Care show review
Care Show Birmingham: Editor’s review
Care Show Birmingham – the UK’s premier event for the care sector – took place at NEC Birmingham on 11-12 October. The Care Home Environment editor Matt Seex picks some highlights from the show
The Care Home Environment joined over 4,000 attendees and more than 280 exhibitors on 11-12 October at the premier event in the social care calendar – Care Show Birmingham 2023 at NEC Birmingham. Wednesday 11 October began with a timely session by Charles Cross, chief operating officer of Emma AI, on Artificial Intelligence in care at the Technology Theatre. Charles gave us a useful overview of what AI actually means (“Artificial intelligence leverages computers and machines to mimic the problem solving and decision-making capabilities of the human mind.”) before discussing its current and future application in health and social care. As Charles pointed out: “Artificial intelligence is used in modern healthcare already, whether that’s personalised medicine ... but also in terms of long-term illnesses, where genetics and health data are taken into consideration to tailor medicine to the individual.
“Within the last few years, there’s been
a real revolution, and that is the Natural Language Process Revolution.” Natural Language Processing refers
to people interacting with AI in a conversational way – essentially the same way that people speak to each other. “You’re seeing a conversation happen
between you and the artificial intelligence, and as that conversation develops, [the AI] is using that conversation to become more and more specific to exactly the information that you need,” said Charles. The more an AI learns, then, the better it is able to interpret information about, for example, medical conditions, and then
November 2023
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
apply that insight to social care scenarios. Charles gave a specific example: “One of our team asked about someone living with dementia, and [the AI] was able to take that information, take the medication that that person was on; not making any decisive inferences, but was able to give advice to marketing on how to handle a challenging situation that they were in.
“So, it’s about advice and support,” he
continued, “taking into context all of the different aspects of that specific person.” According to Charles, when it comes to implementing AI (via Natural Language Processing) into social care, examples such as these are only the beginning, and he foresees carers being able to use conversational AI to update care plans in real time. “The need for technical expertise is completely negated,” said Charles, “and that is why this technology is taking your digital social care records and taking them
By increasing our levels of stress and anxiety, excessive noise can have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing and happiness
into a future that is more accessible for your team … They’re able to access the suite of information that they need, at their fingertips, anytime they need it.”
Please be quiet
The morning continued at the Design, Build & Environments Stage, where Tim Dallinger, director of Social Care Consultants Ltd, asked Why are care homes so noisy and what can we do about it? This was a really interesting look at an issue that does not get the exposure and discussion it deserves. By increasing our levels of stress and anxiety, excessive noise in any situation or setting can have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing and happiness, and there is no good reason why care homes should not consider its impact on residents. Over the past 40 years, noise levels in hospitals have risen from 57db to 72db, despite the World Health Organisation recommending max levels of 40-50db and 30-35db in the daytime and nighttime respectively. When it comes to care homes, noise comes from multiple sources – mealtime activities, staff conversations, TVs, radios, and kitchen equipment, to name but a few. The fact that a care home is, first and foremost, a home can sometimes
19
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 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
