Guild Care is well known in Worthing and the surrounding areas and has cared for the community for over 90 years. This solid foundation means the organisation and its people are familiar and trusted. While being immensely proud of its heritage, Guild Care is always looking to the future and constantly reinvests profits into community services and its three care homes; Caer Gwent, Linfield House and Haviland House.

In this article, Kevin Burke, director of care homes and dementia services at Guild Care, discusses the role technology plays in its vision for everyone in need of care to lead fulfilling, safe and secure lives. 

A connected ecosystem

Our multi-year digital care strategy is part of our wider mission to consistently deliver loving care in a complex and evolving environment. Rather than looking at technology in isolation, we have created a connected digital ecosystem that draws on the very best innovations and combines them with decades of expertise from our trusted team. Together, these systems function as one, enabling staff to respond more quickly, work more efficiently and spend more time delivering person-centred care.

Our ‘Nourish’ care management system, for example, gives real-time access to resident care records, with staff logging everything from medication to hydration, nutrition and wellbeing activities via handheld devices. The data gathered, combined with insights from the team who know our residents best, means trends and changes can be spotted early on. The comprehensive and person-centred care plans and assessments are available digitally to ensure updated records are easily accessible. This enables proactive planning and earlier intervention for better outcomes for our residents.

One of the benefits of being a longstanding organisation is that we have a loyal team, many of whom have worked with us for decades. They get to know our residents and their families well, so can spot small changes in health and behaviour and log these in to the Nourish system. Our 24/7 in-house nursing team provides round-the-clock care, and the technology means information from across the day and overnight can be recorded promptly, improving continuity and handovers. 

Restful nights, creating calmer days

Ensuring residents are comfortable and safe during the night is a key priority for our team and we introduced acoustic monitoring and nursing technology with this in mind. The NexusCare Nurse Call System enables residents to request assistance, with calls connecting directly to the care team’s handheld devices. This allows qualified staff to assess and respond quickly at the point of care before any audible alarm is triggered, reducing unnecessary noise and disruption across the home. This is particularly important at night to enable residents to sleep uninterrupted.

The acoustic monitoring system is installed across all three care homes, with residents able to opt out if they wish. Sensors detect unusual sounds or movement and alert staff when attention may be required. By using technology to remove unnecessary intrusion, we have created calmer night-time environments that support both safety and quality of life with a peaceful, more homely feel.

This kind of innovation will always be led by one guiding principle at Guild Care; technology must support dignity, compassion and human connection. Based on our combined experience over decades, and by embracing change with a forward-thinking attitude, we can make the most of modern technology to enhance life for our residents and their loved ones.

To find out more about what makes Guild Care’s homes unique, please call our friendly Customer Relationship Team on 01903 327327, email [email protected]