Giving residents a voice and improving people’s experience of health and care services
When someone moves into residential care, their loved ones can’t always be by their side, and it’s common for family members to feel a sense of separation and concern. They often worry about their relative’s wellbeing and want reassurance that they are happy and enjoying their time in care.
Gathering resident feedback is one way to help address and alleviate these concerns and ensure that you, as a care provider, are adequately meeting each resident’s health and care needs.
Involving residents in their care journey is vital for promoting wellbeing and satisfaction. This process involves actively listening to their voices, needs, expectations, lived experiences, and satisfaction with their care, support, and treatment.
By creating an environment where residents feel empowered to share their thoughts, desires, and concerns, care providers can create a more supportive environment where residents feel valued and respected in their care journey. This empowerment can lead to improved satisfaction and better overall outcomes as residents become active participants in their health and wellbeing.
Let them give you feedback on how their care experiences are going. Residents’ feedback helps improve care!
Supporting the voice of people using care services
Gathering feedback is important beyond individual satisfaction; it also significantly enhances the overall quality of care provided.
Regulatory bodies, including the Care Quality Commission in England, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, the Care Inspectorate Wales, and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority in Northern Ireland, prioritise collecting and analysing feedback. They are dedicated to ensuring that care organisations maintain high standards and foster environments that prioritise resident wellbeing.
For example, the Care Quality Commission has developed six categories for the evidence it collects to make its judgements more structured and consistent. One of those categories is ‘People’s experience of health and care services’.
Care providers must proactively engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including individuals utilising the services, staff members, visiting professionals, professional bodies, commissioners, local groups, members of the public, and other relevant bodies to gather feedback on the quality of care and treatment being provided.
Furthermore, care providers must show how they have analysed and acted on the feedback collected, addressing any issues raised and using the information to drive improvements and demonstrate tangible progress.
Technology can be a powerful ally in facilitating feedback collection
Resident experience and family engagement tools
Tools like Person Centred Software’s Resident Experience and Family Engagement Tool enable care providers to gather and analyse residents’ care experiences systematically. This not only helps in understanding their feelings and needs but also assists in continuously improving the care provided, ensuring that residents feel valued and heard throughout their stay.
Having a tool like Person Centred Software’s Resident Experience and Family Engagement Tool contributes to meeting regulatory requirements and supports improving the quality of care for those in need. The software achieves this goal and helps care organisations to:
- Actively listen to people’s experiences of care
- Gather people’s experiences of care through its advanced survey software
- Comply with all regulators across the UK
Family members strongly prefer care homes that integrate digital tools into their operations, such as digital social care record (DSCR) systems to evidence all aspects of care, medication management systems to manage medications, or resident experience tools, which help collect feedback from residents and enable care homes to respond to their needs more effectively.
Family members deeply value the opportunity for their relatives’ voices and their voices to be heard and for their input to improve the quality of care provided.
Providing reassurance and transparency
Person Centred Software’s Resident Experience and Family Engagement Tool incorporates surveys that allow extensive data to be collected. This helps empower residents and families to provide valuable feedback and give them a voice. It also enables care providers to better understand residents’ preferences and adjust their services to meet their needs, putting a real focus on customer experience.
Additionally, it provides reassurance to family members, whether they live far away or near the care home. It’s comforting for them to know that the care home values and actively listens to their relatives’ experiences of care.
With tech like this, care delivery transforms into a more inclusive and transparent process. Families feel more confident knowing that a concern or a suggestion will be acted upon quickly, fostering a sense of reassurance throughout their relative’s care home journey.
Person Centred Software’s Resident Experience and Family Engagement Tool has many benefits and is becoming a must-have feature many families look for when choosing a care home.
Don’t miss the chance to book a demo with KareInn!
Experience the Resident Experience and Family Engagement Tool firsthand and see how they can enhance your services.
