The real-world advantages of goal setting in residential care
The value of goal setting in residential care is not to be underestimated, not only for the agency and ownership it provides residents, but due to the monitoring and analytical benefits it presents to management and staff.
Utilising a care management system, such as Blyssful by Ablyss, can optimise the setting, reporting, and monitoring of goals to enhance efficiency and reach the best possible results for residents.
Why is goal setting important in residential care?
Ablyss care management software allows businesses to more effectively run their care provision, including planning and recording meals, medication, injuries and ailments, activities, and goal setting.
When we consider goal setting in person-centred care, it is important to ensure that these goals meet the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs). The KLOEs look to answer five key questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led?
In terms of safety, inspectors consider the topics of safeguarding, managing risks, and learning when things go wrong. Effectiveness is measured by assessing needs and delivering evidence-based treatment, staff skills and knowledge, and supporting people to live healthier lives. Care covers kindness, respect, privacy, and dignity, whereas responsiveness looks at concerns, complaints, and person-centred care. When a service is assessed to be well-led, this judges overall vision, strategy, management, and innovation.
How can Blyssful optimise goal setting?
A system that meets all five KLOEs is Blyssful, the latest innovative care home management system from Ablyss. The company has drawn from its 20 years of experience in developing and providing solutions to the care industry to build an innovative cloud-based care management software for both new and existing customers. Its original products have seen resounding success due to their flexibility, customisation features, and huge functionality. This ethos has been carried over to its cloud offering, featuring pioneering, unique, and customisable features, with advanced auditing and analytics tools.
Customising goals with flexible care management software
One of the key selling points of Blyssful is that it is designed to be hugely customisable to suit the unique needs of both businesses and individuals, giving the user the unrivalled ability to create bespoke reports to be able to monitor what’s important. Blyssful also allows providers to spot trends and patterns in order to rectify issues quickly and look to introduce preventative measures.
Goal setting using Blyssful care management software.
With Blyssful, residential homes can create a bespoke care package unique to each of its residents, meeting their individual needs and requirements.
Custom observation charts help ensure that all aspects of a resident’s daily care needs are evidenced at point of delivery, while the Assessment Builder features custom templates and the ability to build in your existing assessments into the system.
By individualising Targets and Objectives for each resident, this allows carers to focus better on residents’ personal needs and aspirations. Custom charts can also be created using a library of images for common daily events such as washing and dressing.
Benefits of cloud-based care management systems
There are huge advantages to companies moving their care management systems to a cloud platform and gaining the benefits of this accessible system.
Cloud-based systems are easily accessible from anywhere, on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, by anyone with permission to do so. As the system is all located on a cloud-based server, there’s no need to worry about backups or losing data.
With Blyssful, users can stay connected with integrations, multiple devices, messaging, and accessibility for staff and family. This system is safe, compliant, and secure, with user footprints, alerts, and consents on UK cloud-based servers.
All data changes made by users are logged, granting a transparent view of any changes made. This helps to safeguard a business’s data, whilst also giving users the ultimate flexibility.
With Blyssful, access can be provided to the system for staff, visiting professionals, and family members. To help ensure secure access, roles can be customised which control the functionality a user has, whether it be viewing a particular screen or recording data. In addition to this, the resident records a user account can view can be specified, whether it be for a family member or based on a whole unit, for staff working in more secure homes. Accounts can also have multi-factor authentication enabled, to ensure extra security.
The real-world advantages of goal setting
Using a care management system to manage goals for care home residents gives residents the tools to have more control over their life. From daily tasks such as washing, dressing, and brushing their teeth, to more complex goals like managing their own finances, Blyssful can help meet them all.
By setting routines, the service user can demonstrate an understanding of personal hygiene regimens and engage in a regular exercise program, such as taking daily showers and aiming for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity three times a week.
Using Blyssful’s wallet feature, the resident can view how much money is going in and out, using this information to develop and implement a budget plan, including monthly savings, to enhance financial literacy and independent management of personal finances.
Case studies
A care home which has benefitted from the flexibility of the Blyssful system is Elizabeth and Roberta House. Established around 30 years ago, the homes occupy a split site but are run as one unit, which has caused difficulties in management processes. It was time for the business to take a look at their operations and investigate how software could help. Using a care management system has allowed the care home to become an effective, specialised business in the sector.
Rod Tarry, partner in the business, shares: “It’s transformed the way we work. Without Ablyss we simply couldn’t deliver the support we offer. For example, the average shift for a care support worker involved 8 hours giving resident support, with 4 hours being spent on paperwork. Now, that 12-hour shift costs the business the same in cash terms but now 10 hours are spent giving resident support with just 2 hours on record keeping.”
Prospect House, a residential and nursing home based in Cheshire, has greatly advanced from the flexibility of reporting that Ablyss has provided. Prospect House is one of only a few homes in Cheshire to have been awarded Platinum status at the National Gold Standards Framework Awards, which recognises the highest standard of care possible for residents and their families, and aims to improve the collaboration with GPs, primary care teams, and specialists.
Joanne Scott, Operations Manager, believes that the Ablyss Care Management System has been instrumental in Prospect House achieving its accreditation. She says: “We particularly benefit from the flexibility and adaptability of the system, and the powerful audit and bespoke report design functionality, which we use extensively. We are regularly finding new functions that the system is capable of, and have recently commenced using the staffing module to assist with rota planning for the benefit of everyone involved in care within the home.”
Ablyss helps residential care providers be the best they can be. Contact our product specialists to discover more about the benefits of Blyssful.
Contact usArticle by Sally White
Ablyss Co Founder