Technology
processes, track risks, and improve efficiency by automating routine tasks, allowing staff to focus their time on care delivery. However, the true impact of technology is realised only when it is effectively embedded throughout the organisation. Simply implementing a new system is not enough; there needs to be a strong focus on changing the organisational culture to support the technology.
By following these steps, providers can demonstrate that they are meeting the requirements of reg 12, ensuring safe, effective care for service users.
The role of technology in enhancing compliance Technology is proving to be an invaluable tool in helping care providers meet regulatory requirements while also improving care outcomes. The key lies in using technology with purpose. In Radar Healthcare’s recent What the
HealthTech? podcast The Future of Social Care: Trends, Tech, and Transformations with Prof. Martin Green OBE,3
Professor Martin
Green emphasised the importance of choosing technology that directly enhances care delivery. He said: “Technology providers must ask
themselves: ‘What type of problem are we trying to solve?’ In our case, we’re all about making it easier for people to deliver great care and ensure better outcomes for patients and residents. That’s it. That’s the reason. There’s absolutely no point in using technology just for the sake of it. It must perform a task that makes a real impact and does it in a simple, effective, and user-friendly way.” Advanced technology, when implemented thoughtfully, can help care providers meet their obligations by identifying risks, ensuring compliance with safety processes, and improving continuous learning across health and care teams. At Radar Healthcare, our technology supports care providers by identifying potential risks, ensuring that safety protocols are adhered to, and empowering professionals to consistently improve their practice. By capturing data from daily operations – such as incidents, near misses, and feedback – our system helps to identify patterns that may signal broader issues, enabling proactive interventions before risks escalate. For example, in a busy and high-risk working environment such as a care
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home, where incidents can sometimes be unavoidable, our system turns lessons learned from these events into actionable improvement plans. This process aligns with reg 12, helping providers to ensure that any risks are identified and managed effectively, thus reducing harm and improving care outcomes.
Ultimately, the goal is to make learning
an integral part of care delivery. After all, better learning is essential to improving quality of care. By leveraging technology to track compliance and continuously monitor care standards, we enable care teams and professionals to make informed decisions, improve efficiency, and – most importantly – prioritise the safety and wellbeing of those they support.
Moving beyond compliance Compliance should go beyond meeting basic requirements; it should be an opportunity to improve care quality. While many providers are using digital systems to collect large amounts of data, the real question is: How is this data used to drive meaningful improvements? The value of data in health and social care has grown significantly, but simply collecting it is not enough. Providers must focus on identifying which data points truly enhance health, safety, and quality of life for the people they support. It is about moving away from data collection for bureaucratic reasons and prioritising data that can directly improve care outcomes. Professor Martin Green OBE emphasised the importance of creating systems that not only collect data, but also produce meaningful analytics that can guide decision-making: “Turning data swamps into information
lakes is key. I’m concerned that if we merely collect the data we currently have, such as risk or near misses, it may not be effective... For instance, we need to understand which near misses are significant and which are not. Collecting data on near misses that are only relevant to bureaucrats and not to the health, safety, and quality of life of the people we support isn’t helpful. Therefore, we should use this opportunity to redefine what’s important in the data we collect and determine how it can be utilised to benefit the individuals we support and improve efficiency within our organisation. Ultimately, it is crucial to prioritise the service users and ensure that their outcomes drive the data we collect. By doing so, we can achieve quality and efficiency by default.”3
By combining digital systems with a focus on meaningful data, providers can ensure that their data collection supports quality care and efficiency, ultimately improving care outcomes.
Encouraging positive risk-taking for better lives As we know, high-quality care is not just about mitigating risks – it is also about empowering individuals to live fulfilling lives. Positive risk-taking allows care recipients to maintain independence and make informed decisions about their care and lifestyle. While reviewing recent CQC inspections, of the few that were rated “outstanding” within the safe category all had a clear focus on positive risk-taking. “Positive risk taking was a core organisational
value. The service had the highest risk profile within the company but the lowest number of incidents. This meant people lived safely and free from unwarranted restrictions because the service assessed, monitored, and managed safety exceptionally well.” CQC Inspection Report 2024 While positive risk-taking might not be the norm for all care providers currently, it is clear to see that it can have a significant impact on those that are cared for and their quality of life. Several innovative organisations have
demonstrated the power of positive risk-taking and data-driven approaches in this area: n “As a complex care provider, we support people who display behaviours of concern or have other risk factors. If we can reduce those events, people can enjoy a much better quality of life. Being able to export information and snapshot data at any point helps us analyse data across the whole company or by region or service and use it to make informed decisions.” Mark Henry, head of behavioural support and mental health, Exemplar Health Care
n “Developing a deeper understanding of incidents, the teams were able to pinpoint triggers, recognise early warning signs, and develop targeted Positive Behaviour Support plans tailored to the needs of individuals. This data-driven approach soon saw results. Since 2021, their focused interventions resulted in a Lifeways-wide reduction of over 48 per cent in physical assault events and a 65 per cent decrease in accidents and incidents that are notifiable to insurers.” Jo Lourmpa, group lead specialist support manager, Lifeways These examples illustrate how effectively
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com April 2025
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