Sven Seljom, UK Country Manager at Sensio, walks us through a revolutionary safety sensor, RoomMate, that detects and prevents falls in care homes
Falls in care homes are one of the biggest challenges in elderly care. Hartford Court was the first care home in the UK to trial a pioneering technology to reduce falls, and Herron Hill followed shortly after.
So, what are their experiences a couple of months after implementing the technology?
One of the biggest challenges for Hartford and Herron Hill is falls
“The impact of a fall on a resident is enormous, and if you fall once, chances are high that you will fall again. So, we have tried various things to reduce falls, like sensor mats taped to the floor and other alarms fitted into the beds. But they were of poor quality and uncomfortable, and the residents avoided them”, explains Michelle Presdee, Home Manager at Hartford Court.
What is RoomMate?
A revolutionary safety sensor which prevents and detects falls and notifies on a variety of potentially harmful situations. This means that the resident does not need to alert actively, which is especially important for people with dementia. RoomMate alerts the staff, based on individually preset criteria.
Anonymized, digital supervision allows the staff to see and talk to the resident to quickly assess whether there is a need for physical intervention to prevent falls or other unwanted events. 24-hour activity overview provides unique decision support to give the residents individual follow-up and treatment. Staff use their handhelds and other existing screens to receive the alerts and do the digital supervision. Seven years of success in the Nordics, with 10,000 sensors sold to more than 200 care homes and launched in the UK.
Proven technology to detect & prevent falls in care homes
Both Hartford and Herron Hill discovered RoomMate by Sensio, and Hartford got the chance to be the first care home in the UK to pilot the revolutionary falls sensor early in 2023. Though new in the UK market, RoomMate is installed in several hundred care homes in the Nordics, creating safety for thousands of residents – and healthcare staff – daily.
“We are very confident that RoomMate has prevented falls here at Hartford Court, and we can now also react very quickly if a resident falls, so that they get help as soon as possible”, Michelle explains.
Assurance for care home residents, relatives & staff
The Care Home Manager at Herron Hill, Nicola Spedding, has been working in the care sector since 1992.
“Using RoomMate can be assuring for both relatives and staff, as we now have a better view of what is happening with the residents – but also can observe their behaviour and ensure their safety”, Nicola says.
The clinical Lead at Herron Hill, Sandra Lawrence, is also excited about the opportunities that lies within the safety sensor.
“The residents can now have more privacy and safety, which gives them an overall better level of care”, Sandra remarks.
Hartford Care
Hartford Care is a top 20 mid-size care home group in the UK, and an innovator in using modern technology to take the best possible care of its residents. Hartford Court is a 60-bed care home in the Hartford Care group in Portsmouth.
Improved nights for care home residents & staff
In both Hartford Care and Herron Hill, residents initially had concerns about feeling monitored. But they feel at ease when shown how RoomMate anonymises the picture and tests it out at work.
“The night staff finds it especially useful and likes that they can now check in on several residents in a shorter period. In addition, they have reduced the need for hourly checks and now do digital supervision on a screen from the nurse’s station. This ensures that the residents are not interrupted as much and get a much better quality of sleep”, Nicola comments.
Herron Hill
For over 20 years, the family-owned Abby Healthcare has provided care in their group of 16 care homes across England and Scotland. In Kendal, Herron Hill is working tirelessly to provide its residents with both physical and emotional well-being.
Helpful support at Sensio
Sensio has assisted in setting up the system, and both Michelle and Nicola speak highly of the supportive and friendly team.
“Sensio is very helpful and always answers any questions. It has also helped that they now have a permanent presence in the UK.” Michelle explains that the last training they gave locally “has really boosted our staff’s confidence in using RoomMate.”
Full nurse call system
RoomMate also provides other features and can be implemented with a complete nurse call system. When asked whether Nicola and Sandra would ever recommend trying out RoomMate, they have no doubt.
“Try it! It gives both the resident, their family and the health staff the reassurance that the residents are taken good care of.” They conclude that this is not about watching people, but about caring about them.
Interested in trying RoomMate? Contact us for an obligation-free trial!
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
