The Coronavirus pandemic has changed our world and we have had to learn new ways to cope in an incredibly difficult environment. The virus has driven changes for the worse but also some for better outcomes.

Whilst the emergence of vaccines hold great promise for 2021, they will not change the fundamentals of providing care. Service Providers will continue to face extraordinary demands and this calls for a re-assessment of the tools required to maintain high standards of care.  One such area is the adoption of technology as an aid to care excellence. 

Care homes that adopted digital systems, no matter how basic, before the outbreak have shown clear benefits in productivity, improved communications and huge savings in time. Cura Systems does that and more. It empowers the caregivers, freeing them up from tedious paperwork to support the service users and enables every action to be recorded in compliance with CQC regulations. Our latest addition, Resource Planner, enables flawless management of staff rosters; in conjunction with Cura Angel, a mobile based app that allows care staff to see and confirm their shifts, etc.

"There is an opportunity now for government, Parliament and health and care leaders to agree and lay out a vision for the future at both a national and local level. This should include plans for addressing the inequalities accentuated by COVID, the workforce challenges that have become even more acute, and the necessary investment in technology." - Peter Wyman and IanTrenholm, Chair and Chief Executive of CQC

Our focus is to provide a fully-integrated, easy to use care management system to improve quality of care and we look forward to an exciting and innovative 2021 for digital care. We understand the change required in processes and procedures and we are more than happy to guide you to a successful implementation, fully recognising the degree of change many older care workers have to go through. After all…Cura really does mean Care!

Kick start your new year with Cura! We are ready to support every home and make a positive change in your care delivery. Find out what you’re missing, contact us on 020 3621 9111 or email at info@cura.systems to book a full system online demonstration today.

Managing caregiver resources have never been so critical as they are now with restrictions brought about by Covid-19.  Planning for the right people in the right places plays an even more crucial role in supporting the health and safety of service users.

Cura Roster is designed from the ground up, specifically with long term care homes in mind and to address the complex issues arising from Covid related challenges. The Resource Planner responds to the questions: who goes, where for what and when?

Following the successful launch of an Invoicing system in August 2020 that is uniquely designed for long-term care homes, Cura is now releasing its latest module ‘Cura Roster’ to better manage work schedules with greater flexibility.

This is Cura’s answer to getting the most from limited resources within the social care sector. The module comprises a user-friendly interface, including alternative planning views - features that make scheduling so much easier – ensuring the right people are assigned the right tasks at the right time. The new Cura Resource Planner has a completely redesigned “drag & drop“ user interface, remarkable flexibility throughout with extensive data validation to provide a simple way to allocate suitable staff to shifts and evidence staffing compliance for both CQC and payroll requirements.

Workforce Management System

The Cura Roster highlights the ability to manage shift patterns, track availability of caregivers, set up job roles, monitor employment & leave entitlements, and seamlessly manage caregivers across multiple locations.

The module boosts the visibility of caregiver workloads and provides better coordination and control of various activities within the home. It also significantly decreases the time, cost and effort put into administration, increases productivity and freeing up precious time for more important tasks.

Here are just some of the benefits:

• Simplify Scheduling
• Up-to-Minute Information - Improve resource management allocation with more accurate data in real time
• Real-time entry to clock in
• Increase Efficiency- Eliminate unproductive manual work with a simplified and highly configurable workflow process.
• Reduce Operating and Labour cost – Avoid overstaffing due to scheduling conflicts, minimize risk of understaffing and fill empty shifts.
• Centralised Information- Obtain information from various departments or locations at one time and enable management to make critical decisions in a timely manner.
• Minimal Training & Implementation Time- Requires minimum training and implementation effort with an attractive and easy-to-use interface

Whilst there are number of care management systems currently serving the market, Cura is the most intuitive care home software in terms of the widest scope of functionality within a single suite of modules.

Cura Systems are equipped with a rich set of tools and features and committed to bringing further innovations to benefit all involved in the provision of care.

Let us help you and your care team with the tools to help deliver the best possible care. Book a full on-line demonstration today on 020 3621 9111  or email at info@cura.systems and see for yourself!

How good are your digital records?

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently published a guide that clarifies what good digital records look like. It also covers the commitments CQC makes to support providers’ use of digital record systems and what CQC will look at on inspection.

The guidance states that a good digital record system delivers good outcomes from the point of view of people who use services. These are worded from the perspective of someone using services and are captured by “I statements”. Read more…

Cura Vs The CQC Guide’

Sign-up now to download the FREE Guide: [contact-form-7 id="3660" title="Cura vs The CQC Guide"]

Digital Care System 

Cura is at the forefront of technology innovation and transforms caregiving. We support care homes of all types and sizes, and in particular, service providers supporting complex care needs.

We work closely with care-home owners and managers to deliver a fully digital care management system at an affordable cost.  Cura helps deliver better quality outcomes by automating more daily tasks for management and caregivers than any other care home software.

Going digital is the only way forward – where the inspector has access to digital records they need not ask for paper records. Inspectors may ask for specific formats where it is necessary for regulatory decision making or enforcement action.

CQC is developing their next five-year strategy from 2021 onwards. This will have a key focus on driving improvement and innovation. That is why Cura is continually developing its products and services to ensure we are futureproofed for our customers – we are committed to caring.

It's time to embrace innovative digital technologies and reap significant benefits! We have the right tools and support to improve CQC ratings. Find out what you have been missing, contact us on 020 3621 9111 or email info@cura.systems to for a chat about what Cura can do for you.

Like it or not, technology has crept into our daily lives. And now, it has a rapidly growing role in the long-term social care sector.  Tech-savvy care homes now use powerful Tablets and other mobile devices at the point of care delivery to ensure the appropriate care is delivered and on a timely basis.

Most Service Providers recognise the need for some form of digital support to cope with mounting paperwork but have been slow to embrace technology. Reasons for not adopting technology in care are as varied as the people they care for.  Most typically, there is a fear of change acerbated by a lack of understanding of how going digital will improve lives… for owners, for care managers, for care staff and for service users. 

According to McKinsey Digital, 45% of almost every job can go digital and the benefits range from increased output, higher quality to improved reliability.  Technology also drives value in business in four ways: enhanced connectivity, automation of manual tasks, improved decision making and product or service innovation. Embracing these priorities will influence not only the pace of change within the organisation, but also strengthen and sharpen the competitive edge.

I have been a long-term proponent of the use of technology in the care sector and have concluded the care home industry is way behind in terms of adopting technology (as compared to other healthcare settings).  Care providers need to look at ways to bring care to the next level by taking advantage of readily available advancements in care technology.

The future of care

Covid-19 has left a profound impact on care and it will continue to change the future of care.  The virus has put pressure on all aspects of the health system but nowhere more so than the care home sector.  New challenges have emerged that could not have been foreseen.  A “new normal” has to emerge to enable us to address the challenges care providers are now faced with and to be prepared for re-emergences of Covid or other Corona Virus like infections.  Therefore, we must pay attention to what makes delivery of caregiving easier and yet deliver a better quality of care.

Clinical aspects aside, I believe care providers will need greater reliance on technology with the use of smarter digital care systems such as apps to connect to a wider care ecosystem.  Having had hands-on experience in both paper-based and digital approaches, technology-based care systems trumps paper, every time!

Technology impacts the social and complex care sector

Technology is the most reliable driving force to improve outcomes!  Having worked as a Registered Manager managing mental health services, learning difficulty services and residential care services, I have seen how inaccuracies in paper-based care plans or medication recording can expose the service user to a seriously adverse impact.

Specialised digital care systems, such as Cura, can make a significant difference, for example, monitoring service users’ conditions accurately and in real-time by using customizable assessments and personalised care plans.  These are specifically designed for residential and nursing, or those providing specialised care to service users living with dementia, long-term chronic illnesses and those with autism and/or learning difficulties.  Cura also provides the Managers access to all records in one place, allowing them to oversee all service user records in one secure, user-friendly environment….all this so vital when staff are quarantined and new HCAs are brought in to fill staffing gaps.

Choosing a good care system

Given the plethora of care management systems now available, it has become a mind boggling exercise to weed out the offerings that are good at a specific aspect of the provision of care.  It’s not just about adopting technology.  It is about managing the transformation to a new opportunity for the care providers to improve the way care is delivered; admission process, medication management, documentation of residents’ records, and sharing of vital information in the care ecosystem.

Most systems available on the market are very similar. They will have a database that can be accessed either through a laptop, tablet or mobile phone.  They all enable electronic care plans to be produced along with a whole host of other modules.  Some will have unique features such as medication management and the costs will vary from company to company.  The choice can be bewildering; so, how do you choose which system is best for your environment?  These are some aspects you will need to consider:

• Care planning, monitoring and auditing
• Alerts and reminders, with automated handover notes
• The ability to devise your own forms
• Flexible, configurable solution for complex care environments
• Compliance and audit tools
• Policies and quality assurance
• Proactive support through the implementation process and thereafter
• ...and a lot more!

Most importantly, acquiring and implementing a system is an ongoing partnership with the company that you choose. Are they sympathetic to your needs and requirements?  Do they listen and offer solutions to your specific problems?  Are they reactive to new needs?  Does your supplier share your vision of what going digital means?

Tips, Tricks & Traps

• Avoid customised or bespoke care systems. They cost the earth and some!
• Short-term trials are useless! Use Pilot studies… test & learn
• Start as you mean to continue
• Don’t automate a job…automate the process!
• Check supplier references (not product references) & commitment to future of care
• Redefine work…Reduction in staff is not the aim, at least not in the short term
• Investment should be proportional to the benefit
• Be selective – Start where digital records are likely to deliver the greatest return and the best outcomes.
• Don’t try to automate everything at once.
• Set reasonable goals for expectations and outcomes
• Business Continuity – Power or ISP or Wi-Fi or Equipment outages?
• Technology by itself delivers no value – needs excellent processes
• Build IT capability – start at the top of the organisation

We are all guilty of doing the same thing repeatedly and expect different results. Ready or not, it’s time to embrace technology that will enable you to take greater control of the care operations and provide better care and better visibility to service users.  By adopting digital technology, it will afford you more flexibility in how, when and where you can access care records.  It will also reduce administration time for yourself and your staff, giving you time back to be spent with your service users.

It is always a challenging task to deliver outstanding care and the pressure to find ways on how to evidence standards of care and meet Care Quality Commission’s compliance requirements.  One important part of becoming a good care manager is to accept change, embrace what the future of care holds and start your digital journey.

A respected Manager in the health and social care sector with more than 18 years’ frontline experience. A further 6 years training new and existing staff and managers, calling on his wide experience, Dave Thompson is now Cura Systems’ Implementation and Change Consultant in the UK.

The Future of care – where are we heading?

Covid-19 has left a profound impact on care and will continue to change the future of care.  The virus has put pressure on all aspects of the health system but nowhere more so than the care home sector.  New challenges have emerged that could not have been foreseen. A “new normal” has to emerge to enable us to address the challenges care providers are now faced with and be prepared for re-emergences of Covid or Covid like infections.  Therefore, we must pay attention to what makes delivery of caregiving easier and yet deliver a better quality of care.

Clinical aspects aside, I believe care providers will need greater reliance on technology with the use of smarter digital care systems such as mobile care monitoring apps to connect to a wider care ecosystem. Having had hands-on experience in both paper-based and digital approaches, technology is the only way to transform care delivery.

How technology impacts the social and complex care sector?

Technology is the most reliable driving force to improve outcomes! I have worked as a Registered Manager managing mental health services, learning difficulty services and residential care services and I have seen how any inaccuracies in paper-based care plans or medication recording can have the potential to create an adverse effect on the service user.

Clearly, specialised digital care management systems like Cura can make a significant difference, for example, monitoring service users’ conditions accurately and in real-time by using customisable assessments and person-centred care plans specifically designed for residential and nursing, or those providing specialised care to service users living with dementia, long-term chronic illnesses and those with autism and/or learning difficulties. It also provides the Manager access to all records in one place, allowing them to oversee all service user records in one secure, user-friendly environment….all this so vital when staff are quarantined and new HCAs are brought in to fill staffing gaps.

What makes a good care manager?

It is always a challenging task to deliver outstanding care and the pressure to find ways on how to evidence standards of care and meet Care Quality Commission’s compliance requirements. One important part of becoming a good care manager is to accept change, embrace what the future of care holds and start your digital care journey.

What is your advice to care managers that have yet to make the digital leap?

Sometimes we keep doing the same thing repeatedly and expect different results. Ready or not, it’s time to embrace technology that will enable you to take greater control of the care operations and provide better care and better visibility to service users. By adapting digital technology, it will afford you more flexibility in how, when and where you can access care records. It will also reduce admin time for yourself and your staff, giving you time back to be spent with your service users.

How did you get started in the care industry?

I have been in the care industry for over 18 years. I have worked as frontline care & support staff, gaining promotions to Team Manager, Deputy Manager and Registered Manager and have managed services for mental health, learning difficulty and for the elderly. I then moved into training, sharing my knowledge and experience, delivering training for new staff, as well as management training for Managers. I took a training role for Sainsburys, delivering health and safety training within stores, again using my knowledge of safe and legal working practices gained within the care industry. I gained promotion to Implementation Manager for a new scheduling and forecasting piece of software. During this time I supported the testing team, liaised with the L&D team to assist in developing and refining training materials and, in my last months, set up and ran a support team that would support BAU for the stores post project.

I took a position within the NHS implementing a Work force Management system for a local hospital rolling out the new care home systems to all the wards and departments. I was involved in the planning and set up of the project, as well as promoting and demonstrating the care software to department leads, before implementing the software across the trust.

Cura means care in Latin, so how does Cura care for its customers?

I am the Implementation and Change Consultant at Cura Systems and together with the Cura support team we are committed to supporting owners and managers to deliver outstanding care. We will continue to provide an exceptional customer service that is unique to every customer.

Our company slogan, “Cura Means Care”, says it all.  After the initial hand-holding through the implementation process, we don’t just leave our customers with an ad-hoc support package. We are here to make that transition as smooth and painless as possible with regular post implementation follow up.

See how Dave and the Cura Systems team can help your care management and delivery by booking a full system demonstration today!

Cura Systems, a well established, care management system has just taken another leap forward with a brand new Invoicing Module designed specifically for the Social Care market.  The care system with its highly configurable modules cover an extraordinarily wide spread of functionality and makes Cura a truly intuitive product.

The invoicing module has been carefully designed to support even the most complex invoicing situations and incorporates processes to highlight errors and omissions, even providing a special interface to enable speedy resolution.  Its workflow has been optimised to provide a logical sequence of processes that give flexibility for different invoicing situations and ease of tailoring the process by Home fees, services, funders or ad-hoc items.

Billing System for Care Homes

Cura care software has a tool that not only provides analysis and reports on completed and pending invoicing but will also highlight Client accounts. The module, due to its enhanced features and streamlined workflow is equally applicable to the smaller care home at is to the medium to large care home group.

Ready to get started? Find out what you’re missing, call us on 020 3621 9111 or email at john.rowley@cura.systems if you would like to book an on-line demonstration.

Caring for our community is always a priority for us, even more so during these unpredictable times. We sincerely thank our brave health care workers and other frontliners for their selfless service. We also send our best wishes to anyone who has been or is unwell, or who is taking care of people afflicted with Covid-19. We wish you a speedy return to good health. 

Cura’s response to COVID-19 outbreak:

• Cura releases a brand new Form Builder 
• A Covid-19 Risk Assessment Form to assess the risks and remedial actions to be taken in this exceptional time.
• CQC Statutory Notification – the amended form for reporting Covid-19 related matters is now available in Cura  
• Cura‘s Video Meeting Tool now enables you to call family and friends of service users to overcome some part of the loss of physical contact.
• Cura Kin, our mobile care monitoring app, allows designated family members to stay in touch with the home and their loved ones.
• Cura is committed to providing a seamless and uninterrupted service for our users, even in these difficult times. We have procedures and precautions in place to help contain the spread of COVID-19 within the various locations from which we operate. These include making sure all key support staff, developers and managers are suitably equipped to operate securely from remote locations and enabling video meetings and training.

Cura care home management system is at the forefront of technology and takes caregiving to a whole new level. We save managers’ and caregivers’ time by automating more daily tasks than any other care home software.

We support care homes of all types and sizes, be they a family run, single care home, a larger care provider or residential care; but in particular, those providing complex care needs. However complex and demanding your care requirements, Cura can support you.

Covid-19 has changed the way we live and work. We know that you and your colleagues are facing many challenges in these difficult times. On behalf of all at Cura Systems, we wish you, your staff and your loved ones health and safety. After all, ‘Cura means Care’!

If you would like to have a no-obligations, quick look at Cura, please click the button below:

Technology in care has become increasingly important, transforming the way in which care is delivered and the use of digital care systems has resulted in many people experiencing better and safer care, says John Rowley, senior sales manager at Cura Systems.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England shows how providers are working together more effectively - often using technology – to help ensure people get the care they need, when they need it.1 The report has highlighted how the innovative use of technology can help address the five key lines of enquiry (KLOE) and supports the use of technology to improve the delivery of quality care. Every care home wants to be validated with an outstanding certification for all the effort put in to creating and consistently delivering person-centred care, but what makes an outstanding care home? This article will consider ways to achieve an outstanding rating for each line of investigation.

Five Key Lines of Enquiry

Is your service safe?

An outstanding care home must be safe. The CQC defines ‘safe’ as meaning that people are protected from abuse and avoidable harm. When the time comes for a loved one to move into a care home, it is only natural that the first and overriding concern will be for their safety. Entrusting a mum, dad, husband or wife to the care of strangers pushes against natural instincts to do all that we can to protect and provide for them ourselves.

Choosing the right care home is one of the biggest and most difficult decisions to make and safety will figure very prominently in selecting one. Care homes need to have appropriate tools to demonstrate to relatives of prospective residents their ability to monitor safety. Recognising these concerns, the first question asked by the CQC is always about safety.

In this instance, safe means taking every possible step to ensure that residents are protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Abuse can be physical, sexual, mental or psychological or financial, involving neglect or institutional or discriminatory abuse.

Avoidable harm will consider everything from medicines management to the safe use of facilities and equipment. CQC scrutiny is robust to ensure that all these conditions are met and inspection reports provide families and loved ones with the information they need regarding the ability of a home to meet these conditions consistently.

Aspects of ‘safe’ that directly relate to the use of technology include:

• staff are skilled and well equipped with all the information and tools required to provide outstanding care and protection from any safeguarding and compliance issues
• detailed records of incident reports to protect from being bullied, harassed, harmed, neglected or abused
• incident report trigger to deal with quickly and openly monitor incidents and accidents and a care app that instantly sends reminders and reports incidents to ensure everyone is aware and corrective action is taken
• assessment forms to monitor medical conditions providing peace of mind with customised assessments and care plans, medication reminders and tracking
• monitoring drug rounds throughout the home, including reminders for those administering medicines and alerts for when rounds have not been completed; drug rounds can be tracked as they happen, with automated mishap prevention mechanisms
• timely preparation and review of health and safety checklist specific to each resident as well as for general facilities; the home should be kept clean and hygienic to prevent any risk of infection to residents and visitors.

Electronic care plans and mobile monitoring care apps can play a significant role in supporting care home managers to meet and exceed CQC standards.

Cura recognises the critical importance of safety in care. Cura’s suite of applications supports care staff by giving them the information they need to ensure that they meet CQC’s criteria, including the safe delivery of care.

What Makes a Service Provider Outstandingly Responsive?

An outstanding rating for responsiveness presents great difficulty to most care providers and the latest definition “..responsive means that services meet people’s needs” has raised the bar in no uncertain terms.

This is the fourth of our new series or articles and we look at how care home owners and registered managers can ensure service users personalised needs are met through the use of smart technology.  Indeed, one of the new KLOE prompts specifically asks: How is technology used to support timely access to care and treatment? Is the technology (including telephone systems and online/digital services) easy to use?

All Service Providers set out to do the best for Service Users and to create a responsive environment, however, without the support of technology, it makes the task so much harder to deliver.  Clearly, technology is not the only answer but it goes a long way to help you deliver the desired outcome.

Aspects of “Responsive” that directly talk to the use of technology, include:

• Up to date care, treatment and support plans
• Reminders and alerts that encourage timely delivery of care and treatment
• Personalised care plans
• Instant availability of deep level information
• Detailed assessment, electronic care plans and services recorded
• Family and friends where appropriate, are actively involved through a mobile care monitoring app

KLOE Responsive

Service Providers are expected to set and maintain the highest standards of care at all times. CQC now actively looks at how technology is used to make the service more responsive and our suite of applications supports care staff by giving them the information they need to ensure that they meet CQC’s criteria.

Cura helps service providers to achieving an outstanding rating for responsiveness with a feature rich care planning system designed from the ground up for caregivers and care homes.

Cura means care, and we are committed to supporting care home owners and care managers to deliver outstanding care. We help care homes with the most demanding needs to deliver better quality outcomes by automating more daily tasks for management and caregivers than any other care home software.

See how we can help your delivery of care by booking a full system demonstration today. Contact us on 020 3621 9111 or email at info@cura.systems.

We hope you enjoyed this article. Look out for further articles here on what makes an outstanding care home as recognised by CQC.

The role technology plays in the social care sector is becoming increasing prevalent.  It’s hard to believe there are care homes that still use the traditional paper and pen approach in this digital age. The daily challenges of regulatory compliance and evidencing care provided places an incredible burden on owners, managers, care staff and service users.  Failure to strictly adhere to demands may well lead to inadequate ratings and compromise the health and well-being of the service users; but despite this, too care providers are still fear technology.

Electronic Care Planning Systems for Care Homes

Care homes that have adopted electronic care planning systems have shown clear benefits such as a boost in productivity, improved communications, and better outcomes for residents.

Over the past year, we've seen a number of initiatives particularly by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) urging the health and social care providers to embrace innovative digital technologies to improve care delivery. Driving improvement through technology includes examples from across health and social care. These range from mobile care monitoring apps that help people to take more control of their care, to digital care management systems for sharing care planning records.

At Cura Systems, we look forward to an exciting and innovative 2020 for digital care. Our focus is to continuously provide a smarter care management system to improve quality of care.  We understand the change required in processes and procedures and we are more than happy to guide you to a successful implementation, fully recognising the degree of change many older care workers have to go through.  After all…Cura really does mean Care!

Kick start your new year with Cura care home system! Contact our sales team on 020 36219111 or info@cura.systems to book a FREE Demo today!