Interview with Anthony Duhig, Head of Sales and Marketing at Person Centred Software

Published in TechRound

Founded in 2013, Person Centred Software was started with the objective of helping to improve standards in social care.

The business has flourished into an award-winning global company with over 2,000 care homes in the UK and Ireland alone, using our Mobile Care Monitoring system. The system is the most widely used digital care system in the UK, and Person Centred Software is the most widely referred software provider within social care.

Care homes using our icon-driven digital care management system evidence, on average, over 50 care notes per resident per day, which just isn’t possible on paper or many other systems. It also reduces time spent on paperwork with care interactions evidenced as they happen, achieving our aim of giving staff more time to spend with residents, supporting regulatory compliance, and improving the quality of care for residents.

How did the company start?

Founding brothers Jonathan and Simon Papworth designed the software in 2013 to reduce the amount of paperwork in care homes, thereby giving staff more time to spend with residents.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the Guildford-based company was signing up Mobile Care Monitoring to 50 care homes a month, supporting carers to digitally evidence all the care interactions they provide with residents, in real-time at the point of delivery. Since the pandemic, the number of care homes signing up our digital care system has increased by 40%, highlighting how vital an easy-to-use digital care system is to help manage and control infections.

During COVID-19, we offered our Relatives Gateway portal with video calling and messaging for free to every UK care home, to help residents and their loved ones stay connected. New Coronavirus-specific features have also been developed to support care homes to manage and control infections, with carers being able to record any potential COVID-19 symptoms via our digital care system’s app. It can even flag to other staff to take the necessary precautions.

Tell us about your new partnership with the Salvation Army

 The Salvation Army integrated our Mobile Care Monitoring system across its 12 care homes to free up more time for staff to spend supporting residents throughout lockdown. After seeing how the technology worked first-hand at a care home in Manchester, the renowned charity decided to digitalise its care planning by eliminating its paper-based administration in favour of our icon driven, app-based system.

The agile technology has empowered staff by reducing the time it would take to physically transcribe care notes, so they can better spend it supporting residents. The charity can now evidence care via a simple click of a button and while on the go, a welcome addition to its care homes at a time when lockdowns and increasing COVID-19 cases are putting further pressure on the sector. The Salvation Army has already noticed the benefits of our system, with its care homes enjoying more time saved, reduced workloads, minimised errors, and enhanced collaboration.

What can we hope to see from Person Centred Software in the future?

 Our initial goal remains, which is to see a complete digital transformation in social care, and we hope other care providers will join our customers on this digital journey.

We continue to innovate and develop our system’s functionality bringing on new features as well as growing our ecosystem of care, integrating Mobile Care Monitoring with best-in-breed organisations, such as electronic medication management.

We are also continuing our work on interoperability, with a high volume of data flowing seamlessly between social care and the NHS. This will increase and include other care providers within the near future.

The coronavirus pandemic has shown that data is necessary to help inform decisions and provide the information needed to improve care outcomes and save lives.