A new survey commissioned by Zupa has highlighted the obstacles in the way of implementing digital solutions in care homes.
According to the survey, while more than 63 per cent of care home staff said that digital tech would make the running of their care home easier, cost is a prohibiting factor, with 52 per cent of care homes believing new technology is ‘too expensive’.
Thirty eight per cent of care home managers said they don’t have the expertise in-house to effectively introduce new tech, and that training staff to use new systems was a barrier. One fifth of care homes opined that new technology ‘doesn’t fit with their culture’.
Zupa CEO Ollie Brand said: “We know from previous research that care home staff are often overstretched, underpaid, and in many cases unhappy. We also know that care professionals are keen to have more time back in their day in order to improve job satisfaction, morale, and delivery of care. Recognition that the right technology can help is critical to creating positive change across the sector, but despite this, many care homes are still failing to make the connection between outdated processes and the key concerns raised by care workers today.
“There are mixed views across UK care homes around introducing new technology as a means to improving day to day processes, with a quarter saying implementing new technology is not a priority; in contrast, over a third disagreed with this statement.
“Interestingly this latest study has uncovered several misconceptions around the implementation of technology in care homes, and there are contradictory themes within the research which may suggest a knowledge gap around how technology can help staff as well as a failure to link some of the key concerns raised, with technology as a resolution. Can technology improve staff happiness by reducing admin and giving them back more time in their day? Can or will that in turn improve productivity and allow care workers to spend more time on delivery of care? With the care sector in such crisis there is a call for a new way of working and these are the questions care homes need to be asking.”
