The Relatives Gateway helps nursing home to win excellent care award

Customer: Signature at The Beeches
Location: Essex
Care home specialism: Nursing and Dementia

Transforming care with the Relatives Gateway

The Beeches, a 110-bed Signature nursing home, has been using Mobile Care Monitoring for all electronic care records since November 2016. The Beeches won the Cavell Award 2017, in part due to the openness and transparency that using the Relatives Gateway has given them.

The Relatives Gateway is used by 77 relatives* at The Beeches to keep in touch with their family members in care through the social network, to receive regular updates on their care, and to sign the care plan to consent to care, if the relative has the appropriate power of attorney for health and wellbeing in place.

Providing peace of mind for families

For family members, the Relatives Gateway offers huge reassurance and comfort that their loved one in care is well looked after and is engaged in activities. We spoke to Christine; whose Mum has dementia and is being cared for at The Beeches. Christine describes the Relatives Gateway as her ‘lifeline’.

Christine explains how since using the Relatives Gateway, ‘I don’t feel like I’m pestering carers for updates with it. I look [at the Relatives Gateway] every night, especially when I’m away on holiday and can’t come to visit. I know if something’s wrong. It’s like she’s with me; I know she’s happy and taking part in activities.’

Keeping people informed on the Relatives Gateway, rather than by phone, gives people much more depth. Information from everyone involved in the resident’s care is recorded using Mobile Care Monitoring and up-to-date on the Relatives Gateway. Care Services Manager, Alison Jayawardena, believes it is important that the Relatives Gateway is used for day-to-day updates within the usual care plan and says that ‘we always call relatives first before sensitive records are displayed on the Gateway.’ As people are increasingly IT literate, tools like the Relatives Gateway are seen by families, not an exception, but the norm.

Building relatives’ trust with the care home

Penny Hammond, General Manager of The Beeches, sees the benefit of the Relatives Gateway particularly for someone newly admitted to the nursing home. Penny says ‘we initially see the Relatives Gateway build families’ confidence in and trust of the care home and they don’t feel the need to keep looking as frequently. The Relatives Gateway saves our residents’ relatives time and worry.’

Furthermore, Penny explains that with the Relatives Gateway families can see everything that they could see on paper, but the information is accessible in real-time from one place rather than handwritten in several different folders. The Relatives Gateway gives value back to carers too, as they are recognised for what they do.

The Relatives Gateway enables transparent care

With CQC’s recognition of transparency in care, Penny believes it is important for CQC to see that relatives are using the Gateway.

In 2017, The Beeches Care Management Team won the Cavell Award for Excellence in Care for Older People Team. Alison, Care Services Manager, believes that the ‘Relatives Gateway has sustained and developed trust with families of our residents, and it has strengthened the culture of openness and transparency’.

*77 relatives are using the Relatives Gateway at The Beeches as of September 2017.