Care home technology
residents before and after its installation, using dementia mapping.
We found that, before installation, 26 per cent of people were recognised as in ‘ill- being’ and 74 per cent were in a neutral state of wellbeing or content. After eight weeks of living with circadian lighting, no residents were in ill-being, 45 per cent were very happy and 100 per cent were in a neutral, content or very content state of wellbeing. WCS Care is continuing to assess circadian lighting and whether it is feasible to retrofit into older buildings as part of a wider programme of refurbishment.
Contributing to faster treatment via remote patient monitoring Having first been introduced to Docobo in our Innovation Hub at our Castle Brook care home in Kenilworth several years ago, we have been part of a trial of the Doc@Home integrated care system at several of our homes.
When a resident starts to become unwell, the digital platform allows carers to record observations and symptoms by answering a range of structured questions. This data is then transmitted to a secure clinical database for triage, contributing to faster, more appropriate treatment for residents. Designed specifically for residential care, the system has contributed to the upskilling of carers, and a reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions that can cause emotional and physical upset for residents.
Creating familiarity through small household design Innovation is not just about technology. It is also about how to approach things such as household design. Our newest home, Woodside Care Village in Warwick, has been designed with small households for between five and seven residents, each with their own front door, to create a sense of community, provide a range of lifestyle choices and give residents a homely environment.
Another advantage of these smaller households has been our ability to manage infection control effectively at the home, something that was even more important during the Covid pandemic. With very few cases in the home,
infection did not spread because residents were able to be isolated effectively on their own household, with dedicated household staff and no reason to access the rest of the home or the rest of their household.
The power of music for people with dementia As well as design, there is opportunity to be innovative with care home roles. We often hear about the power of music and for people living with dementia, when language understanding and verbal communication becomes harder, music can unlock the brain and people who can no longer speak or follow a conversation can often still sing and even recall lyrics. I visited HammondCare in Australia in 2018 and saw staff musicians playing for residents at their care homes – a bit like music on prescription. It was the inspiration for our community musician role – a permanent member of staff who ensures music is an everyday experience for people living with us.
From community musical experiences to personalised musical memories, our musician gets to know each resident’s musical tastes so they can use the power of music to bring people together and help reminiscence.
Our first community musician - at Woodside Care Village - has been so successful, it has inspired us to change our recruitment of activity staff moving forwards. We are now recruiting people who have specific specialisms, such as music or arts and crafts, who can travel between homes and share their passion with residents. Alongside our existing lifestyle coaches,
several of our homes now have community musicians or social activity gurus.
What’s next? Care will always involve people – a team of committed and dedicated staff who work hard to ensure that residents continue to live their life the way they want to; that will never change.
A WCS Care Night Manager listens out for alerts from acoustic monitoring at one its homes
April 2022
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
The use of assistive technology is likely to gather pace. We will never build another care home without systems such as electronic care planning or acoustic
monitoring. Staff would not allow it for one because they have experienced the benefits these systems have for the people living there.
Wearable tech that can monitor every
aspect of a resident’s health and wellbeing, with the ability to predict potential problems like falls or illness, will become the norm – and they are already starting to appear.
As the sector continues to navigate the global pandemic, while social care undergoes promised reform, it is unclear exactly what is around the corner. One thing is for sure, however, technology and innovation will have an increasingly important role to play for many years to come.
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Ed Russell
Ed Russell is chief executive of Kenilworth-based provider WCS Care. Ed has over 30 years of experience working in health and social care in the not-for-profit sector. Joining WCS Care in 1992, Ed progressed from care worker to home manager, before moving into senior management in 2005, becoming CEO in 2020. With his proven background in operational management, compliance and quality inspections Ed has led the management of HR, workforce development, health and safety, sales and marketing, and business growth and development. For the last ten years, Ed has also led WCS Care’s new build programme and the organisation’s use of innovation and technology. He was instrumental in creating the country’s first care sector Innovation Hub in 2016, attracting over 1,000 national and international visitors, and significantly influencing the sector’s approach to innovation and technology.
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