The national digital strategy for social care emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology to enhance the quality and efficiency of care services. This involves integrating digital solutions into the social care system to improve service delivery, support care providers, and empower those receiving care.
ADSS Cymru is working with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to lead a pilot of a digital system called PredicAire in residential homes in Gwent. This system uses AI functionality to support the delivery of residential care services.
This project involves trialling the implementation and test of a digital system to move the management of the provision from paper-based processes to digital delivery. Bespoke training is being provided for all staff who will be using the system.
About PredicAire
PredicAire is an award-winning company whose cutting-edge holistic software system is helping providers to deliver better care and better outcomes.
CEO Vinay Patel says that personal experiences of the care system inspired him to create a solutions-based app that does differently at an affordable price. PredicAire promotes a whole system approach to managing care homes, their workforce and care records.
PredicAire won the Tech Innovation of the Year Award at the National Care Awards 2024.
Resources
PredicAire Live Demonstration presentation
Team
- Jo Williams, ADSS Cymru Lead Director
- Nicki Harrison, Project Manager, ADSS Cymru
- Glenda George, Workforce Lead, ADSS Cymru
- Bec Woolley , Project Evaluation Lead, ADSS Cymru
- Phil Evans, Project Team Member, ADSS Cymru
- Nicola Smith, Project Support, ADSS Cymru
- Vinay Patel, Director and founder of PredicAire
FAQs
System Support
- Is there any way to override the system to start recording basic information before care plans are completed in case of an emergency admission?
Yes, you can start recording data from the minute the person walks in, even before the care plans are built.
- Can parts of the system be hidden in the background so that staff only see what they need to use?
Yes, the system has role-based access, so individuals will only see what is relevant to their role.
- Do we still need to complete manual forms for health and safety incidents if we record them in the system.
The system will nudge you to complete an incident log, but if you decide to complete it on another system, you can let the system know that it has been completed elsewhere.
- Can the system evidence that staff have read and agreed to risk assessments?
Yes, the system has a read button against each care plan and the related risk assessment, and managers can see who has read them.
- Can the system capture notifications that need to be completed on external websites, like CIW notifications?
You can print or download the notification as a PDF and upload it back into the system.
- Can the system support the completion of review forms required every 12 weeks?
This feature is not currently available, but it can be considered and built into the system over time. However, all data can be retrieved seamlessly to assist in the completion of a review form.
- Can the system record and summarise daily interactions and activities to evidence person-centred care?
Yes, staff can log observations and interactions, which can be summarised in the 24-hour timeline.
- Does the system alert for care plan reviews and log changes?
Yes, the system logs changes and can alert for reviews. It also provides a history of changes.
- Is their page where DOLS referrals can be recorded on?
DOLS referrals can be recorded in a care plan with dates of the DOLS application and outcomes.
- Will the system work offline and how it would sync with other devices?
The system allows the care team to log in initially when connected to Wi-Fi. If they move to areas without Wi-Fi, they can continue their observations, which will sync automatically once they reconnect to Wi-Fi.
- Can you access the care plans if the Wi-Fi goes down?
No, but there are workarounds that can be discussed individually.
- Could the system connect to a printer for printing of people's files?
Yes (from mobile Apps and the web platform), especially if the printers are Wi-Fi connected.
- Will the app and desktop site replace the current service plans and resident files?
Yes, the app would replace paper records, but printing options would still be available.
Onboarding and Training
- Concerns were expressed about the amount of work required to start using the system and the impact on staff who are not tech-savvy.
This concern is acknowledged and is often raised by teams when a digital system is being introduced to a Care Home. Full training will be provided for all staff and once trained they are able to use the PredicAire’s intuitive system. Once the system is fully utilised users find it much quicker than executing on paper systems.
The process of onboarding the system to your care home will include pre-loaded data which the PredicAire team will assist with.
Technology and Devices
- Would staff need to download the app to their mobile devices and if the project would provide the necessary technology?
Yes, there will need to be sufficient devices in each Care Home to update the systems. We can provide further advice on this in each Care Home.
- What happens if we employ Agency staff? Will they require separate Login details?
It is recommended that each individual member of staff, including agency is set up with individual usernames for traceability. Some clients use generic usernames like "agency 1" with noted assignments.
- Will we need an additional licence for additional logins?
Questions relating to IT, information governance and security are being explored with staff from the Information Governance, Security and IT teams as well as with officers from the SRS. Once we have the answers they will be included in the FAQs.
Funding and Licenses
- Is there any funding for implementation costs i.e. extra time needed by staff to sort system admin and uploading data?
Not currently budgeted for but we will work closely with you on this and provide full support.
- Are their licensing costs - will these be covered?
We are currently looking at whether there are any additional licencing costs for each local authority.
- Will additional devices needed be funded?
These can’t currently be funded from the project budget, but we are looking into whether there is another option to provide these devices.
- Will there be any funding to back fill staff on training?
Comprehensive training will be provided for all staff, and we are happy to work with you until you are confident in using the system. We are not currently able to fund any additional staffing costs.
- Any funding for any configuration of current devices?
We are looking into this and will update the FAQ when we have the answer.