Case study
Helping Caring Homes strengthen care records across 21 homes
Caring Homes strengthened care records across 21 homes by giving staff a faster way to capture notes during the shift. With PCS Care, teams saved up to two hours per shift, per staff member, while improving the evidence managers and quality teams need to support care with confidence.
Caring Homes Group is an independent, family-owned provider of residential, nursing and dementia care, operating 21 care homes across the UK.
After introducing PCS Care, the group saved up to two hours per shift, per staff member, while improving the quality of care records across its homes. The change gave frontline teams a faster way to record care and gave managers better evidence of the support being delivered.
The challenge
Caring Homes was delivering good care, but the records did not always reflect the quality of that care clearly enough. When the organisation reviewed its regulatory reports, around 75% of homes were rated Good or Outstanding, while 25% required improvement. The gap was not a lack of care. The gap was in the evidence available to show what teams were doing each day.
Paper records made that harder. Staff had to remember details and write them up later, managers had to search for information when they needed it, and quality teams did not always have a live view of care records across the group. Caring Homes needed a way to capture care more accurately during the shift, so the information was useful for staff, managers, quality teams and inspectors.
Improving care records without taking staff away from residents
PCS Care changed how care information was captured at Caring Homes. Staff could record notes on handheld devices while care was happening, rather than returning later to write up what they remembered. That made records more timely and detailed, while giving staff more time to stay with residents during the shift.
The change delivered a clear time saving. Caring Homes saved, on average, one and a half to two hours per shift, per staff member.
Recording care while the detail is still fresh
Point-of-care recording helped staff capture a better picture of each resident’s day. Instead of notes being completed after the fact, carers could record support, observations and changes as they happened. That gave care records more useful detail and made the information more reliable for the next person reading it.
For staff, the change also made recording feel less separate from care. Notes became part of the shift, rather than something that pulled people away from residents at the end of the day.
Giving managers faster access to the information they need
PCS Care gave home managers a clearer way to check records, review care and spot where support was needed. Instead of walking around looking for folders or waiting for updates, managers could access care information more quickly. That made everyday oversight easier and helped them respond sooner when records showed a change in need, a missed detail or an area that needed follow-up.
This mattered across a 21-home group because managers and support teams needed information that was current, not locked away in paperwork.
Turning care records into better governance evidence
Better records also strengthened governance across Caring Homes. Joanne Wildman, Director of Compliance, Governance and Quality, explained that around 25% of homes had previously required improvement. After improving the quality of care records with PCS Care, 100% of homes were rated Good or Outstanding.
That shift shows why evidence matters. When records are accurate, current and easy to review, quality teams can see what is happening, support homes more effectively and show the care being delivered with greater confidence.
With PCS Care, being able to record notes at the point of care means that we’ve been able to save, on average, about one and a half to two hours per shift, per staff member. This was huge for us. For staff to not have to spend all that time going back to a room to write up the notes, away from the residents, was really beneficial because it gave them more time to spend with residents.
Stronger records that give time back to care
Across Caring Homes, better care records now sit much closer to the work happening with residents each day.
Staff can record important details while they are still fresh, managers can find information faster and quality teams have clearer evidence to guide support across the group. For residents, the benefit is simple: staff spend less time catching up on notes away from the floor, and more of the shift remains focused on care.