Its 2019, and I’m sure we can all agree that the use of technology is at an all-time high, from attempting to teach our parents how to use FaceTime, to failing at getting our kids to spend less time on Snapchat taking selfies.
However, although technology definitely has its negatives (Eg: being at a fancy restaurant where everyone rushes to take the ‘perfect’ picture of the meal rather than savouring the moment and embracing the ambiance), the rapid advancement of modern technology is inevitable, and we must learn to use technology, and NOT let technology use us!
On-the-other-hand, when it comes to Home Care, there are 3 significant benefits of using modern technology to improve the quality of service, making life easier for everyone:
1) Peace of mind 24/7
Monitoring the home care provided for a loved one can be an anxiety inducing task! I’m sure some of the below questions might run through your head throughout the day;
Who is going?
Did they actually go?
When did they arrive?
What did they do?,
What didn’t they do?
Did they notice any changes?
How is mom/dad/nan/grandad doing?
etc etc etc.
These are the important details of a home care visit that give you peace of mind that your loved one is being looked after to both your and their standards.
Traditionally, these important details can be found in a dusty care folder with more pages than the bible and the dictionary put together, left under a wardrobe in your loved ones home!
By using technology, this care file can be easily accessed 24-7 by the Care provider, family and loved ones, with a few clicks of a button via phone, laptop, tablet or computer. So whether you’re at work, gym, school, pub, restaurant, cinema…in short you can have full access ANYWHERE, ANYTIME and that’s what I call peace of mind.
2) More time for Carers to actually focus on the Care!
Speaking as an experienced carer, I can confirm that being a Carer is one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet, the mere satisfaction you receive from helping a vulnerable individual continue to live their lives as they want to in the late stages of their life is unmatched! (Not to mention the cool history lessons that come with it).
Unfortunately, the huge amounts of paper work that come with EVERY single visit takes up at least 30% of the time.
Technology allows this paperwork to be digitalised, that way, I complete my care visit, and can easily fill out the same required paperwork digitally via my mobile!
This is not only much easier and quicker for me (I am a superfast texter thanks to WhatsApp), it allows me to take my time when providing care, and allows loved ones, and management to oversee what I have done and ensure quality (Not to toot my own horn, but I pride myself in providing the best care out, and its nice to be recognised)
3) No paper! (1 Tree per HOUR is used in the UK for Home Care)
The average client care file (Daily Records, Care Plan, Medication forms etc) uses approximately 250 sheets of A4 paper over a year!
This means that one FULLY grown tree (60 feet producing roughly 50,500 sheets of paper) only supports 202 care files!
This number is absolutely absurd and needs to be taken under control, especially since according to scientists, we have approximately till 2030 to get our act together before the damage caused to the planet becomes IRREVERSIBLE! (BBC, 2018)
And if the above numbers don't worry you, according to the, NHS, there were 1.8 million people who required home care in the UK (2016) and has since increased.
That is equal to:
- 450,000,000 sheets of paper, from 8,911 fully grown trees PER YEAR,
- 743 trees perMONTH
- 185 trees perWEEK
- 26 trees perDAY
- 1 tree per HOUR
Why care for your loved one, and not care for your planet?
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