The new system has made such a massive difference to everyone’s lives – residents, staff and relatives. Residents feel much safer knowing how quickly they can get help at the touch of a button. It’s enabled us to improve the way we deliver care in ways no traditional system ever could.
Jason Sharpe, Operations Manager, Park View
The Challenge
Park View Nursing Home in Halifax is a 41 bed home offering comprehensive and individualised 24 hour care. How has installing a new nurse call system transformed the way it delivers care, increasing efficiency and the quality of life of residents?
What We Did
Park View had an 18-year old nurse call system which
used wall mounted units in residents’ rooms which would
emit loud alarms throughout the building if a resident
activated the unit. Several screens in communal areas of
the building would then give details of the resident asking
for assistance. In addition, the home used telecare sensors
such as pressure mats and fall detectors which would raise
an alert on a CareAssist pager when triggered.
As the existing nurse call system was coming to the end of
its life, the Park View management team began to review
options for its renewal, and how any new system could also
support the use of telecare. As a result, they looked into the
use of Tunstall Carecom, initially solely as a telecare platform
alongside a traditional-style nurse call system, but soon
realised that Tunstall Carecom could provide a cost-effective,
advanced and integrated nurse call and telecare system.
Results
Tunstall Carecom has enabled more bespoke and dignified care to be delivered to residents, and supports a least restrictive approach, as the technology helps to manage risks that may otherwise have required residents’ movements to be limited for safety reasons, such as falls. It has created a calmer atmosphere in the home, due to the reduced noise and because staff no longer need to rush around the building to find residents or colleagues. It is supporting better care planning by providing greater insight, and reducing staff turnover by making it a better place to work.
Using technology is becoming increasingly important to meeting the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) five key lines of enquiry (KLOEs) used when inspecting health and social care services, particularly in relation to person-centred care.
By investing in Tunstall Carecom and telecare, Park View is demonstrating its commitment to using technology to work
towards delivering outstanding care to its residents, in line with CQC’s strategic priority of encouraging innovation.
In addition to this, the new system has freed staff time to the degree that they can now undertake other duties and has enabled the introduction of a new approach to food and nutrition at Park View. The kitchen has been redesigned to use high quality pre-prepared meals, which are nutritious and appetising, supplied by an award-winning provider and managed by in-house staff. The meals can be designed to cater for specific dietary requirements, such as malnutrition, diabetes and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), as well as meeting specific cultural or religious needs.
