Bridgend Council - Case Study

Bridgend Council provides short-term, long-term, reablement and dementia care services. The team of 12 Coordinators (including 4 out of hours) all use Access CM’s technology to schedule visits, including the Maxcare optimisation module to ensure the best use of the workforce.

The service started adopting the technology in 2019 to replace previous systems which didn’t provide any real-time information. Thanks to Access CM Mobile they now have a transparent view of what is happening in the community and Care Workers have up-to-date information at their fingertips.

We caught up with Maxine Parker who had experience of being a Care Worker before becoming a Care Coordinator. Maxine describes herself as a more mature worker who isn’t very technically minded. Like most people she wasn’t keen on change, but she says that now she’s got to grips with the system she loves it and would recommend it to anyone.

“The real-time information is amazing. You can see where your Care Workers are which is really reassuring in terms of lone working.

Access CM scheduling solution

The Access CM scheduling solution is less labour intensive than our previous system so visits can be scheduled really quickly. When I allocate an individual to the desired team, the system automatically schedules all their visits – if the team can’t cover any of the visits this is clearly flagged allowing me to take action.

You can easily see if workers have any spare capacity and use it up which we couldn’t do with our old system. We used to have to guess travel time but now we have accurate data so it can be taken into account with the scheduling.

Absence levels have been higher over the last year and the system makes it easy to move things around and cover visits. As all the information is in one place it makes things more efficient.

A solution that gives reassurance

Using the Access CM system gives reassurance that all the calls are covered and there are helpful reports which show this information. It’s also easy to report on actual V planned care. If we want to change a visit based on a better understanding of what is actually being delivered it’s very easy to apply the change across all visits.

Little things like this reduce the amount of time Coordinators spend amending visit schedules. There’s also a great audit trail and any issues are flagged in red so if something does go wrong it’s easy to track back and understand how it happened.

The accuracy of the system is really important to ensure Individuals are being charged correctly for their contributions. Reports go straight to the charging department, so everything is based on actual care delivery.

Improved information security

The security of the information is another big step forward from our previous processes. Care Workers now have all the information electronically which avoids the need for any hard copies of personal details.

The notes in the system are really helpful enabling Care Workers to see information such key safe details, or if it’s a double-handed visit they have the contact details of their co-worker instantly available so they can get in touch if there are any issues. We’ve also found the notes helpful to record any Covid information and PPE requirements meaning everyone is well informed.”

Maxine’s advice to others hesitant about taking the plunge with technology is to “go for it”. She felt well supported during implementation and is now confident that visits are covered, she is making the best use of Care Workers’ hours and everyone is better informed due to the real-time information.