Using digital solutions to roster home care staff, rather than the paper-based methods or spreadsheets, helps to bring social care into the 21st Century. NHSX has previously stated that 30 per cent to 40 per cent of care providers have fully digitalised their processes, and with Sajid Javid’s plans to digitise social care by 2024, this number is set to rise.
Why we should embrace change
The social care sector has fallen behind other industries in terms of the adoption of digital technology. In the last couple of years, the focus has been on incorporating digital solutions into the NHS, in order to cope with pressures caused by the pandemic. And with an increasing demand for home care, it is more and more essential that services can be delivered seamlessly and effectively.
Digital rostering solutions have the potential to benefit the whole domiciliary care process, helping to streamline tasks and allow care providers to focus on what they do best – caring. Without it, staff need to manually sort through and review data, whether that be to schedule care or add updates from the client visit. By moving systems online, providers can save on resources unnecessarily spent duplicating already extensive tasks. This, in turn, gives their care workers the ability to focus on delivering compassionate care to their clients.
For more information about rostering, take a look at our blog: Time & Attendance in social care: How to take control of your roster
What makes digital rostering and mobile working effective?
Care workers attend to a wide variety of tasks and clients, and spend most of their day mobile. And because each day is different, staff have to quickly adapt in order to meet any new needs. Having plans suddenly change can frustratingly eat into the time allocated to caring for their clients.
Digital rostering gives all staff a helping hand by removing the need to manually document and track information, freeing up that precious time lost when managing multiple schedules.
For instance, digital rostering saves office staff from having to manually sort through paper trails of care worker availability, skill / preference suitability or records of when the visit started and ended. By enhancing the visibility of care workers, care coordinators can review the clients’ requirements and swiftly delegate the available carer, automatically updating the care worker via mobile app.
These updates are sent through to the care worker, wherever they are, via their mobile devices. By digitalising their scheduling process, care workers can respond to the needs of the day swiftly and accurately, giving them back care time previously lost when using outdated methods.
Digital rostering is one aspect of day-to-day domiciliary care that benefits from online solutions. However, we recognise that this is not the only aspect of home care that can be enhanced. Digital solutions can incorporate all aspects of the care process, including employee management and spot check reviews, removing the need for traditional methods which take time to complete and can distract away from the care.