How Spellman Care have demonstrated the transformative value of interoperable digital solutions for resident wellbeing

Operations Manager Philippa Young (centre)

Person Centred Software’s Champions of Care Awards provide an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the crucial achievements made by those working in the care sector to bring happiness and better care outcomes to the most vulnerable members of our society. Often working behind the scenes, these awards are dedicated to showcasing the champions of care who work tirelessly to improve the lives of people living in care.   

Today, we’re sharing the story of Spellman Care, winners of the Connected Care Award, who have overhauled their care provision and medication management by investing in Person Centred Software’s digital care planning system and eMAR system (known as ATLAS eMAR). 

Spellman Care implemented the digital care planning system, known as mCare, five years ago, and part of that implementation team was Operations Manager Philippa Young, who also helped to bring ATLAS eMAR to Spellman Care more recently.  

Recently we spoke with Philippa and Peter Chadwick, Marketing Manager for the group of four care homes, who were quick to point out the transformative difference the products have made, and how they have demonstrably improved their care setting by “enhancing both staff efficiency and resident wellbeing.” 

The care planning system has become an invaluable tool for Spellman Care, and, as they describe, has “allowed for accurate, real-time recording of care information on the mobile devices, which has helped us eliminate the need for cumbersome paper records.” 

This was a key benefit for Philippa, who said: “I don’t think we could imagine going back to writing care plans on paper anymore. 

“When it was first brought in, there were some that weren’t as comfortable with technology. In the end, however, even though we offered all the support anyone might need, the staff that were initially hesitant were quickly surprised at how easy it was to navigate, and how much it simplified the process.  

“Then when it came to implementing ATLAS eMAR, people weren’t as uneasy about it as they initially were because they’d already seen how seamless the transition was. And because it was the same company, the infrastructure of support and how the products worked were already familiar to us, so it just made the whole process much simpler than if we’d gone somewhere else for our eMAR system.” 

Philippa continued: “It’s hugely improved the oversight we have because everything is now kept digitally. It’s improved our governance and safety and we’ve been able to manage risk a lot more effectively. This is one of the biggest benefits of using both ATLAS eMAR and mCare – it all comes together and helps us get a much better view of everything.  

“It means that now we don’t have to wade through millions of bits of paper to find what we’re looking for – we can just click a button, go through a couple of screens, and it’s all there.” 

Both Philippa and Peter were keen to point out just how many benefits mCare has offered. For example, individual fluid targets have enabled staff to effectively monitor and support residents’ hydration needs, access to GP Connect records provides vital clinical information all at staffs’ fingertips - which improves care planning and decision-making, live updates on resident health and wellbeing which gives real-time insights into the conditions of residents and allows for proactive interventions and improved outcomes, and seamless integration with ATLAS eMAR which has significantly improved safety and efficiency, among many more! 

Of all these benefits and others besides, both Philippa and Peter agree that the biggest have undoubtedly been the time saved and visibility gained, as Philippa explained: “It saves time massively; it’s increased our visibility and as a result, our safety standards are greatly improved. With ATLAS eMAR especially, we are able to pick up on the near misses that before wouldn’t have been caught, and we can feed all of this information into our learning culture, which we always strongly promote, to understand the lesson learned and to find ways to mitigate any risk going forward.  

“It doesn’t just stop the mistake from happening, but it gives us the ability to understand why it almost happened – was it a training issue, a processes issue, or was it something else? ATLAS eMAR gives us the data and the time to consider these questions.  

“And of course saving the time means they have more time to spend with residents. It’s meant that we have been able to do things in a way that drives quality. Now, staff can spend more time with residents writing the care plan, or they’re able to spend more time together administering medicines – things like this can be made more person-centred, rather than just be rushed through.” 

Spellman Care were the second group in the country to gain full VFF (Veteran Friendly Framework) accreditation. The VFF assists care homes in offering the support appropriate for veterans living in care homes, and by using the digital care planning system, Spellman Care has had the opportunity to give greater attention to the unique needs of veteran residents through features such as Who I Am and others. 

Philippa explained: “Our care staff have conversations with the veteran residents. For example, at one of our homes, we had a conversation with a resident who served in the armed forces and learned more about them, about their history – not necessarily just as a veteran, but it helped us gain a greater understanding of what they require to be cared for appropriately. 

“An example might be the particular kind of triggers that effect veterans, such as loud noises, which can be particularly challenging for veteran residents who also live with dementia. If we know this, we know to avoid it. And a lot more detail besides can be seen at a glance thanks to the care planning system from PCS.” 

As we wrapped up the conversation, we asked Philippa and Peter of Spellman Care, as the winners of the Connected Care Award, how important they thought interoperability was, to which Philippa enthused, “It’s massively important. We’ve tried to do that with a lot of our systems – make them link up as much as possible. And I think one of the biggest strengths of being with PCS is the fact products link up. ATLAS eMAR will feed into mCare so that you have medication information already tied in, and with GP Connect on top of that, everything is just tied together.” 

Philippa concluded with: “PCS has been incredibly intuitive for us, and beyond just being so much more reliable and effective than using paper, I don’t think any system or product that exists is as intuitive or as easy to use as those provided by PCS. 

“We couldn’t recommend it highly enough. For us, it’s really made the difference; it’s been transformative. These solutions not only provide efficiency and accuracy but, more importantly, have enabled our staff to focus on what truly matters: providing exceptional person-centred care to our residents.” 

Congratulations to Spellman Care for winning the Connected Care Award!