Handovers in care homes should accurately convey information about residents’ conditions and needs across shift changes. They ensure that everyone is made aware of everything significant that has occurred before they start their shift. This process safeguards the continued safety of both residents and staff.
Handover notes are handwritten or electronic documents that a member of staff completes and shares with the person relieving them of their shift. They should list the tasks that have been recently completed, any updates, and instructions for the next shift.
In this article we will explore the best ways to carry out an effective handover in your care home and discuss how handover templates can help the process.
The CQC single assessment framework is now live for all adult social care
providers across the country and the new CQC provider portal is currently live for selected providers, with limited functionality, e.g. restricted to some notification types.
With the Single Assessment Framework, the CQC is aiming for a more dynamic and data-led strategy that puts people’s experiences at the forefront of regulation and the heart of the assessment framework.
As a care provider, it’s crucial that you understand the new inspection regime and how these significant changes to the way they regulate and inspect may affect you. This article has been created to help you understand more about the CQC's new inspection and assessment framework and the background to these changes.
You can also download this comprehensive guide, and sign up for our compliance experts' monthly updates on everything CQC.
Integrated Care Systems (ICS) were introduced to connect the newly formed Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and local authorities, enabling a more seamless healthcare service which could then give better visibility of the needs of patients and allow NHS organisations to more effectively meet these needs and provide the right high-quality care - with the ultimate goal of helping more people and to a greater degree of success.
In the words of NHS England: “Integrated care is about giving people the support they need, joined up across local councils, the NHS, and other partners. It removes traditional divisions between hospitals and family doctors, between physical and mental health, and between NHS and council services.”
ICSs began in July 2023 but were first proposed in February 2022, when the UK Government published its ‘Joining up care for people, places and populations’ whitepaper, which laid out new plans for the integration of health and social care in England and how ICSs can bring this together in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.
Local authorities and NHS England are working closely together but there is still a long way to go due to further government reform, funding changes and internal goals and targets. This is affecting the speed and timing for when these changes can be implemented and we are still feeling the disruption post-pandemic.
In this article we will explore the annual priorities of an Integrated Care System and how these goals are set and ranked. We will also discuss the hangover effect of Covid-19 and the strain on the NHS, the challenges of ongoing digital transformation, and the role providers such as The Access Group can have in aiding an ICB in delivering quality care to their local area.
Dignity in care should be a priority for everyone working in the care sector. Promoting respect and dignity in care should focus on how care is designed and delivered. Both dignity and respect in health and social care form the fundamental pillars that shape the quality of a service that is provided to an individual and when implemented correctly, it can improve the interactions between service users and carers as well as their quality of life.
But preserving and promoting dignity and respect in care is sometimes easier said than done. How can you ensure staff know how to strike the balance between providing care and support, without compromising people’s dignity? The first step to preserving dignity in health and social care is understanding what it means and why it’s so important.
For over 30 years, we at The Access Group have digitised care services across the world. We aim to improve the lives of both service users and providers by giving them the freedom to do more. Working in the care sector for decades, we’ve seen great examples of how you can ensure dignity and respect. This article has been created from those experiences, to explore the definition and significance of respect and dignity in care, alongside various things you can do to promote and preserve it in your service.
Digital Health Rewired 2024 took place mid-March, and once again we were treated to an exciting exploration of cutting-edge innovations and the transformative potential of healthcare.
The venue packed out over 3,000 attendees across the two days, with more than 300 speakers and over 50 exhibitor stands - one of which being Access HSC (Health Support and Care). Our team had the pleasure of talking to hundreds of people over the course of the event, showcasing how Access is helping to transform the way people work in healthcare.
We also had the opportunity to listen in on several talks and discussions, gaining valuable insights into both the current state of the health and social care sector and its future trajectory.
Healthcare data analytics is the study of data relating to patients or services provided by a healthcare organisation. Healthcare data is extremely important to providing the very best care, but the insights available through data interpretation require expertise to extract them.
This expertise in healthcare data and analytics could be from a clinician, or it could be from a software solution, but either way there is an element of investment needed; whether that’s time, money, or belief. Without this, there will be no growth of healthcare data, but with it we can explore patterns, trends, patient habits, and make discoveries about major or minor tweaks to care processes that could save money, time, or better still save lives.
Data-driven healthcare is quickly becoming the guiding force behind modern health and care services, so in this article we will explore the importance of data in healthcare, as well provide an introduction to healthcare data analytics and explore what the analysis of healthcare data can achieve. Our goal is to make this a healthcare data guide that you can refer back to as a primer for exploring data analytics or even establishing your own analytics solutions.
The patient experience is a big part of modern healthcare; accounting for the thoughts and feelings of individuals receiving care in a way that hasn’t been done in previous generations.
Before we can explore this subject though, we must first define patient experience.
What is patient experience?
Patient experience is what a person encounters during their care journey; from first interaction with a doctor or nurse, to diagnosis, through to treatment, and then on to aftercare; either within a hospital setting or discharged for observation back in a home or community setting.
Virtual wards are the newest addition to this patient journey, offering a form of hospital at home to allow a more hands-off experience in the familiarity of a home environment whilst still being monitored by top of the range equipment communicating patient vitals in real-time, and having routine check-ins with doctors and nurses.
Many organisations will be wondering how can the patient experience be improved. In this article we will walk through why patient experiences matter and how to enhance the patient experience. We will touch on the two main areas – healthcare software and staff – as well as the ways organisations like the NHS can implement support structures or frameworks to make sure the patient experience is being actively considered with all planning and actions.
Green social prescribing is an example of a pillar of social prescribing that concentrates on helping individuals improve their health and wellbeing through harnessing nature-based activities.
The introduction of green social prescribing escalated because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But since then, its growth has stagnated, predominantly due to limited awareness of its impacts.
It is estimated that with continued growth, it can save over £635 million for the NHS through reducing health inequalities and providing alternative mental health support for children and youth people, as well as adults.
But how does it work? Who funds it? And most importantly how can individuals take part?
This article we explain how green social prescribing works and how it has developed, why it is important, examples and outcomes of different green prescribing pilots, as well as the challenges and barriers to be aware to ensure you can implement the best green prescribing project possible.
All in One vs Best of Breed is an argument about software and establishing a system of solutions. In this instance it is about how health and care providers should go about purchasing and implementing software to help with patient care and other services, and how best to build up that integrated system of solutions so the care workflow is as smooth and efficient as possible.
The two sides to the debate are as follows:
All in One: A single provider with multiple solutions is the best option, because it makes integration and implementation easier as you deal with one organisation.
Best of Breed: Multiple providers means you can choose highly specialised solutions, giving you the best tool for each requirement and a less complex deployment. It's important to maintain a balanced relationship with providers, and multiple solutions helps prevent any single group from exerting undue influence or control over you.
The important thing is quality, above all else. There are lots of healthcare organisations across the UK providing a wide range of services. They need good software solutions that can handle the variety of hospital or community care services provided on a daily basis. Customisation, scalability, real-time access, interoperability… all of these things are what will enable world-class care and allow the most efficient care processes.
In this article we will tackle terminology, like convergence and interoperability, so that you can properly understand the ambitions of the stakeholders involved. We will then explore both sides of the argument, covering the advantages and disadvantages of each, to determine which approach is the most beneficial to healthcare organisations.
Social care consultancy, or write policies and procedures yourself, use template services, or use fully digital solutions. There are now more options than to create, manage and maintain policies and procedures in your care service, but you’re probably wondering which one is best for you?
Many care providers have find themselves in a similar situation, and there are now more options than ever to develop and manage your policies and procedures. So to help, I’ve written this article.
Care policies and procedures are essential to registering and operating a care service anywhere in the UK. You need to keep your policies and procedures up to date; with regulations, legislation, best practice and the manner in which your service operates. Failing to do so could land you in hot water with your regulator, and could even impact the quality and safety of the care you provide.
