‘The management team had introduced an electronic care monitoring and recording system. This allowed staff to use handheld devices around the home to quickly update and record care delivered as it was provided. This freed up staff time to increase the amount of time spent interacting with people throughout the day. The system also provided the management team with a live overview of care delivered which contributed to the auditing of the service in an effective manner. For example, as well as recording fluid intake and personal care tasks, the system provided information on activities, their outcomes and how each service user was on an ongoing basis. Two members of staff said they thought it was remarkable and beneficial to everyone. They told us they felt with a traditional system small achievements such as a response to a specific activity or interaction may be forgotten by the time staff completed a report. With the hand held system they were able to quickly and accurately record the smallest accomplishment or reaction to a situation. They also thought it was a good monitoring tool and felt it was used in a supportive way by the management team.’
‘There were procedures in place to monitor the quality of the service. As the care planning and recording system provided live monitoring of the care given to individuals it alerted senior staff if care tasks or activities had been missed or carried out late.’
