Case study

Fewcott House Nursing Home is a 40-bed, family-run home in rural North Oxfordshire, four miles north of Bicester. Managed by Creative Care, the home supports people with a wide range of needs, including dementia, Parkinson's disease, learning difficulties, mental health needs, nursing care and palliative care.

Fewcott House has worked with PCS for more than a decade. In that time, the home has maintained an Outstanding regulator rating and received the Gold Standards Framework Award for its end-of-life care. For Denisa Ciobanu Vida, Registered Manager at Fewcott House Nursing Home, digital care is now part of how the team protects quality, safety and consistency every day.

The challenge

Fewcott House needed digital systems that could support a high standard of care without making daily work harder for staff. Before going digital, care planning was paper-based and staff relied on standard forms, paper charts and limited space for notes. Small but important details could be missed because there was not always time to write everything down properly.

The team supports residents with complex needs. Managers and staff need clear evidence and information they can trust. Regulators need to see that care is safe, responsive and well-led. Families need confidence that their loved ones are being supported with kindness and attention.

Fewcott also needed its systems to work for a mixed team. Some staff were confident with technology, whilst others were untrained and had little experience with any digital software. Any digital system had to be easy enough for care staff to use during a busy shift, not just when they were sitting at a desk.

PCS Care gives staff clearer records and more time with residents

Fewcott House uses PCS Care (formerly mCare) to record and evidence care. Staff can add notes at the point of care using handheld devices. Icons help make recording quick and familiar, and staff can add detail when they need to. That has made a big difference for a team with different levels of digital confidence and different first languages.

The original paper records had limits. There was only so much space on a form, and staff did not always have time to capture the smaller moments that shape a resident's day. With PCS Care, the team can record more of those details such as conversations, activities, changes in mood and small observations that might matter later.

Managers can also find information faster. If they need to review a resident's care, check a concern, prepare for an inspection or look for patterns, the information is easier to access and easier to act on. For Fewcott, the biggest shift is time. Staff spend less of the day buried in paperwork and more of it with residents.

PCS eMAR helps make medication safer and faster

Fewcott House switched from a previous system to PCS eMAR (formerly ATLAS eMar). The difference was felt quickly. The old system took time to use and was harder to navigate compared to PCS  eMAR, which made key medication tasks faster, especially stock intake and preparing monthly medication.

It also gave the team stronger checks during medication rounds. Staff can see the right medication information on handheld devices, including dosage, timing and updates to each resident's medication record.

PCS eMAR also connects with PCS Care, so medication information can feed into care records. That means the wider team has a clearer picture of what has been given, when it was given and why a medication may have been missed.

For managers, daily PCS eMAR reports help Fewcott review stock, signatures, medication rounds and possible areas for improvement without spending hours digging through records.

Digital Reception strengthens safety, feedback and visibility

Fewcott House uses digital Reception to manage staff and visitor sign-ins. The home can see who is on site, which helps with safeguarding, security and emergency evacuation. It also creates a clearer record of visits to residents.

Digital Reception connects with PCS Care, so visitor information can be added to the resident's care notes, giving the team useful context around family contact and emotional wellbeing.

The feedback feature has also become part of Fewcott's quality assurance. If a visitor leaves a low rating or shares a concern, the team can see it quickly and respond before a small issue grows.

Mandatory and Compliance Training gives managers clearer training evidence

Fewcott House has used PCS Learn (formerly Redcrier) since 2016. The training helps staff build confidence and stay up to date with the knowledge they need to deliver safe, high-quality care. The online courses include videos and questions, which makes training more engaging for the team. This gives Fewcott clearer evidence for inspections and internal reviews.

Nursecall Messaging Service helps staff respond faster

Fewcott House also uses Nursecall Messaging Service. When a resident presses a nursecall alert, staff receive the notification on their devices linked to mCare. That helps the team respond faster and gives managers useful information about call volumes and response times. The service also supports compliance because response data can be reviewed and evidenced.

For a busy nursing home, that visibility matters. It helps managers understand where residents need more support, when demand is highest and how staff are responding across the day and night.

What changed

PCS has helped Fewcott House build a clearer, safer and more connected way of working.

• Care records are easier to complete and easier to evidence.

• Medication rounds are safer and faster. Visitor information and feedback are easier to manage.

• Training records are easier to track.

• Nursecall alerts are easier to respond to and review.

The products each do a different job, but the value comes from how they support the same standard of care. Fewcott House has maintained an outstanding regulator rating for several years and received the Gold Standards Framework Award for end-of-life care. PCS is part of the digital foundation that helps the team keep that standard visible, consistent and easier to evidence.

Protecting the standard Fewcott House has built

Fewcott House has spent years building a reputation for high-quality, person-centred care. PCS helps the team protect that standard behind the scenes. For residents and families, that means care that feels personal, safe and well supported. For the Fewcott House team, it means less time fighting paper and more time doing the work that earned the home its outstanding rating in the first place.