Fewcott House celebrates a decade of partnership with PCS, highlighting its strong, lasting relationship and consistent 'outstanding' rating

Denisa Ciobanu Vida, registered manager at Fewcott House Nursing Home, discusses its ten-year partnership with Person Centred Software (PCS), the strong, lasting relationship established over the years and the digital solutions they use that have helped to achieve an 'outstanding' rating. 

Our digital transformation journey, supported by PCS, has been remarkable over the last decade.

PCS's digital solutions have significantly improved our ability to provide outstanding care, enhance resident outcomes, support our care staff, deliver person-centred care, and increase our overall efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance. With help from PCS, Fewcott House Nursing Home has proudly maintained an 'outstanding' rating from regulators for several years.

We also received the Gold Standards Framework Award for exceptional end-of-life care. By harnessing the innovative digital solutions provided by PCS's Connected Care platform, we have successfully addressed numerous challenges and improved services across the board. 

Our care home group currently use:

As the registered manager at Fewcott House since 2014, I can confidently say that our partnership with PCS has been incredibly beneficial. Working together for over ten years has allowed us to cultivate a strong, trusting relationship that is crucial when navigating the complex landscape of software solutions to enhance resident outcomes and ensure compliance. This invaluable collaboration has enabled us to adopt a holistic approach to care.

PCS has an in-depth understanding of our organisation and consistently provides tailored solutions that empower our care team. With the right tools and resources at our disposal, we are equipped to meet our goals. This partnership has resulted in significantly improved resident outcomes and a strong compliance record, placing us in an excellent position.

What made you choose PCS for your digital transformation journey, and how is everything going?

Care planning made simple

Before going digital, everything was paper-based. We prioritised going digital with care planning first and explored various systems. After thorough research, we confidently chose PCS because of its outstanding reputation in the social care sector. It's a preferred choice for most care providers, and its digital social care record system, mCare, is known for its intuitive interface and in-depth, high-quality data, which care home managers appreciate. We've received tremendous feedback from our care staff, who all love the system.

mCare is exceptionally user-friendly for our carers, especially with its icon-driven interface. For example, we previously had a care assistant who has since retired. Initially, he was intimidated by the system as he wasn't accustomed to using technology, and his age made him doubt his tech skills. However, once he began using the system, he was one of the carers putting the most care notes in! This system is designed for carers of all digital skill levels, ensuring everyone can easily engage. The icons are effective and easily recognisable for users from all backgrounds and languages.

Even if English isn't a carer's first language, they can effortlessly click on icons to generate care notes, allowing them to add their insights as they wish.

The amount of information we can now record is significantly greater than what we used to capture on paper. Previously, we relied on standard forms and mandatory charts, so we had limited space to include details. Staff members often didn't have time to document small particulars; however, now they can record everything, including conversations with residents and the activities they engaged in together.

Additionally, we can access timely evidence, as nurses frequently take photos of medications or other medical matters. This new approach allows us to accomplish what we could not do in the past.

mCare also continually rolls out innovative features and functionalities that streamline our administration processes and give us in-depth data on each resident. It makes retrieving information effortless and helps us identify patterns in care quickly. I also like how mCare seamlessly integrates with a wide range of systems, from PCS's valued partners, such as PainChek, to its other digital solutions, such as ATLAS eMAR and Digital Reception; the possibilities are limitless!''

Most importantly, mCare allows us to prioritise more time with our residents instead of being buried in paperwork. We can focus on meaningful one-on-one interactions, deepening our relationships with them and getting to know them better. We also enjoy taking them on outings and engaging them in a wide range of activities, enhancing their quality of life and creating lasting memories. With the use of mCare, our human presence has become much more significant than it was before.

Additionally, PCS's customer service is exceptional; they respond quickly and genuinely go the extra mile to help if there are any issues or you get stuck on how to do something within the system.

Regulators praised mCare for its ease of use and intuitive navigation throughout each inspection. This positive feedback consistently underscores the appeal of this user-friendly platform. Thanks to mCare, we proudly earned an 'outstanding' rating from regulators.

Additionally, mCare has proven to be a good return on investment; our printing and paper usage has significantly decreased compared to when we were paper-based. Also, with mCare's valuable data, our care home can effectively identify and mitigate potential risks. By quantifying and assessing these risks, we can proactively address them, improving resident wellbeing and outcomes.

In hindsight, choosing PCS was an excellent decision. Its wide range of digital solutions has significantly streamlined all our processes. It's reassuring to have so many effective options at our disposal.

Medication management made safer 

When our care home group discovered ATLAS and read about its benefits, we immediately switched from our old eMAR system to ATLAS, and it proved to be one of our best decisions. ATLAS offers numerous advantages and is well-known across the care sector for reducing errors, improving accuracy, efficiency, communication, and, most importantly, enhancing safety.

The previous eMAR system Fewcott used was highly time-consuming and had a poorly designed dashboard. Users frequently found it difficult to navigate and access essential features quickly. In contrast, ATLAS is ten times faster, especially when it comes to stock intake and booking in of monthly medication in preparation for changeover.

It's truly impressive! For example, using the handheld device, I can input all the residents and their medication in just one afternoon. I couldn't believe how quick and efficient it was—it exceeded my expectations!

Another issue we had with our previous eMAR system was that it didn't correctly handle the carryover of PRN medications, which made our work challenging as we had to manage everything manually. This not only wasted valuable time but also increased the risk of errors. Now, with ATLAS, we've transformed our medication process—everything is streamlined, efficient and 100 times faster and safer for everyone involved!

Furthermore, with the ATLAS eMAR handheld device, care staff can confidently administer the correct medication every time. This innovative system conducts automatic safety checks that update in real-time, covering critical areas such as dosage, timing, and changes to the medical information of each resident. It also effectively flags potential issues, ensuring our carers and nurses are always informed. By leveraging the robust safety measures of ATLAS, we can truly prevent our staff from administering medication incorrectly, ultimately enhancing resident safety and care quality.

Additionally, ATLAS seamlessly integrates with mCare, which is fantastic! This integration enables us to effectively map residents in both systems, ensuring we can promptly identify any residents who may be missing their medications. Medication data recorded in ATLAS automatically transfers to mCare as detailed care notes, which include vital information such as medication name, dosage, time administered, and reasons for missed doses. This data flows directly into the MAR charts, and when selected, it displays the information synced from the integration. This same feature is accessible when reviewing the medication within a resident's profile on mCare, so whether you're using mCare or ATLAS, the whole team, including agency staff, is aware of exactly what medication each resident is on and when it's due.

Since implementing ATLAS, we've experienced a remarkable decline in medication errors. This system not only saves time for our staff but also enhances our inventory management. Medication rounds are completed much more efficiently than before; the list goes on! The advantages are truly impressive and have made a substantial difference in our operations!

I also appreciate the ATLAS reports that I receive every day. They are invaluable in ensuring proper medication management, improving accountability, and facilitating data-driven decision-making. They also help to identify trends and patterns in medication usage, potential errors, and areas for improvement in medication management. The report includes information on low-stock medications and allows me to track inventory. This helps prevent stockouts and expired medications, ensuring that the necessary medications are available when needed. I can also verify if all signatures are correct, which is particularly handy. If I'm short on time and can't check the system, I can quickly assess how the rounds went just by glancing at the report. I'm particularly excited that ATLAS will soon enable managers to generate a daily report in real-time via ATLAS Central whenever they need it. This update is expected to roll out next week, and it's fantastic that PCS continues to add new features to make our tasks easier!

Lastly, as with mCare, ATLAS received excellent feedback from regulators. The CQC consistently praised the system's effectiveness and quality throughout each inspection.