Costly and slow: Legacy systems and processes are undermining Care Home performance

Care homes across the UK are grappling with rising costs, staff shortages, and escalating demand. Age UK projects an 8.2% increase in people aged 85+ in the next five years, and a 62.7% increase by 2043 (126,000 and 956,000 people respectively). Currently, 86% of people aged 85+ in England live with at least one long-term health condition (ELSA).

These combined factors stand to place an unprecedented burden on care homes. Unfortunately, many UK care homes are still reliant on outdated legacy systems, which are proving to be a key obstruction in meeting these challenges efficiently.

Legacy systems and processes are not only costly to maintain but they’re slow, which can undermine care home performance. A report by Dell found that on average, organisations spend 60-80%of their IT budgets on maintaining existing on-site hardware and legacy systems (Data Centred Dynamics). This means less capital is available for investment in innovation and improved resident care.

These systems are often time-consuming, requiring manual data entry and processing. According to a report by Social Work News, one-in-five care home managers spend between 7-8 hours a day on administrative tasks alone, detracting from the time available for resident care, reducing overall productivity and financially impacting their care homes.

The need for innovation and technology has never been greater in this sector (Care Quality Commission).

It’s time for UK care homes to embrace change. By moving away from legacy systems, UK care homes can better position themselves for the future, enhancing care quality, operational efficiency, and financial sustainability.

The Inefficiency of Manual, Paper-Based Processes

Reliance on manual, paper-based processes in care homes is a significant barrier to efficiency and quality of care. One healthcare assistant was quoted by Gov.uk, saying:

‍“It’s quite stressful, because you feel like sometimes instead of caring, you spend more time doing other stuff. That just adds stress because you're not providing the best care you can.”

Information silos are another unfortunate consequence of manual processes. Essential data is often scattered across several locations, leading to a lack of central oversight and making coordination of care challenging. This fragmentation can hinder decision-making processes and continuity of care (National Institutes of Health).

Manual processes also pave the way for human errors, duplications, and delays. A study from the National Institute of Standards and Technology estimates that this is an expenditure that could be significantly reduced by digital transformation.

Paper-based processes offer limited insights for improvement. Digital solutions, on the other hand, provide real-time access to data and analytics, enabling management to identify areas of inefficiency and promptly implement corrective measures (Gov.uk).

The inefficiencies and costs associated with manual processes are no longer sustainable in the modern care home.

Financial Impacts of Outdated Care Home Systems

Reliance on outdated systems and manual processes directly impact the financial health of care homes. Let’s take a look at some of the most common financial outcomes of reliance on outdated systems:

• Increased staff time spent on administrative tasks like paperwork takes away from direct care time with residents. This impacts quality of care and can require more staffing to compensate.
• Delays from manual processes like paperwork can cause late payments from insurers and responsible payers. This strains cash flow for the care home.
• Limited visibility into operations and a lack of analytics make it hard to identify and address operational inefficiencies. This leads to missed opportunities to reduce operational costs.
• There’s a higher likelihood of mistakes and incidents due to lack of coordination and real-time monitoring, without optimal insight into operations. This can increase liability costs for a care home and lead to damaged reputation, therefore attracting fewer future residents, and resulting in less income for care homes.
• Difficulty forecasting budgets and managing costs without data insights and visibility into spending drivers. Operational patterns can be missed, as are opportunities to optimise budget spend.
• Inability to implement innovations in care delivery without a digital infrastructure. This results infalling behind on quality improvements (The Health Foundation).
• Technology investments avoided due to a focus on daily firefighting and less time for care home management teams to review their operations. This inhibits operational advancements and identification of where teams can save money (Harvard Business Review).

To better manage these issues, care homes need to move away from antiquated systems and manual processes and towards modern digital solutions.

Opportunities Through Digital Transformation For Care Homes

The transition towards digital solutions offers unprecedented potential to streamline operations and improve the standard of care in care homes.

By digitising records, automating workflows, and centralising data, care homes can substantially reduce labour costs. Staff hours are freed up to focus on high value care activities versus paperwork. New resident intakes, scheduling, billing and other processes are streamlined, requiring less manpower. Digital platforms provide centralised oversight, so managers can optimise staffing levels and shift mixes.

With real-time visibility into care home operations, management can make informed decisions promptly. A removal of blind-spots in the day-to-day running of care home sites can lead to further innovation and streamlining of your entire business, and massively impact the experiences of your residents and staff. Analytics can provide invaluable insights into cost drivers and areas to optimise (Deloitte).

A growing number of care homes are realising the benefits of updated processes. The shift from legacy systems to modern digital solutions is not just an opportunity, but a necessity for this type of organisation to realise future-proof operations.

Realising a Future-Ready Care Model

To realise a future-readycare model, care homes first need to assess their current processes and prioritise digitisation efforts.  Phasing implementation in high-impact areas first can yield quick wins and demonstrate the value of transformation (McKinsey).

It's crucial to partner with experienced vendors to leverage their expertise and proven solutions, and training staff is key to smooth adoption.

Realising a future-ready care model involves a thoughtful approach to digital transformation. By prioritising efforts, partnering with experienced vendors, training staff effectively, and continuously refining solutions, care homes can ensure they are equipped to deliver high-quality care in the future.

‍Identifying Digital Transformation Vendors

At Tagscout Care, our intuitive systems are purpose-built to help UK care homes like yours modernise workflows, improve oversight, and elevate quality of care. Our discreet wearable devices and wireless infrastructure automate time-consuming manual processes that drain valuable staff resources.

With real-time visibility into resident safety and location intelligence, we remove reliance on outdated manual processes and paper based records while enabling your staff to maximise meaningful resident interactions. Our seamless integration and ease of use ensures smooth adoption with minimal disruption to your care home.

As a leading care innovation provider, we empower care home management teams to optimise budgets, reduce risks, and focus staff efforts where they have the most impact - delivering compassionate, human-centred care.

Real-time data insights help operational teams reduce financial instability by identifying cost drivers,optimising staffing levels, and preventing revenue loss.

Our specialised expertise in digitising care delivery makes us an ideal partner for forward-thinking UK care homes seeking to innovate operations, improve efficiencies, and take a resident-first approach leveraging smart technologies.

By collaborating with us, wecan help you map out and realise a future-ready care model powered by data and designed for sustainable advances in quality outcomes. We are proud to be helping UK care homes succeed for decades to come, through care technology innovation.‍

To understand how quickly and easily these changes can be made in your own care home, email us to arrange a free online or in-person digital transformation strategy call and product demo.

Alternatively, give us a call and we’d be happy to answer any questions you might have:

‍+44 1226 761188