January 29th 2021
Using the right technology for your organisation can support you to improve care. East Anglia Care Homes adopted a digital system to limit paperwork storage, save time and reduce errors. They tell us how they’ve never looked back.
Background
East Anglia Care Homes has two care homes in Norfolk with a mix of residential and nursing care. The team supports people with learning disabilities, dementia and physical disabilities.
Caroline Baines, Operations Manager at East Anglia Care Homes, said:
“We were looking at technology to see how it could help us, particularly around care planning and streamlining paperwork.”
Four years ago, they introduced software called MED e-care, which allows staff to record care in real-time and generate care plans.
How it works
At East Anglia Care Homes, the team use the MED e-care Care Plan solution. The staff use laptops in each area of the home to record daily care.
Staff log into the online system which provides a simple layout where they can make care notes as soon as they have seen the resident.
Caroline explains:
“It allows us to track in real-time the care we’re giving to residents, rather than waiting until the end of the day to write everything up. It saves staff a lot of time compared to paperwork notes, so they can spend more time caring.”
MED e-care’s software allows managers to collate, monitor and compare the data across the organisation. You can drill down to look at data in a particular home, unit or resident.
Any data can be tracked, such as falls, medication or day-to-day activities.
Care Planning
The data from the day-to-day care notes feeds into the care planning side of the system. Called ePlan, it allows you to create a care plan by following prompts and answering questions.
Caroline says:
“Because you have all the data and information in one place, it’s easy to generate the basis of the care plan automatically. Then it can be edited and adapted to personalise to the individual.”
It’s straightforward to adapt any of the forms to suit your organisation.
Caroline explains:
“It takes time for all staff to get to know the system, but it’s intuitive and since everyone got up to speed, we’ve never looked back. It brings a consistency to everything we do.”
With all information saved securely online, there’s no need for paperwork. The team can authorise health professionals to view someone’s care plan if needed or just print off what they need.
Medication Management
The team also use MED e-care’s electronic medicines management solution – eMAR.
A laptop is used alongside the nurses’ medicines trolley and the system helps keep track of stock management, ordering and administration of medication.
The eMAR tracks the order and delivery of medicines and managers can automate reports. It’s also compatible with the homes’ pharmacy provider.
Each staff member has a unique log in, which sets what permissions and access they have.
Robust reporting
By bringing a lot of the administration onto an online system, Caroline says it makes reporting and auditing much simpler.
She says:
“I have access to a dashboard that gives me robust information and I can easily keep track of what’s happening across the two homes. It’s saves so much time and it helps us with our CQC inspections to have everything in one place.”
Advice to other providers
- Going online will be an ongoing process that will take time to evolve and suit your organisation
- Choose a system that is intuitive so staff will adapt quicker
- Listen to staff and residents and be willing to tweak things as you go along.
For more information
To find out more about East Anglia Care Homes, visit www.eastangliacarehomes.co.uk
To learn about MED e-care, visit www.mede-care.co.uk
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