Modernising a residential nursing & dementia care IT system: Russettings' journey to Blyssful by Ablyss

Russettings is a 43-bed care home in Balcombe, West Sussex, which offers residential nursing and dementia care for its residents. Director, Adam Stuttle and his business partner, Sean Hurden, acquired Russettings as a distressed sale back in 2013 when staff morale and occupancy were low.

The partners saw an opportunity to build Russettings from the ground up, turning the business around by building a top-quality team. They brought in an experienced manager early on, which provided continuity and led to the business’s success. With great focus on staff retention, Adam and Sean remain accessible, visible, and hands on. Providing the opportunity to assist and support the full team as needed.

Adam and Sean believe that remaining approachable is what has helped with staff retention. Russettings is proud to have kept the same manager from the start, and the families of the residents also seem to appreciate their visibility.

The challenge

In the early days, Russettings used a manual, paper-based system. They transitioned to Ablyss CMS on-premises software and used that system for around six years. Before implementing CMS, Adam had to set up an entire IT infrastructure for the home. Ablyss CMS proved to be very popular with staff. It helped with various aspects of the business, such as CQC inspections by storing all required information safely and making it easily accessible. The system increased efficiency, ultimately leading to the care team providing better care for their residents.

^{Russettings care home in Balcombe, West Sussex.}

Despite the numerous benefits, maintaining the on-premises hardware infrastructure proved cumbersome, even with Adam’s background in IT. On top of maintaining equipment, Wi-Fi had been installed and servers and backups were continuously supported. When it came time for an upgrade, the team did not want to invest time and money in updating the old server and setting up a new IT system and started looking for a simpler solution.

Solution

Russettings found a solution by transitioning to Blyssful by Ablyss, a cloud-based residential care management system. This move removed the need for server maintenance, provided a more intuitive user interface, and improved the user experience, enhancing staff efficiency further. Implementing the new system presented a few challenges, but Adam quickly pointed out that these challenges were related to some people’s natural resistance to change rather than the system itself. Of Ablyss, Adam said,

“[Blyssful] proved very popular with staff. They loved it!”

Russettings found Blyssful to be hugely comprehensive and very adaptable. It allowed the team to do everything they needed to with a care management system.

Results

The transition to Blyssful improved recording efficiency and accuracy, allowing staff to record notes at the point of care instead of being tempted to wait for breaks to report details. Using icons and images, the system’s design made the whole process easier for care staff to follow.

Adam found the Blyssful system very easy to configure to meet the needs of the business and highlighted that he has been delighted with the support he’s received from the Ablyss team.

“They’re very responsive, and they listen to suggestions. Sometimes, I make a suggestion, and then two weeks later, I’ll see it on a release note advising that the change has been implemented.”

By implementing Blyssful, Russettings streamlined its care management processes, improved productivity, and enhanced the overall quality of care provided to residents.

^{Blyssful allows staff to record notes quickly and easily at the point of care.}

Advice for implementing electronic care management systems

Adam suggests understanding your business processes and goals before implementing any new system, regardless of the industry and system to be implemented. He also recommends prioritising the information you want from the system to ensure it meets your business’s unique requirements. Adam notes,

“It’s very easy to try and copy what the old systems was and apply it to the new one, rather than spend time thinking about what would work best for your operation.”

A key area to consider is how you would like to group your residents. It may be by location, or by need, for example. Just because it was done one way previously, doesn’t mean that’s the best way to do it moving forward.

Adam emphasised that change management is essential, and having user champions within the business who buy into the system to help with the rollout and teach their colleagues to use it fully is essential. Finally, Adam recommends taking up all opportunities for training to use the comprehensive system to its full capacity.

^{Russettings care home and its beautiful grounds in Balcombe, West Sussex.}

With thanks to Adam Stuttle, Director of Russettings Care Limited.

Learn more about Blyssful residential care management

Find out more about Blyssful, the cloud-based care management system from Ablyss, or contact our team and we’ll be very happy to answer your questions or book a demonstration.

• Discover Blyssful