Technology
Thermography: enhancing both profitability and care
Infrared thermal imaging technology offers a non-invasive and cost-effective method of identifying medical issues undetectable by visual inspection, as Stephen Taylor of Thermidas explains
The October Budget introduced significant challenges for care home operators, including increases in the national minimum wage and employers’ national insurance contributions. These changes have intensified existing financial pressures. As a result, operators are being driven to find and implement more efficient processes to manage costs – often leading to reductions in staff time allocated for routine tasks. However, such measures conflict with the CQC’s emphasis on improving resident care and welfare. This duality of pressure risks undermining staff morale, as employees are asked to deliver higher standards of care in less time. Infrared thermal imaging technology presents an innovative way to address this dilemma. By integrating thermal imaging (or thermography) into care home operations, operators can reduce costs while maintaining – or even improving – the quality of care.
Pressure injury prevalence in care homes The presence of pressure injuries (PIs) – also known as pressure ulcers – is one measure of the safety and quality of care homes. On average, PIs are observed in 11.6 per cent of UK care home residents,1 multiple studies2
yet have shown that acquired
pressure injuries can be reduced to ZERO by implementing thermal imaging into daily care routines.
The Department of Health & Social Care in England (DHSC) emphasises that PIs are largely preventable,3
and that prevention
should be the primary goal. The guidance indicates that focusing on eliminating harm
March 2025
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
This technology transforms reactive care into a systematic, preventative approach
to individuals can generally be achieved through prompt clinical intervention. A 2021 study noted4
that thermography
can objectively and accurately identify local hypothermia warnings of pressure injuries before they become visually apparent, and that implementing thermography into routine daily pressure injury risk assessment allows practitioners to make faster and more objective clinical judgments for patients at risk of pressure injuries. A meta-analysis5
of studies over 10 years
concluded that thermography is a low- cost, highly effective tool for wound care, and should be an integral part of wound evaluations in the 21st century. Reducing PIs through targeted interventions highlighted by thermography will decrease the daily labour time required for care staff or nursing staff to treat affected residents.
Diabetes in care homes Diabetes UK6
reports that every 25 minutes, an individual in residential care is admitted
The coexistence of diabetes and PAD places those individuals at a high risk of developing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), while dementia poses additional challenges for early detection and prevention of both DFUs and PIs.
National and international guidelines therefore emphasise the importance of proactive screening in this high-risk population. For example, the National Advisory Panel for Care Home Diabetes (NAPCHD)
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to hospital due to complications related to diabetes. This highlights the critical need for targeted interventions in the care home population, which is characterised by the following statistics: n 80 per cent of residents have dementia or significant memory impairment.7
n 27 per cent have diabetes.8 n 60 per cent of those with diabetes also present with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).9
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