One size has never fit all - how digital supports flexibility
Professionals supporting people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions say having instant access to information about their clients through digital social care records (DSCRs) has proved invaluable, particularly since their care requirements are so varied.
Cantraybridge College is a charity which supports up to 40 people with learning disabilities, autism and similar additional needs with day care and residential accommodation.
Hazel McDonald, head of operations, says implementing a DSCR has improved care and efficiency and offered additional control and insight to sustain and evidence outcomes of the people they care for.
Hazel explains,
It has saved an enormous amount of time, it has cut down on errors, improved accuracy and it’s actually given us a lot of confidence in knowing that we have an accurate account of an individual's support needs.
The decision to move away from paper and adopt a digital approach to care planning has also delivered other benefits. Pulling together information for inspections has been less onerous and the management team have noticed that the change has lead to an increase in staff motivation.
It’s a similar story at Court Nursing Home in Birkenhead. As well as offering care for older people, the team, which includes four registered nurses, also supports people with dementia, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairment.
Their DSCR solution also includes access to GP Connect which allows appropriate staff in CQC registered care providers a restricted view of a person’s GP record.
Court Nursing Home’s registered manager, Rebecca Knight says they no longer need to contact GP surgeries and pharmacies about medication,
It has provided continuity of care between ourselves and the GP, giving us access to up to date notes regarding the care of our users. In short, GP Connect helps us to cut out the middleman meaning that as nurses we can work more efficiently, giving us more time for direct patient care.
Other benefits Rebecca and her team have seen since they brought in the new digital solution include being able to securely store all of their services users’ documents electronically, together in one place and the ability to create and populate bespoke documents for individuals directly on the platform. This feature has proved popular with their relatively young, IT literate workforce who were keen to build and customise digital files and assessments themselves.
The number of care providers realising the benefits of adopting a digital social care record solution is increasing every month. If you’re still not embracing digital approaches to care planning then what’s stopping you? There’s funding available but the clock is ticking.
Find out more about choosing and implementing a digital social care record solution.