Conference 2019 Workshops: 2, Technology Supporting Logistics
Many organisations are refocusing to put technology at the heart of their strategies because it can help relieve the administrative burden that care providers face and can help them to compete more effectively in the market.
Managing a complex network of stakeholders is one of the biggest problems facing adult social care and it is this area of managing the logistics of staff , clients, suppliers and other stakeholders, that these two workshops address.
Adopting technological solutions can help to integrate systems and stop people working in silos.
And it isn’t just care providers adopting technology to smoothe and facilitate logistics, we are told that many local authorities are using cutting edge technology, often designed to specific needs but quite often just adopting simple digital solutions.
The first workshop, the Bristol and South Gloucestershire Bed Tracker System, presented by Harriet Soderberg demonstrates one example where the local authority is using web based technology to support the process of finding beds for clients with care needs. Adopting a system already in use elsewhere the Bristol and South Gloucestershire project can be implemented relatively quickly and will enable SG care homes to share live bed vacancies. At the same time it enables discharge and brokerage teams to quickly search for vacancies, and there are plans for it to be open to self-funders in future, supporting care provider marketing needs..
Thus at the same time it makes the process of finding a care home placement as easy as possible. and it provides Care Homes with a ‘shop window’ to share available beds as well as other information about the home. It’s free and easy to use, once you have registered, you will be part of a rapidly expanding network of care homes across the country utilising the Capacity Tracker – already more than 6,000 homes are on board.
The workshop will be an opportunity to ask questions about the Capacity Tracker and how it interfaces or compares with other systems in use across the region; you can also learn more about how to register and use the product.
The second workshop, Roster Planning Software, presented by Lee Truman of CarePlanner, looks at examples of technology that integrate processes of managing clients and staff to deliver domiciliary care, such that call scheduling, staff rostering, time sheets and invoicing can all be managed from within one system. Lee will be able to demonstrate how integrated systems such as Care Planner can deliver service process and administrative improvements at reduced cost. Other similar technology is available too as well as technology to support residential settings. You will be able to ask about the costs of this sort of software and implementation issues you would need to consider.