Identifying care home risks earlier

A new web-based tool, commissioned by the Scottish Government, will allow care homes to monitor coronavirus (COVID-19) trends and identify risks quicker.

The Turas Care Management tool will launch on Friday (14 August) and will allow all private and public sector care homes across the country to record in one place information including COVID-19 infection rates, demand on services and staff testing.

This will mean care home managers, health and social care organisations and the Scottish Government can monitor trends, identify risks and take early action both during the current pandemic and in the future.

The care management tool, developed by the Scottish Government in collaboration with the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Care and NHS Education Scotland (NES), will provide:

• a clearer national picture of conditions in care homes
• earlier warning of emerging trends and issues, allowing earlier interventions
• easier reporting to free up care home resources

The tool is for care home management use and only identified staff will be able to access the information.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said:

“The health, safety and wellbeing of care home residents both during the current pandemic and in the future is critically important.

“This new web-based tool allows care homes to store information in one central place, whereas before they were required to report in different formats and through many channels, which tied up resources and made trend-spotting more difficult.

“Importantly, this means care home managers, health and social care organisations and the government will now be able to identify risks earlier and quickly take action during the current pandemic and in the future.”

Care Inspectorate Chief Executive Peter Macleod said:

"The care sector has worked tirelessly under the most challenging circumstances to care for some of the most vulnerable people in Scotland during the pandemic.

"This new approach to gathering data and information will help us to better understand what support the sector needs to ensure that people experiencing care are supported in the best possible way in the future."

Background

The Turas Care Management tool was commissioned by Scottish Government and has been developed in partnership with the care home sector for the care home sector. The tool will support care homes to review their data over time, demonstrate the safety and quality of the services they provide and facilitate escalation of key concerns to the Health and Social Care Partnership and Care Inspectorate when issues arise and support is required.

Key national partners who have worked in collaboration with Scottish Government to develop this tool include: members of the Clinical and Professional Advisory Group for Care Homes, the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Care and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) who developed the interactive web based tool.

NHS Education for Scotland Chief Executive Stewart Irvine said:

“As we all know, care homes have been among the hardest-hit areas of this pandemic. Our digital team has produced this resource to help reduce the burden on care homes and help residents and staff. We hope it’s a useful contribution to the ongoing support of this important area.” 

Scottish Care’s Transforming Workforce Lead Jacqui Neil said:

“This will provide a long awaited national strategic approach to recording and responding to the pressures on our care homes in real time. It also offers a real opportunity to achieve quality improvements and safe practice through collaborative working moving forward.”