TECHNOLOGY & SOFTWARE


saved them time. And 88% felt the robots had a useful role to play alongside manual cleaning while 100% said the machines were easy to use.


This was not the first time that robots had successfully been deployed in care homes, however. Residential facilities in the US are increasingly using social care robots to interact with residents in order to free up staff for other important tasks.


These machines are capable of learning about the backgrounds of care home residents, discovering their interests and initiating rudimentary conversations. Aſter some initial programming they are also able play residents’ favourite music and remind them to take their medication.


Some incorporate screens on to which residents’ families can upload their photographs. The machines can also be linked to wearable sensors that provide insights on residents’ health conditions. And they can respond to facial cues when a resident is displaying anxiety or confusion, then change the mood by displaying a prized family photo or throwing in a joke.


Meanwhile, another new humanoid robot – designed by Awakening Health – is providing care and companionship in elderly care facilities. The main function of ‘Grace’ is to relieve loneliness and improve the patients’ mental health by interacting with them and providing empathy. Grace can listen to residents’ life stories and help them to digitally contact their loved ones. And the robot can also perform health functions such as monitoring the resident’s temperature, pulse and blood pressure.


Care home robots sound rather like the stuff of science fiction. But in fact, technological solutions in general have become adopted much more widely in care homes since the start of the pandemic. Residential properties that might once have held only manual records are now updating them with digital versions. And staff members have become increasingly adept at new technologies since Covid-19 forced them to hold virtual meetings with colleagues and help their residents make Zoom calls to their families.


“88% of employes felt the robots had a useful role to play


alongside manual cleaning while 100% said the machines were easy to use.”


As this general familiarity with smart solutions increases, the stage opens up for other easily accessible solutions that can make life easier for care homes amid staff shortages and infection concerns.


For example, Tork Vision Cleaning is increasingly being used in care facilities. 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


twitter.com/TomorrowsCare


receiving high levels of traffic. They can then anticipate situations in which enhanced cleaning or extra checks might be required.


Good training is vital to ensure that care home staff and cleaners understand the importance of proper cleaning and hygiene. New 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.


“Tork Vision Cleaning uses


people-counters and connected dispensers to provide real-time data on cleaning requirements.”


Essity now offers two free online training solutions for care home staff. Tork Cleaning Training for Long Term Care Homes provides employees with ‘real world’ cleaning 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 they require to secure hand hygiene at every moment. 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.


Hospitals are ahead of the curve in terms of using technological solutions to improve efficiencies. For example, a cleaning robot joined the Royal Surrey NHS Trust team in 2021 in a bid to improve quality and consistency. The machine allows human cleaners to concentrate on critical areas for infection transmission such as handrails, door handles, liſts and doors to wards.


Meanwhile, Chloe the floor-cleaning robot has joined the Stoke Mandeville Hospital cleaning team where its expressive ‘eyes’ and humorous banter are making it a particular hit on the children’s ward. In 2022, Akara’s new decontamination robot was trialled at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to allow for a quicker turnaround of critical rooms aſter medical procedures had taken place.


It is only a matter of time before technology become much more commonplace in the care home. And this will be a huge benefit since these solutions will help to improve outcomes and free up staff members’ time for significantly more human interaction with residents.


www.tork.co.uk/longtermcare - 19 -


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44