Signs That Your Loved One Needs A Care Home Support

As your loved one ages, you will notice a lot of changes. Some changes can be challenging for family members to deal with. Everyday activities like bathing and taking a walk that were once part of the daily routine may become challenging tasks for your loved one. These are signs that your loved one needs admission to a care home. Though it’s a painful thought to make your loved one stay in a care home, having a plan in place can help you deal better with the situation. Remember the longer your loved one is without care, the worse his or her condition is likely to get.

Over here we discuss 5 reliable signs that will indicate that your loved needs a care home support: 

  • Forgetfulness: Not making it to the doctor’s appointment and piling up of unpaid bills may seem innocuous in the beginning but they can be early signs of memory loss. Forgetfulness can adversely affect the quality of your loved one’s life and in some cases, it can have serious consequences. Not remembering someone’s phone number may not be a big issue but forgetting the way back home or forgetting to switch off the gas appliance can be dangerous.
  • Poor personal hygiene: If you find any deterioration in personal hygiene of your loved one, it’s an indication he or she needs assistance. Unkempt hair, unbrushed teeth, and dirty clothes are signs that your loved one is struggling with everyday grooming. Poor personal hygiene should not be ignored as it can put your loved one at the risk of developing serious infections. 
  • Disorganised house: The idea of a clean and organised house does vary from one person to another. But you know your loved one for years and if you think there has been a drastic change in the way the house is being kept, it’s time for you to seek help. Piles of dirty laundry, stacks of newspapers and magazines, stale food in the refrigerator, and dirty dishes lying in the sink for days indicate that your loved one is finding it difficult to accomplish these tasks on their own. 
  • Extreme mood swings: If you have noticed that your loved one is acting irritable or there has been a drastic change in his or her sleeping patterns, you must consult a doctor. These can be signs of dementia or depression. Whatever the reason be, it should be timely identified. Based on what your loved one is suffering from, you can choose the right home care for him or her.  
  • Sudden weight loss or weight gain:  Sudden and significant weight loss can be a sign that your loved one is either not eating properly or finding it difficult to feed himself or herself. Some people may end up eating more for emotional comfort. Being at a care home can help your loved one eat well-balanced food timely. 

Often elderly patients forget to properly take their medications. Some either forget to take a dose or they overdose leading to hospitalisation. These things are taken care of by caretakers at a care home. Most of the care homes in the UK are shifting from MAR sheets to electronic MAR charts also known as electronic medication administration record. eMAR automates medication administration and lowers the risk of human errors on the part of caretakers. Read FAQS on medication administration to learn how eMAR can improve your loved one’s quality of life and reduce medication errors in a care home. 

Signs and Symptoms of Caregiver Stress and Burnout

During unprecedented times like these, caregiver stress is likely at an all-time high. It’s anything but normal for the care home staff to feel overwhelmed with work during the coronavirus pandemic. Caregiver stress can take many forms.

Some of the signs of caregiver stress are –

  • Feeling frustrated
  • Getting angry often
  • Feeling tired most of the time
  • Losing interest in activities they once enjoyed
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Appetite changes – eating too much or too little 
  • Difficulty concentrating 

As a care home manager, you have to stay alert for these warning signs and engage with your care home staff regularly. You can also help them get their lives back into balance with these small steps – 

  1. Encourage them to take care of their own health – Tell them to eat well, exercise and get rest.  Ensure that they are taking rest between shifts. 
  2. Educate them on stress management – These are stressful times and everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. Talk to them and educate them on stress-relieving activities such as gardening or reading. 
  3. Encourage them to stay in touch with their loved ones – It’s common for care workers to feel lonely and isolated during these times.  There are many apps which do video calls. Talk to your staff and encourage them to video call their friends and family. They can even use video platforms to schedule group activities such as family dinner, movie night and book club. 
  4. Educate them on the importance of “me-time” – Making time for oneself allows the body and brain to de-stress. They can play some of their favourite music and discover new artists online or do things they really like to do. 
  5.  Help the staff with support – Ensure that your care home staff are aware of where and how they can access mental health support services. 
  6. Proper communication – Open proper communication channels so that accurate information updates are provided to all the care home staff. Miscommunication and rumour-mongering during these times can have serious consequences on the care staff’s mental health. 

The COVID-19 situation is emotionally taxing and the situation will not go away overnight. As a care home manager, you should focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term crisis response. Many care homes in the UK are automating their medication processes to alleviate the burden on the shoulders of the care home support team. With electronic mar, the care workers don’t have to manually check mar sheets to complete each medication pass. It informs the workers the list of medicines to be given to each resident in an organized way. It also ensures that no medication dosage is missed as the care workers get alerts before the prescribed time. Learn why care homes in the UK are shifting from MAR sheets to eMAR. 

Health Benefits of Walking for Seniors

Exercises should form a core part of the care plan for your elderly residents. Walking is an ideal form of activity that can help seniors improve their health and well-being. It has multiple benefits without much investment other than time and a pair of good shoes. It is one of the most senior-friendly forms of exercise. When done in groups it’s a great social activity. 

If you are running a care home, walking is an ideal exercise for your residents. Over here we discuss how walking can benefit seniors at your care home: 

  • Good for heart health: One of the biggest benefits of walking is that it’s great for cardiovascular health. Walking every day helps seniors to keep blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar levels in check. Walking is a low-impact exercise that temporarily increases the heart rate and thus improves the efficiency of the heart. 
  • Strengthens muscles: Walking tones their leg, abdominal and buttock muscles. This improves the range of movement and shifts all the weight from knee joints to muscles. This reduces the chances of developing joint pain.
  • Improves joint movement: Those who are already suffering from joint pains can benefit from walking. Many elderly residents who suffer from joint pain because of arthritis often give up on walking thinking it will be painful. However, walking lubricates knee and hip joints and thus reducing joint stiffness, swelling and pain. If you have elderly people in your care home who are suffering from arthritis, you can have a caretaker to accompany them during walks.
  • Helps remain steady: Walking regularly can help residents at your care home to correct their posture and gait. Regular walking improves postural stability that helps in decreasing the risks of falls. Falls can have serious consequences like serious injuries and loss of mobility for the elderly. With regular walking and other forms of light exercises, seniors are more mindful of their posture and their steps.
  • Boosts mental health: A good walk can do wonders for one’s mental well-being. Walking regularly helps seniors feel energetic throughout the day, sleep better at night, and feel more relaxed. All these things help seniors feel more positive about themselves and keep anxiety and depression at bay. Physical activity, whether low-impact or high-impact, releases endorphins in the brain that help to keep seniors in a good mood. 
  • Keeps weight in check: Overweight seniors are more likely to suffer a fall than those who maintain a healthy weight. Walking helps seniors to burn calories. Walking is one of the easiest forms of exercise to stick to. You can introduce a walking program for seniors that will encourage them to socialise with other residents. Chatting and walking with friends can make daily stroll fun. 

To ensure that seniors at your care home are leading an improved quality of life, besides wellness programs that include indoor and outdoor exercises, introduce electronic medication administration record system. Several care homes in the UK have switched to eMAR which helps to reduce medication errors. The software automates the entire process and reduces the risk of human errors. The app can be customised as per the needs and requirements of your care home. It has the same template as that of MAR sheets, hence training your care home staff getting acquainted with eMAR won’t take much time. 

 

How to keep Seniors Engaged During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, social isolation and loneliness are serious issues faced by the elderly population staying in care homes. As a care home manager, you have to think outside the box to keep the seniors engaged with activities that will alleviate isolation and loneliness. Over here we discuss a list of activities that seniors in your care home can do whilst maintaining social distancing. 

  1. Technology – Older people can have certain fears regarding technology. One of them is the fear of breaking or damaging the equipment. Another is security – although many elderly residents don’t understand the common security problems but they have a fear of falling prey to online scams. Caregivers can help the elderly residents understand technology – they can teach the residents how to use laptops and phones. Caregivers can also teach the residents how to safely use social media channels and emails to stay connected with their friends and family members. When it comes to staying in touch, there are a myriad of options – from FaceTime and Skype to Facebook and Instagram. Caregivers can help the residents set up an account and give them a tutorial on how to use these channels safely. 
  2. Games – You can encourage the residents to play word games or cards online. Playing games online offer much more than fun and social interaction. It improves their memory, planning and calculation skills. The residents  can play the games with their friends online or even grandkids. 
  3. Virtual experiences – With zoos, art galleries, museums, and music venues closed, elderly residents are increasingly becoming agitated and restless. However, the good news is that many cultural institutions are offering virtual tours to visitors. Google’s Arts & Culture platform has collaborated with world-famous museums such as the Tate Modern and the British Museum in London so that they can show their exhibits online and offer virtual tours to their visitors. 
  4. Arts and crafts – Plan for activities such as knitting, painting and coloring to help the residents stay active. These activities also help them keep anxiety and depression at bay. 
  5. Watching TV – It’s a good way to keep the residents entertained. They can also watch news to stay informed; however, set a time for them to watch the news on TV. As watching news about Covid-19 all day long can bring needless anxiety. 

We know the dangers of loneliness and how it can contribute to the incidence of mental illness, particularly depression. During these unprecedented times, it’s important to help the senior residents of your care home stay active and connected with their friends and family members. And your care home staff need to learn skills and experience to support the residents in their use of communications technology. And for that purpose, your staff need more time on their hands. Automation technology can help you streamline a lot of processes in your care home and help your staff spend time on person-centered care. If your care home staff is spending most of their time doing manual tasks like reviewing MAR sheets or updating MAR sheets, then you can shift to eMAR (electronic medication administration record) and automate the medication administration process in your care home.

Mistakes to avoid when running a care home

Care homes, regardless of the type, share the same goal, and it is to provide the best possible care to its residents. However, the rigorous daily routine can sometimes take a toll on the care workers’ patience and perseverance and they forget to look at the ‘big picture.’ As a care home manager, you have to ensure that the support team works efficiently and residents get quality care. Over here we discuss some common mistakes that care homes make – 

Not looking at future problems while making care plans 

Sure, having a proper care plan is a must in any care home. However, there are always uncertainties when it comes to residents’ health and medication management. For example, a resident’s health may degrade after following a particular treatment and the doctor may have to alter diet plans and medication regularly. In such a case, a fixed care plan won’t work. The care plan followed in such cases should be designed in a way that helps care workers easily cope with the unexpected changes. 

Not implementing multiple cross-checking routine to ensure medication safety

From choosing the right medication for the right patient to ensuring the right dosage route and documenting the whole process, there’s a lot involved when it comes to administering medication.

As care workers have to administer medicines to residents multiple times in a day, the monotony and tediousness can result in human errors which can adversely affect the health of residents. Hence, it’s a good practice to regularly check MAR sheets to ensure safe medication administration in your care home. 

However, multiple cross-checking is not feasible for most of the care homes due to resource and time constraints. To deal with this situation, care home managers can implement electronic MAR, electronic MAR charts, in care homes. It automates medication administration and lowers the risk of human errors. Learn how care homes in the UK are using electronic MAR at https://www.electronicmar.co.uk/emar/. 

Poor communication

Constant interactions happen between the staff, residents, and management in a care home. Lack of proper communication between the staff and residents, or the staff and the management, can lead to loopholes in the caring processes that can lower the care quality. 

One of the recommendations to improve communication is to conduct communication training sessions for the staff; this can be done once or twice in a month. Also, it helps to make sure that the care workers are able to collaborate with each other to increase transparency in data-sharing.

 

Taking Care of Elderly Patients: Useful Tips for New Caregivers

Taking care of elderly patients can include challenges like communication barriers and resolving conflicts. Caregivers who have just started out in this profession may face more challenges than those who are experienced. Over here we discuss a few useful tips to help new caregivers understand how they can ensure the elderly patients get quality care. 

1. Patience 

Having a clear communication plan is important in building a relationship with older patients. And it can take time and the caregivers have to put a lot of efforts. Patience while dealing with elderly patients is the key to building a good relationship with them. When communicating with the patients, the caregivers need to understand the multiple and complex barriers (such as noise level, language barriers, tone of voice and pace of delivery, and lack of time) that are preventing them to communicate properly. 

2. Recreational activities to keep them busy 

Participating in simple activities can boost the mood of elderly patients. This, sadly, is often overlooked by many caregivers who are relatively new on the job. When planning the daily routine of the patients, including time for activities such as baking, gardening, walking in the garden, reading, or playing cards – as these activities can work wonders for their mood and overall wellbeing. 

3. Assisting frail elderly patients while maintaining their dignity

Frail elderly patients are at risk of falling; hence, the caregiver must ensure the patients have access to walking and balance aids and visual/hearing aids. If the patients can manage to do certain tasks independently, let them do the tasks. If they need assistance in doing certain activities such as walking or eating, then the caregiver needs to learn how to assist patients in such conditions without making them feel uncomfortable. 

If you are a care home manager or owner and are looking for ways to help your staff focus on providing person-centric care, then reduce the repetitive manual tasks in your care home. One of the ways to do this is to replace the traditional MAR sheets in your care home with a smart alternative – eMAR. It saves your staff’s time in many ways. Learn the benefits of implementing eMAR in your care home here

FAQs on Medication Administration

Care workers give medicines or assist the residents in taking medicines in different forms ( from capsules and oral mixtures to administering inhaled medication). They are responsible for the safe administration of the medicines. But in many cases, care staff (due to lack of training or confusion arising from lack of documentation or poor instructions ) commit medication administration errors. When it comes to medication administration, there are many questions that care home workers and managers have. Over here we discuss 5 FAQs on medication administration and its safety –

Question 1: What are the different Rs of medication administration?

  • Right medication
  • Right patient
  • Right dose
  • Right route
  • Right time
  • Right documentation
  • Right evaluation
  • Right patient education
  • Right assessment

Question 2: What are the common medication errors in Intravenous Medication (IV) Administration medication administration?

Administering IV medication requires a high level of competence as there are various areas where medication errors can occur: wrong volume, mixture, rate, and drug. Other risks involved with poor IV medication administration include phlebitis (inflammation of the veins), air embolism (it occurs when air bubbles enter a vein), and infiltration (leakage of medication from an IV). In fact, a hospital-based cross-sectional study found out high prevalence of IV medication errors.

Question 3: How can care homes ensure medication safety?

There are many steps to take when it comes to ensuring medication safety in care homes. One of the common medication mistakes that happen in care homes is related to drugs with similar names, similar brand names, similar looks, or similar packaging. Such medicines confuse the time-strapped care staff. To avoid any kind of medication error when handling such drugs, it’s important that the care workers carefully label the medicines in a distinct way. Another important step is to audit the MAR sheets in care homes regularly. But this can be a time-consuming process as it needs to be done manually- which is why many care homes in the UK have shifted from MAR sheets to eMAR ( electronic MAR). eMAR can monitor all of your MAR Sheets 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

Question 4: What are the benefits of shifting from MAR to eMAR?

eMAR is a great alternative to conventional MAR sheet medication system. The electronic medical record-keeping system helps care homes lower the risks of medication errors by streamlining medication administration processes. It eliminates a lot of paperwork from the medication administration process – as a result there are less chances of medication errors related to overwriting and illegible handwriting. It also improves the operational efficiency of a care home by reducing the manual work performed by care staff such as reviewing the MAR sheets and counting medications. Watch this video to know how the care home managers in the UK are using eMAR to get a complete and precise picture of medication issued.

Question 4: Why should care home staff be particular about medicine timings? And how can care homes ensure that the residents don’t miss a dose of their medication?

Some medicines need to be given at specific times. For example, some medicines need to be taken before, with or after food or some diseases can only be controlled with very precise dose timings. To ensure that the right medicine is given to the right patient at the right timing, care homes are using digital medical administration record sheets ( eMAR).

Problems Associated with Printed MAR Charts

Administering medicines to patients is one of the primary responsibilities of a care worker and, thus, it is necessary that when this task is performed it is done with utmost care. To manage the medicine administration, several care homes use printable MAR (Medicine Administration Record) sheets. Though several care homes in the UK have started using Electronic MAR (eMAR), there are still many who are even now using the printable MARs. Care homes usually get printed MAR charts from pharmacies which supply them the medicines. Care homes often pay extra for this service. Though printed mars are a tad better than handwritten charts as they can avoid clerical errors and errors due to handwriting, they are not completely free of errors. Here are some of the problems that are associated with printed MARs that can be avoided by switching to eMAR: 

  1. Tracking dosage changes manually: While a doctor may have prescribed a particular medicine, he or she may change the dosage at some point. When such a thing happens, the caretakers have to update the MAR chart and track it manually. But with eMAR, the care workers don’t have to worry about the hassles of manually updating the dosage changes prescribed by the doctors -as the app automatically sends alerts whenever the dose is changed and whenever it is due. 
  2. Tracking prescription cycle changes manually: Often doctors change the prescription in the middle of the month. Therefore, there can be too many MAR charts in one file for one resident. The caretakers have to be extra cautious in such a scenario and keep a track of prescriptions. However, with eMAR, this problem is easily solved. The care workers get alerts regarding the changes in prescription which helps in reducing medication errors.  
  3. Overwriting:  When a resident’s medication is altered, care home staff are responsible for amending the MAR sheet. It has to be ensured that directions are written in legible handwriting and care homes need to have a system in place to check the source and accuracy of the change. Moreover, the codes used in the MAR sheet must be clearly explained. All the personal details must be completed in every MAR sheet. Caregivers can avoid the hassle of filling in printable MARS altogether with eMAR. Also, with eMAR caregivers don’t face problems of illegible handwriting or overwriting. 

 Care home owners and managers – Use eMAR in your care home to streamline medication administration 

All of these above-mentioned problems can be avoided by care homes by switching to eMAR. Instead of a printable sheet, caregivers can access the cloud-based MAR sheets on an Android tablet or a smartphone. There’s no fear of the data getting misplaced. Moreover, as it resembles the printable sheets it is easy for caregivers to get a hang of it. eMAR is a cost-effective solution to improving medication administration in your care home. Book an eMAR demo today and find out how your care home can benefit from it. 

Indicators Of An Effective Care Home

An effective care home promotes a good quality of life for all its residents. It ensures that the care is delivered in a respectful way and everyone’s health and safety are effectively managed. Over here we discuss a few practices that care homes have implemented to effectively manage their operations –

1. Streamlined medication administration

Medication administration is an important part of delivering quality patient care. Taking steps to improve the various processes involved in medication administration (including prescribing, documenting, transcribing, dispensing, administering, monitoring, and reporting) helps lower the risk of medication errors.

Many care homes in the UK have shifted from paper-based MAR sheets to eMAR to prevent medication errors. To know how eMAR streamlines medication administration, watch this video 

2. Competence and punctuality of care staff

The everyday activities of residents, like taking medication, meals, and physical activities, are heavily dependent on care workers. Thus, it’s important to hire well-trained, passionate and punctual care workers to ensure that the residents receive care that is safe. An effective care home regularly conducts training sessions and encourages peer-to-peer knowledge transfer. 

3. Catering to the individual needs of the residents
To do this, care workers must understand and know each individual’s life history. Involving residents’ family can also help care workers create a personalised care plan. Effective care homes also have processes in place to monitor and cater to the changing needs, health, and wellbeing of the residents.

4. Choices around quality food 
A good care home offers a varied choice of diet. Also, they document individual food preferences as part of their care plan. The care staff ensures that healthy snacks and drinks are provided to the residents between main meals. Mealtimes are an important part of the day for residents – which is why good care homes regularly ask their residents and relatives for suggestions on improving mealtimes and also ensure that the ideas are implemented. 

Strategies For Dealing With Caregiver Stress

The demands of caring for an elderly person can be physically as well as emotionally overwhelming. As a care home manager, it’s important to take care of your staff and help them manage caregiver stress before it snowballs into a bigger problem. The quality of care provided in any care home depends on the efficiency of its staff. While the well-being of the residents is your responsibility, you should also take care of your staff who may be overwhelmed by challenges that come along with caring for ill and ageing residents. Here are a few ways you can help your care home staff deal with caregiver stress: 

  1. Look for signs of burnout:  It’s common for care home staff to feel physically and mentally exhausted when they are doing the same job day in and day out. They may take frequent breaks, have low productivity at work and get upset or irritated at the slightest thing. These signs show that the caregiver is stressed out. The best way to deal with this issue is to identify these signs in the initial stage and address them properly. 
  2. Have an SOP in place: You can improve the overall operational efficiency of the care home by ensuring that there is a standard operating procedure (SOP) in place for every task. For instance, an SOP will ensure that the care home staff isn’t interrupted during the medication round. As it can not only increase the care giver’s workload but also compromise on the safety of the residents. To improve staff effectiveness and productivity, conduct regular training sessions. These sessions also improve the confidence of the care staff and help them handle everyday issues. 
  3. Manage vacation requests in advance: Within any work setting, it’s not uncommon for employees to request time off – and care homes are no exception. As we all know that stressed-out employees are not the most efficient employees. Make sure all the caregivers get a break on regular intervals so that they don’t overwork themselves. This time-off will give the caregivers an opportunity to do things other than caregiving. Once they are back from the break, they will be relaxed and rejuvenated and work efficiently. 
  4. Switch to eMAR: Integrating technology can help you lighten the workload of caregivers. A lot of caregivers at care homes spend time using conventional MAR charts for documenting medication administration. Conventional MAR charts require the staff to fill in all the details manually. One has to skim through piles of papers to pull out a single piece of information. This manual documentation process is time-consuming and leads to medication errors. 

How eMAR can help your care home? 

By switching to eMAR, you can lower the caregivers’ workload and improve efficiency. With eMAR, caregivers can keep track of the patient’s medical records without having to go through piles of paper. The information will be accessible in a few minutes. eMAR sends alerts to care, workers, when the medicines are due, which ensures that residents are getting their medicines at the right time. 

To know how eMAR can help your care home streamline medication administration, book a demo today.

COVID-19: How To Keep Seniors In Your Care Home Safe?

Older adults are at a significantly higher risk of developing severe illness following infection from COVID-19. If you are running a care home for the elderly, then you might be worried and concerned. Over here we discuss a few important measures you need to take to keep seniors in your care home safe amidst the COVID-19 outbreak: 

care home elderly care

1. Good hand hygiene: As a care home manager, the first and foremost thing that you should do is to ensure proper hand hygiene is maintained. Here’re some important guidelines on when care staff should wash their hands- 

  •   before leaving home
  •   on arrival at work
  •   after using the toilet
  •   after breaks and activities
  •   before food preparation
  •   before eating any food, including snacks
  •   before leaving work
  •   on arrival at home

Check this document to know how care home staff can work safely.

2. Practise social distancing but not social isolation: Seniors may feel isolated and lonely in the absence of spending time with their usual friends. While you should limit in-person visits, encourage seniors to use their phones to make video calls and connect with family members and friends. 

3. Help create a new routine: Social distancing can spoil the daily routine and seniors may miss their daily activities like walking and meeting their friends. Make sure you encourage seniors to engage in activities that are allowed during these times. Practising yoga, listening to music, playing puzzles, etc, can be relaxing. Remember the mental well-being of seniors is as important as their physical well-being. 

4. Administer medicines on time:  Your staff members must be dealing with enormous responsibility and work pressure. But make sure that they aren’t making any medication errors. You can streamline the medication process with the help of eMAR. The app will automatically send alerts to your staff with the name of the patient, drug timings, drug name, right dosage and right route. During these difficult times, using conventional MAR sheets can add more burden to the already burdened care home staff struggling with helping the elderly stay safe. By switching to electronic MAR, you can streamline the work at your facility and reduce medication errors. 

 

How To Improve Food Practices In Your Care Home?

People move into a care home for different reasons and periods of time. For some, it is a short-term stay for respite care, whereas for others it may be a long-term solution to their need for nursing and personal care. But whatever be the reason for admission, each care plan should include individual food preferences. Over here we discuss how you can improve mealtimes and food and eating practices in your care home.

elderly care
1. Preparing a well-balanced diet plan 
To cater to each and every resident’s dietary requirements, conduct a routine nutritional screening in consultation with a general physician. Plan for meals based upon the findings. Meals should include various food items (loaded with essential nutrients) in the right portions. Make the food look appealing. 

2. Maintaining proper hygiene

Ensure that the care staff wash their hands before and while preparing the meal. Also, it helps to have a strict cleaning schedule in place to ensure all the dishes and equipment are cleaned and maintained regularly. Doing this also helps to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

3. Monitoring food items’ shelf life

It’s important to keep a check on food items and condiments – because you don’t want to use any item that’s past their expiry dates. Failing to track/monitor food items’ shelf life and using them in food can put residents’ health at risk. To avoid such mistakes, ask your staff to label each food item with their expiry dates.  

4. Using fresh food items as much as possible

Fresh farm procurements are loaded with nutrients whereas packaged ones have added preservatives which aren’t good for older residents. It’s a good practice to buy just the right amount of fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat (for a day or two) by taking into account the number of residents. 

5. Ask for individual preferences 

Ask residents about their mealtime experience and provide each of them with a service that meets their preferences. 

Improve the quality of care at your care home by helping your staff focus on person-centred care

Help your care home staff focus on activities that will improve the physical and mental well-being of the residents. One of the activities that takes a considerable amount of your care staff’s time is medication administration and its documentation.  If you are using MAR sheets in your care home, then switch to Electronic MAR to streamline medication administration, improve efficiency, and lower the risks of medication errors. To book an eMAR demo, visit here