CLB acoustic monitoring has been appointed as a key partner of the UK’s National Care Forum and NHS Digital’s Hubble project, and will be showcased at The Beeches residential and nursing home in Merseyside, Liverpool. The Hubble Project has been created as part of the NHS Digital’s ‘Social Care Pathfinders Programme’, founded to help care providers understand the benefits of technology, how to build a business case for investment and how to introduce, use and evaluate technology successfully.
The care sector has faced many unpredictable challenges in 2020, that have placed considerable pressure on workers and residents alike. The challenges have put processes and systems under the spotlight and highlighted how there could be a real opportunity for efficiencies and improvements, in which technology plays an integral role. The Hubble Project offers senior decision-makers the chance to virtually visit ‘innovation hubs’ (via webinar) to learn how other care providers have introduced, used and evaluated digital technology to improve care. The sessions cover a wide range of technology for all care providers, such as CLB’s acoustic monitoring, regardless of where they are on the digital journey.
As part of the project, CLB’s acoustic monitoring technology will be showcased at The Beeches, a new residential and nursing service for people with dementia run by Parkhaven Trust. The centre has been designed with guidance from the Dementia Design Centre at Stirling University to provide the highest quality environment to cater for the needs of people with dementia. Parkhaven Trust has also installed circadian lighting and electronic care planning to ensure that people are supported and cared for by using the latest technology and supporting staff to spend more time with people, alongside CLB’s acoustic monitoring solution.
By using CLB’s solution, carers at The Beeches residential and nursing home for people with dementia will be able to monitor residents round the clock, without having to rely on ad-hoc in-person checks. The acoustic monitoring system works by monitoring sounds in each room. When noise exceeds its individually set threshold, an alert is sent to a central station or forwarded to a mobile device for carers to respond to promptly. Not only does acoustic monitoring improve patient’s privacy and free up carers to provide quality care, but residents also benefit from improved sleep cycles due to the reduced interruptions at night. This, in turn, can help to improve their health and energy throughout the day, decreasing the number of falls, improving appetite and cohesiveness for residents.
“By implementing CLB’s acoustic monitoring technology, we have been able to improve resident sleep cycles vastly. Previously, unnecessary ad hoc check-ins caused residents to be awoken by light or noise as carers enter the room – this could leave residents startled and even attempting to get out of bed. Now we can monitor resident’s wellbeing and safety throughout the night remotely. If staff hear a resident out of bed they can respond quickly and in doing so, reduce the chance of falls and injuries,” comments Gemma Morley, RMN, The Beeches.
“We’ve installed CLB’s acoustic monitoring technology to help our night staff support not only those who are awake, but also those who are asleep. Unnecessary ad hoc check-ins are now a thing of the past and residents can resume their individual sleep patterns while we monitor for any abnormalities, which may indicate assistance is needed,” Kim Crowe, Chief Executive, Parkhaven Trust added.
“When speaking with care home providers, it is clear many understand the need and show the desire to embrace technology, and acoustic monitoring, but have struggled with limited knowledge to persuade decision-makers to implement new technology. As part of The Hubble Project, we have an opportunity to showcase acoustic monitoring in action at The Beeches and support care home providers in their digital transformation journey,” comments Phill Moorcraft, UK Director at CLB.
