First and foremost, Sekoia has been created with the purpose of making the workflow in care homes more efficient. The aim is to assist carers to have access to the knowledge they need in delivering care at the point-of-care itself. This allows them to provide a better quality of care and also saves a great deal of time. Making IT easy to use and all information available at the touch of a button leads to a simpler, and better way of working.
With regard to how Sekoia facilitates a home in achieving CQC’s key lines of enquiry, we address their 5 key questions:
Sekoia makes certain this is done in various ways. Primarily by making sure that the information the carers require to deliver person-centred care to a resident is available to them at the point-of-care. Furthermore, detailed and tailored descriptions for all care tasks and access to individual care plans ensure that residents receive the right level of care; thereby avoiding critical errors and making the service safe.
Sekoia encourages that all observations made regarding a resident – no matter how big or small, whether health-related, behavioural or simply pertaining to day-to-day functions – are recorded so that this pivotal data can be used effectively in the future planning of care.
Applications such as Health Data and the Incidents Log ensure that accurate evidence is obtained and analysed over a period of time, so that patterns may be observed. This is a change not only in work practice but in a mindset towards care, thereby inculcating a more pro-active work ethic among staff and providing an effective service.
Sekoia is unique in that it is the only solution where there is a system/screen for each resident which solely pertains to them. This is based on the core principle of bringing the focus of care back to the resident.
The most important of applications on the solution such as Tasks is created around the resident’s routine as opposed to that of the staff. Moreover, Daily routines and Task descriptions are written in first person from the perspective of the resident. We also make sure, that all residents have some level of involvement with the system based on their capacity, whether it is through pictures or access to their own calendar and choice of activities.
We believe that these inconspicuous features will compel people to revisit the purpose of their role and go ‘Back to Caring’ – which is the principle on which our solution is based and hence also our tagline.
Applications such as Tasks, Appointment Book and Helping Hand allow staff to obtain a bird’s eye view of not just the resident that they are attending to but also all others. This is a deliberate effort to ensure that all staff take collective responsibility for the work that they carry out within the home and share the duty of care.
To facilitate this practice there is an application called Observation post which makes certain that time is not being spent in trying to identify where help may be found. This helps save considerable time in delegation of duties and allows staff to manage their work efficiently.
Also, an application such as Instructions, through the medium of pictures and videos works as a training guide to ensure that staff and also where applicable – the residents, are furnished with the tools to deliver and receive care of a proficient level. All these practices collectively benefit the organisation as a whole – making it more efficient and responsive.
Sekoia provides various stakeholders, in particular the Owners and Senior Management of the home – access to Reports and Management Information that clearly outline the level of care being provided within their organisation. They are able to easily access from any location in the world, vital information that demarcates where a service is exceptional and more importantly where its key areas for improvement are.
The ability to better observe work practices over time and categorise this information in flexible formats proves extremely beneficial at Staff Meetings, One-to-One Supervisions and Staff Training days. The management is therefore better equipped to ascertain that a competent staff is delivering the desired care to the resident at the time needed. All these factors ensure that a service is led well from the top, no doubt leading to outstanding outcomes.
Sekoia
