Connecting Care Homes for the Future

Specialist telecoms provider to the care industry, GHM Communications, are moving care homes into a new generation of connectivity that means more efficient working by carers, better services for residents and significant cost savings each year.

Many care homes, particularly those operating as part of a group, procure their telecoms solutions autonomously. Each pay for their own BT land line, use different handsets and experience varying levels of service and maintenance.

It is widely felt that current telecoms solutions do not meet the needs of staff that spend the majority of their working days away from their desk and phone. There are also major health and safety concerns over traditional telephone systems as carers have to manoeuvre to the nearest landline in emergency situations.

In addition, residents often have to rent their own land lines, most of which tie them into contracts lasting a minimum of twelve months.

An increasing number of residents also enjoy spending their time using the internet and associated technologies. It is important in the move towards a ‘hotel’ style of care home that offers a superior level of facilities and independence that redefines the perception of residential care for the elderly. Making sure every resident has the option to connect with the outside world is vital to achieve this.

GHM works with care homes to address three common objectives for their telecoms system: to save money, enable their staff to work more efficiently and offer their residents flexible and cost effective telephone calls and internet access.

Wireless telephone systems allow the greatest amount of flexibility and opportunities for the care sector and are the preferred solution by many GHM customers.

GHM typically supply staff members with a Wifi enabled handset that can be easily attached to a belt or waistband. This means that each carer can make calls from anywhere in the home, most importantly without having to leave a resident in case of an emergency. The solution also enables carers to carry wireless tablets and notebooks so they can refer to any prescription or medical records without having to leave their patient or medication.

GHM can also enable standard mobile phones with Mobile Twinning technology so each mobile can answer incoming calls to the home and transfer calls internally within the home or across a group network as a whole.

Mobility is key for carers. By enabling them to receive and make calls from anywhere in the home, they are able to work more efficiently and improve both their safety and that of their residents.

By installing a central network, all internal calls are free of charge and external calls are charged at a much lower rate than many main line providers.

If a care home is operating as part of a group, significant savings can be achieved through installing a central hub which eliminates the need for individual lines into each home. This could equate to savings of up to £2,500.00 for each care home site per year on line rental alone.

Residents can also be allocated their own individual telephone numbers without any monthly fees or fixed contracts which could present an additional revenue stream for home owners. GHM provides a monthly spreadsheet of external calls made from each number so all individual external call charges can be recorded.

Free Wifi access can be offered to residents, at no extra cost to the home owner, enabling them to surf the internet all day long. Visiting family and friends can also enjoy temporary access to share online documents and photos.

Neil McManus of GHM Communications says: “We help our care homes manage their costs centrally as well as significantly reduce them. The savings homes can make by having a single supplier and removing the need for individual land lines at each site is immense.

“Homes can offer additional services to residents and employees can operate efficiently and safely. The new generation system also means our clients are effectively future proofed when it comes to emerging technologies and applications. We expect the return on investment for most care homes would be approximately two years.”