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COVID-19


Technology for Turbulent Times


Steve Sawyer, Managing Director of Access Health & Social Care, looks at how new innovations could protect both service users and care workers by helping prevent the spread of COVID-19.


Why, for instance, was the idea of robots taking care of our loved ones so far-fetched until recently? Aſter all, they could plug chronic skills shortages and, as recent events have shown, limit the chances of human-to-human infection.


Robots have not yet been deployed in care settings in the UK but many providers are already using technology to improve care quality and compliance by enabling staff to work efficiently and productively.


Not a day goes by when we are not reminded of the overwhelming impact COVID-19 is having on the care sector – and the growing urgency needed to tackle it.


We’ve read stories about staff working flat-out to deliver high standards of care, at a time when vulnerable people are isolated from their families and fearful. Some have even moved in with residents to prevent the infection spreading further. As the pandemic exerts more pressure on already-stretched services, both private sector providers and local authorities have renewed their recruitment efforts too.


The sector must draw on all its reserves to safeguard people against a virus that disproportionately affects the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.


Workloads have increased for many care workers who, along with providing meals, personal care and activities, must follow even more rigorous cleaning procedures and be hyper- vigilant to anyone presenting symptoms. Filling shiſts was difficult long before the pandemic, so we can only imagine what it is like now when staff are unable to work because they are ill or self-isolating.


TECH-LED APPROACH


The qualities we associate with good carers – empathy, humour and humanity – are not ones we usually apply to technology.


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It could be as straightforward as replacing paper MAR charts with eMAR to reduce the chance of miscommunication due to illegible handwriting or using an app reminding staff to wash their hands before each visit. As the fight against COVID-19 continues, technology is a highly-effective way of monitoring cases and reducing the rate of infection.


CONTACT TRACING


Comprehensive testing and contact tracing have been praised for helping to curb infections in countries like South Korea. With the UK’s programme now under way, it could be a real game- changer. But home care providers are already leveraging their care management soſtware to track the COVID-19 status of service users in real-time using a smartphone.


At Fosse Healthcare, staff use a specialist care planning app to record, track and report on all aspects of their care delivery. Now they also receive early warning alerts before each visit to see whether someone has tested positive, is symptomatic or shielding.


This information enables them to prepare for their visit with the appropriate level of PPE, as the firm’s Managing Director Volt Sacco explained: “We have already seen a difference in how our care staff are using the PPE we provide. We hope that implementing this system will help make the PPE stocks we have go further, without compromising safety for our clients and care workers.”


Given that care workers might be the only contact some people have with the outside world, they could be the first to spot symptoms and arrange medical treatment. With the


www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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