In a care home emergency, medical or otherwise, the watchwords are: ‘rapid, effective response.’ Having access to the right tools and systems to identify the problem, raise the alarm and do all the right things to make everyone safe and out of harm’s way is crucial. In a busy care home, there can be all kinds of emergencies and crises that require immediate attention. From medical emergencies to fire alarms, everything needed must be in full working order with staff trained and ready to respond to the crisis calmly and effectively, even under pressure.

Care Vision’s suite of monitoring tools, security features and medical support functions are set up to help care home staff deal with emergencies whenever they crop up. Here are some of the ways in which the care planning software can make all the difference in a crisis – sometimes between life and death.

Nurse Call

Time is of the essence in a medicals emergency and minutes lots trying to find the right person to help could cause complications or cost lives. Nurse Call is nan integrated feature in Care Vision that enables residents or staff to raise the alarm immediately when someone needs urgent medical help. Not only does the system send out the alert, it also transmits the precise location of the person who has raised the alarm. The call goes out across several platforms too, so that responders are far more likely to pick up the alert straight away.

GP Connect

When a care home resident is in need of external medical care, there can be delays caused by information taking its time to reach the right professionals. Sometimes, not having the right details can make an emergency situation worse. For example, when people are allergic to certain medications or medical supplies, have medical co-morbidities or need to take religious or cultural requirements around how they are able to be treated into account. GP Connect solves these types of problems in a few simple clicks. Using the person’s unique NHS number, the system pulls together all their medical data and history into a central platform that is accessible by everyone who needs to see it, providing instant information.

Residents’ records

Similarly, Care Vision’s resident records feature provided key information in one place, for anyone needing to access it during an emergency. This not only includes medical details, but other considerations, such as family contacts, personal preferences, Power of Attorney arrangements, communication methods and more. All essential things to know in order to keep the situation calm during a crisis and help medical professionals take better-informed decisions.

Family feedback

Care Vision has several features in place to enable family members and loved ones to provide feedback about resident care. This helps keep care home staff informed about details that could be critical in a crisis. It also helps residents and their supporters to advocate for their safety, dignity and happiness in the care home. If anyone has concerns about how a resident is being treated, they can provide digital feedback sooner, rather than later, which could prevent a more serious event happening further down the line.

Electronic visitors book

Knowing exactly who is on site and why there are there is fundamental to keeping everyone safe in the care home – staff, residents and visitors. This is for many different reasons. Fire safety protocol requires a record of who is present so that evacuations can be conducted promptly with everyone accounted for. Unauthorised people trying to gain access for nefarious reasons need to be identified quickly too– if someone has not signed the visitors book, this is a good way to work out whether or not they should be on site.

Staff: rotas, shift and training

They say that prevention is better than cure and that is certainly true when it comes to staff shift and management. In an emergency it becomes ‘all hands on deck’ and the more staff you have available the better. It certainly doesn’t help a crisis if there are not enough staff on shift to cope. Use Care Vision’s staff rota and shift planning tools to check that all bases are covered and that you have a contingency plan for emergency situations. The training matrix can also help care managers prepare emergency plans by ensuring that relevant staff are trained to handle all kinds of crises, from fire safety to medical interventions.