large amount of social capital, in the form of knowledge and connections. By recycling this social capital attained by the ageing generation we could facilitate significant benefits for society.

There is a common characterisation that the ageing population is further increasing pressures on our healthcare services and could even lead to a financial burden at the individual level. This idea is heavily enforced by our media, that has continually prompted us into this way of thinking. The Guardian, for instance, suggests that 2.8 million people over the age of 65 will need nursing and social care by 2025.

There seems to be an over-reporting of potential financial costs, setting the trap for a simplistic argument. This focus on portraying a whole generation in terms of ‘financial costs’ only leads other generations to be concerned with the future ‘financial burden’ they may find themselves facing.

Instead, we should be capitalising on the wealth of knowledge and experience that this older generation has to offer society. We should be focused on sharing knowledge across generations, looking to our elders to offer their expertise built over a lifetime of experience.

By adopting this mindset and starting to ask different questions we, as a society, could start to nurture significant rewards.

How often do we complain that there is not enough ‘real -life experience’ taught in schools?

We can create schemes where those who have this experience partner and interact with those who are learning and starting their way in the world. Both parties can learn from each other, helping foster understanding and mutual respect by altering perceptions between the generations.

Charities too are always in need of people from all different experiences and backgrounds. Widening the experience pool in the third sector can only help the interaction across sectors and better aid the end users of the charities focus.

—

Entering the world of work can be extremely challenging. Young professionals often have no experience – whilst the retired have experience, knowledge and more often than not, time. This social capital needs to be passed on.

Mentoring is an amazing and currently undervalued way of passing on knowledge and advice. These sorts of programs would be incredibly rewarding as they could positively impact people’s futures. Imagine the innovation and growth we would see by leveraging the experience of those that have gone before us.

—

Parents and grandparents have what is often an underappreciated role in society for providing parental and pastoral support. Helping to take care of others and nurture their growth is a highly rewarding pastime and has many social and psychological benefits.

It also would help to ease the ‘workload’ on an increasing number of families and single parents who are trying to balance the pressures between work and family. This would allow younger generations to have careers and further their professional lives; working to increase household incomes and further boost the economy.

AgeUK has illustrated the importance of staying active, both physically and mentally, and how being ‘switched on’ can be led to a healthy, longer life. What better way to remain active and social than by utilising all of the experience you have pulled together in your life and sharing that with others.

Mentoring, for example, is both highly rewarding and requires ongoing cognitive function to stimulate the mind. What a brilliant way to foster cross-generation dialogue and start to break down our inter-generational prejudice.

It’s also well known that as we age, we lose many social connections. This can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Bringing generations together, we can build new relationships and networks and help to ensure everyone has that all-important social structure.

The retired and ageing hold two of the most valuable resources in life, experience and knowledge. They also often have the time to invest in sharing that with others. As a society we could be tapping into this resource, sharing the social capital this group has attained with the younger generations. Over time, imagine the positive outcomes we would see.

—–*—–

You may also be interested in reading:

Carer’s Rights Day 2018

Age Is Just A Number

A Seamless Handover

Drop us a message to find out more about our electronic care planning and recording of daily notes.

Now working with over 500 care providers across the UK, we’ve been lucky to meet with so many fantastic organisations that are looking to go electronic with their care management.

Coming into 2019, we know that many more organisations are looking to make the same change, particularly with the latest NHS Long Term Plan’s focus on a better, more connected relationship with social care through the use of integrated technology. We thought we’d share with you the answers to the 5 top questions we’re asked as an digital care management provider:

Nourish was designed to be simple to learn.

When the development process started at Nourish, we made the conscious decision of giving extra weight to the design behind the solution rather than purely thinking of adding features. The thought behind this was simple but essential: if a system is too complex, it’ll demand too much time, cause frustration in the user and ultimately, not be used.

Our care management system was created to be used by the frontline care team – which is why we created the innovative concept of the Nourish Timeline. This is a daily log of care interactions for each person you support, which allows you to have better visibility over what care is being provided, what care needs an individual has and how they would like to be supported.

A very important aspect of this user focus has to do with the connection between care plans and the timeline. Instead of purely converting paper data to digital, Nourish links the relevant care plan information according to the care interaction; this means that care plans can be accessed at the point of care.

For example, you can learn an individual’s likes, dislikes and outcome plans for their nutrition when providing breakfast. Or an agency staff member can read someone’s shared personal biography before they start caring for them; not only allowing for a richer social experience but also ensuring they provide care in line with the individual’s preferences.

Frontline Care Teams are trained to use the timelines in small group sessions, which typically last up to an hour. This allows time for people to learn the 3-step process of using the timeline, understand where they can find important information and have a ‘test play’ to start building confidence. The basic, 3-step process of the timeline can be taught in 10-minutes for agency staff who are simply coming in to use the timeline for the day and record information. This ensures that there is minimal disruption to a busy care service day.

As with all new technology, confidence develops over time from consistent use. Recording care information electronically at the point of care becomes a natural aspect of the carer’s workload and they are supported with better access to important care information; notes are recorded to inform better care, rather than simply to be compliant.

“It’s better than sitting down with paperwork. I thought it would be hard, but it’s like using your own phone,” “It’s very easy. You find all the information that you want, it’s there. Now we have time to talk to residents” – comments from a recent CQC report.

When presenting Nourish for the first time, training and the implementation process can be a key concern.  Understandably, this is mostly because moving to an electronic system is a considerable change in an often otherwise paper-based environment. There is also concern regarding staff who may have little to no experience with digital technology – which is considered and prioritised in our training process.

The implementation process usually takes two months and goes as follows:

Firstly, you as the care provider decide whether you would like to use our standardised templates, which have been built specifically for different types of care, or whether you would like to continue with your current documents and templates.

Should you choose to use your own, we will ask that you send us blank copies of all of your documentation – forms, assessments, care plans – and we will build these into the platform so they’re ready to use on day one.

Secondly, is training for you and your team. We break down our training into two separate sections; the timeline training and the care plan training.

Timeline training comes first and this is where you get 80% of the return for 20% of the effort. In small group sessions, we teach your team how to use and get the most from the timelines, where you will record your daily notes.

Care plan training takes place four to six weeks later, to provide you with the opportunity to familiarise and gain confidence in using the timelines and ask any questions that arise. The care plan training is a more in-depth training that is provided to key members of your team who will be involved in care plan writing and reviews and the administration and upkeep of the system.

From this point onwards you will be able to fully switch to digital, should that suit your service. Some care providers choose to gradually move from paper to digital and we are happy to support whichever approach you choose.

We continuously monitor your usage of the system remotely to keep an eye on progress, but also to ensure you’re using the system to the best of its ability. We are always releasing new client-led developments and we want to make sure you’re aware of, and using, these new features.

You’ll have ongoing access to our awesome support team and you can drop us a message on the Nourish Support at any time, should you have any questions.  We focus on continuous improvement, to stay fresh and dynamic, so we believe that going digital is not the end goal, but an ongoing process for which we are here to support.

The time it takes to move information can vary greatly depending on a number of different factors. For instance, the amount of information you choose to move over, how far back you move information over and who you assign to be involved in the transition.

We have worked with a number of care organisations who approach this is in different ways, so we would be more than happy to discuss the different options with you, to find the approach that suits your environment best.

The simple answer is that we offer both.

One of our key focus points is the ability to be flexible and customisable. No individuals or care providers are the same and that means our software needs to be able to support a variety of different ways of working.

We can and do offer templates based on best practice, past research and experience and direction from industry consultants. These can support care organisations who are looking for a starting template or a standard template they can build on.

On the other side, care providers can build their own templates and care plan structures into Nourish – from the beginning, it has been designed to support how you already work, rather than forcing you to work in a different way.

Whichever approach you take, Nourish still offers in-depth granularity on individualising the recording of care. For example, you can personalise at group level (e.g. policies and procedures), at service or home level (e.g. a community service within a group of care homes), at the individual level (e.g. unique care plan format for someone in palliative care), daily level (e.g. Maggie prefers to only have showers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), and even interaction level (e.g. each resident can have the interaction ‘Breakfast’, but Frank prefers his toast with extra butter).

There is a reason CQC doesn’t enforce specific templates, but rather focuses on the KLOE approach; care needs to be evidenced and documented, but it also needs to be unique to each organisation, the type of care they provide and the person they’re caring for. We work hard to make sure that can all be supported.

As a data handler of important, personal and medical records, our security has always been a critical focus. We have been registered with the ICO since 2014 and are fully GDPR compliant. All of our servers, including backups, are physically located in the UK  and your data is encrypted both in transit and at rest in our AWS data servers. In 2018, we also received the Cyber Essentials accreditation.

One of the main advantages of going digital is the instant access to all of your data, simultaneously by different users. At the device level, we use Device Management to manage remote access for different roles. We also have access permissions which allows you as a care organisation to control who has access to what information. Through the Device Management System, we are able to geolocate individual devices, lock down handsets and remotely control and update them.

The care providers we work with understand that first and foremost we’re not a ‘tech’ company, but rather a company that understands how technology can be used to enhance the provision of care teams and empower care teams with better access to information, better use of information and less time on paperwork.

Our key differentiator lies in three areas: adaptability, ease-of-use and exceptional ongoing support.

As above, Nourish was designed to be flexible to how different people work. Each care provider we work with approaches their care records slightly differently, and we ensure we facilitate that. Whether that be different uses of terminology, different forms, assessments or specific care plan structures; all of these can be created in Nourish to reflect how your team or organisation works.

By focusing on user experience and design, we have created a system that is simple to use – but still has the incredible complexity and intelligence it needs to work in such a diverse sector. We strongly believe that technology should be enjoyable to use – we want care teams to want to use Nourish, so that they record better, more rich information and this leads to a better experience of care for the individual. We focus on electronic care planning and care recording and we’re experts in what we do – everything is done in house, from design to development all the way to training and support, so we always have the expertise on hand to answer questions or resolve new challenges.

We truly pride ourselves on our ongoing support and you really don’t have to take our word for it – check out some of the incredible feedback our support team had at the end of last year. Our approach to support is: “To provide our clients with a consistently premium experience. We want our clients to enjoy talking with us and to feel that their issue has been respected, acknowledged and dealt with promptly. At all times, we have to be patient, understanding and explain in as much detail as is needed.”

I hope these answers are helpful to you in making the decision to move to electronic care planning and if you have any other questions, book a personalised demo with our team today.

—–*—–

You may also be interested in reading:

Carer’s Rights Day 2018

Age Is Just A Number

A Seamless Handover

If you work in care you will probably spend a great deal of time carefully planning and organising your care plans and pathways. So how do you know if your care plans are comprehensive enough to not only pass a regulatory inspection, but actively help those in your care receive effective support?

In order to help care providers avoid the many pitfalls that come with poor care plans, we’ve compiled a list of the top 12 mistakes poor care plans make and a subsequent list of methods you can use to avoid making them and ensure you always use effective care plans.

Each of the points we’ve made above has its own set of risks and requirements which all lead to a lower quality of care, but with the right approach, technology and techniques, care plans can be designed to avoid all of these pitfalls entirely.

Below we’ve detailed the best ways we’ve found to overcome these care plan pitfalls and how you can navigate through them yourself:

If you’d like to find out more about how Nourish can help you improve your care planning and avoid some of the pitfalls we’ve discussed above, then give us a call on 02380 002 288, get in touch with the team or book a demo.

Let’s face it, when you work in care there can seem to be an overwhelming number of different buzzwords, jargon and acronyms involved in the information you get given. This is especially true when you look at the practices involved with providing people with good quality care. Today we’re going to be looking into integrated person-centred care planning – we’ll help you to demystify the term and try to encourage you to adopt the practices it involves into your care provision.

To begin with we’ll be looking at what “person-centred” actually means in regards to care. Simply put, it’s a shortened way of expressing the creation of a series of activities aligned to specifically cater for a person and their requirements. In a way it’s how you choose to culminate your care pathways & activities in a bespoke manner to provide someone with actions, activities and results that are focused totally on the individual. 

Person-centred, applies to care planning, when you take into account the clinical, holistic, desires, needs and wants of person when creating their care plans. It doesn’t stop there, however and in order to be truly person-centred, care plans must be created collaboratively with the person in control of the care interventions they want to accept, how they wish to receive them and designed to enable the person at every opportunity.

Here’s where things get a bit trickier. In order to provide integrated person-centred care planning, care professionals from all areas need to work together in order to ensure that the person in care has a seamless provision of their care, no matter the setting. When you have a person whose care requires the interventions from a variety of different social care and healthcare organisations, this can become fairly complex and has only realistically been achievable with the introduction of electronic health records and electronic care planning systems.

Here at Nourish we focus firmly on empowering person-centred care for those who provide and are in care. You can read more about our vision in our recent article on “framing personhood to manage frailty, needs and wants” from our founder Nuno Almeida. It’s why we’ve designed the Nourish system from the ground up to help enable people to receive tailored care and empower carers to do just that.

Nourish’s care planning system helps care workers, care teams, care managers and senior care providers with person-centred care planning by:

Our team of experts are always happy to help talk through how the Nourish system empowers care teams and care providers – talk to us today to find out more.

At Nourish we’ve always been about developing better ways to care and empowering people who care, so they can provide the best outcomes possible. We believe that one of the fundamental ways that care providers can improve the way that they provide care is by adopting an electronic care planning system. We know that this can sometimes be a huge shift in established behaviours and ways of working, so we’ve put together our top ten reasons why we believe adopting an electronic system will help in your care setting.

What this means is that whenever you enter information, care records or notes into an electronic care management system its securely backed up to servers on the cloud. Although this does require an active internet connection to achieve, this can be done easily through most handheld devices or computers, automatically – without you having to worry.

By entering your care notes digitally, you’ll be able to make use of a whole host of different methods to speed your recording, such as voice to text and automatic time stamps – always helpful in evidencing the care you’ve provided.

Because all care notes and records are able to be accessed by those who need them, you are able to provide more effective handovers between staff & shifts. Gone are the days where the night shift would be unaware of every aspect of a person’s daily care notes. Care planning systems like Nourish give your staff access to the right information, no matter their shift pattern.

Because you’re entering information in an electronic format, some care management platforms are able to automatically calculate a person’s MUST score as soon as they have the required data saving you time and enabling more one-to-one care for the people in your charge.

Most electronic care planning systems don’t automatically empower person-centred care; however, Nourish is unique as its built from the ground up to put the person in care at the heart of their care management.

When you’re managing care provision you need to immediately be aware of what is happening in your care settings as a whole. By offering a suite of different reports and overviews electronic care management systems like Nourish are able to help care managers and senior care staff instantly gain an overview of the care provided and help identify changes, which need to be made.

Nourish provides an instant messaging function to users of the system, this allows care team members to immediately communicate as long as they’re with their handheld device.

Overall the features that are available from electronic care planning systems like Nourish are there to help empower your care team to provide more effective care. All of the designs, inputs and reporting are structured in such a way to provide your care teams with the information they need, when they need it.

My care team are always aware of the issues that are currently at hand. By having all devices setup to receive warnings when certain tasks aren’t completed we are able to prioritise actions and work more effectively.

We’ve designed Nourish from the ground up to support those who provide and receive care. At the touch of a button you can bring up a person’s full care record enabling carers to provide truly person-centred and positive care, with the most minimal amount of administration.

If you would like to find out more about adopting the benefits of an electronic care planning system into your care setting, then please don’t hesitate to book a demonstration or give us a call on 02380 00 22 33. It really is very simple and as our previous post, “how quickly can a care provider go online with Nourish?” can help give you an idea.