TECHNOLOGY
For example, Tork Vision Cleaning uses people-counters and connected dispensers to provide real-time data on cleaning requirements. This allows care teams to stay ahead of the game and use a smartphone, tablet or computer to remotely check on which dispensers are running low and which washrooms are receiving high levels of traffic. They can then anticipate situations in which enhanced cleaning or extra checks might be required.
they require to secure hand hygiene. It has been developed with leading hygiene experts using the WHO My Four Moments for Hand Hygiene in a residential home environment. And the interactive simulation – which has been designed to make hand hygiene learning more inspiring - is available both online and in a virtual reality format.
“Cleaning staff shortages have been a major problem in carehomes since the pandemic when the stress of the job caused many people to leave.”
Good training is vital to ensure that care home staff and cleaners fully understand the importance of proper cleaning and hygiene. Research from Essity reveals that 58% of cleaning staff in care homes say they find it challenging to follow all the required steps and tasks in cleaning guidelines. And 68% of employees claim they would like to receive better and more interactive training in hand hygiene.
Essity offers two free online training solutions for care home staff. Tork Cleaning Training for Long Term Care Homes provides employees with ‘real world’ scenarios in a safe virtual world. The training has been developed in collaboration with the Association for Healthcare Environment and can be customised to fit with local cleaning guidelines.
The second module, Tork Clean Hands Training for Long Term Care Homes, equips staff members with the day-to-day skills
Robots in the care sector have not been without their problems. An AI specialist and visiting professor at London’s Queen Mary University recently spent seven months observing them, aſter which he concluded that some machines were actually adding to the staff workload.
Dr James Wright discovered that the acts of cleaning and recharging the machines and stepping in when they went wrong were taking up a great deal of employees’ time. He claimed the Hug robot – designed for heavy liſting – was actually itself too heavy and cumbersome to wheel from room to room. And some residents became so attached to the Paro seal robot that they refused to eat their meals or go to bed without it.
However, care home robots are likely to become increasingly sophisticated and nuanced as the technology improves. For example, Swiss robotician Professor Nadia Thalmann recently created a robot copy of herself to keep her mother company in her care home. 'Social robot' Nadine can sing, play bingo and converse on many different topics and several versions of the robot have now been trialled in residential homes in Singapore.
Whether robots will take off in a big way or not, AI will continue to be put to use in other ways in the care home. If it can quietly enhance operational efficiency, monitor people’s pain levels and improve resident safety behind the scenes it will prove to be an invaluable tool in enhancing people’s lives.
www.torkglobal.com
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www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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