TECHNOLOGY & SOFTWARE


For example, a team of robotic vacuum cleaners was deployed in a government-funded trial in 25 UK care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. ATP testing equipment and antiviral surface cleaners were also used to ensure a more thorough clean.


As a result of the measures, pathogen levels dropped by an average of 41% in just three days aſter the trial was implemented.


As familiarity with smart solutions increases, other solutions are emerging to address infection concerns and to make up for staff shortages. 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.


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 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.


As technology improves, care home robots are becoming more sophisticated – and are more of a help to staff members as a result. For example, the developers behind Hug claim to have refined the design of the robot to make it more compact and user-friendly, while the software for Paro has also been substantially updated.


Meanwhile in the US, residential facilities are increasingly using


social care robots to interact with residents and free up staff for other tasks.


These machines incorporate screens on to which residents’ families can upload their photographs. They can also respond to facial cues and detect when a resident is displaying anxiety or confusion, then change the mood by displaying a prized family photo or throwing in a joke.


Closer to home, a robot named Stevie II developed at Trinity College Dublin uses advanced sensing technologies, laser rangefinders, depth cameras and vision sensors to interact intelligently with care home residents.


And Swiss robotician Professor Nadia Thalmann has created a robot copy of herself to keep her mother company in her own care home.


‘Social robot’ Nadine is able to talk, sing and play bingo and several versions of the automaton have now been trialed in care homes in Singapore. Nadine recognises individual residents and remembers their preferred topics of conservation, allowing them to interact with residents on a human level.


So it appears that robots will definitely be part of the future in care homes. And as they continue to improve, they will no doubt be able to fulfil even more functions, enabling them to further enhance the level of care and significantly reduce the burden on staff.


www.tork.co.uk 15 www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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