More efficient planning, more even distribution of tasks in the working groups, and less stress among employees. These are some of the results that have been achieved since the home care service in Malmö (Sweden) introduced Tieto's planning solution, Laps Care.
"Laps Care is the greatest change made to home care services in 25 years," says Bo Hansson, project manager in the Södra Innerstaden (Southern Inner City) district of Malmö. "Previously, we were an organization that based our services on our work limitations, but thanks to Tieto’s solution we've been able to base our work on the needs of the care recipients instead," he explains.
In a pilot project in Södra Innerstaden, a memory team (whose areas of expertise include working with people with cognition, memory, and dementia conditions) is now also testing Tieto's mobile reporting system, Movit, for home care services. An important part of the project is the use of digital keys, which ensure that only authorized personnel enter the care recipients' homes.
"Digital keys create security that everyone values," says Johanna Lethin Jacobson, business manager at Tieto.
The Laps Care planning system has been used for the past three years in all ten of Malmö's city districts. Previously, many of the more than 70 working groups within home care services planned the day's tasks using a pen and paper. It was very time-consuming, especially when someone fell ill and everything had to be rescheduled. The Laps Care planning system quickly rearranges the schedule for everyone if someone in the group is absent or when a temporary replacement has to be called in. It also takes into account factors such as the staff's areas of expertise, the care recipients' needs, and the best route to take to the care recipients' homes, which saves time.
"We have gained a more efficient planning system and a means of providing clearer information to our employees based on the requests of care recipients," says Yvonne Johansson, system manager for elderly care and project manager of Laps Care implementation in Malmö.
In a questionnaire-based survey conducted among the approximately 1 200 home help employees, respondents reported other beneficial effects of the planning system, such as a more even and fairer distribution of tasks in the working groups, greater transparency, and the fact that it is easier to identify the needs of the care recipients. Half the respondents reported lower stress levels through the use of Laps Care.
"This has affected the entire organisation. The vast majority of the reactions have been positive," says Johansson.
In the next phase, the City of Malmö will introduce a reporting system that can be integrated with the Laps Care planning system. While awaiting completion of the procurement process, the pilot project using Tieto's Movit is being extended.
More than 30 employees on the memory team have been using Movit since last September. This means that a handheld device is practically their only tool. Besides providing the staff with their schedule and information about care recipients straight to their mobile phones, the system uses digital keys for greater security.
"That's the whole point of this - that we obtain a complete picture based on the user's perspective," says Bo Hansson.
Virtually all of the 70 or so care recipients looked after by the memory team agreed to have their homes fitted with keyless locks. With keys directly available in their mobile phones, the members of the staff who are closest can reach a care recipient who needs help quickly - which substantially improves quality of care and saves an enormous amount of time.
"The security aspect is important; the digital keys are better than all forms of ID," explains Hansson. "The elderly know that the person visiting them at home is the right person."
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About Tieto
Tieto is an IT service company providing IT, R&D and consulting services. With approximately 16 000 experts, we are among the leading IT service companies in Northern Europe and the global leader in selected segments. We specialize in areas where we have the deepest understanding of our customers' businesses and needs. Our superior customer centricity and Nordic expertise set us apart from our competitors.
Tieto helps healthcare and welfare organizations to improve the quality and efficiency of their services. We enable our customers to optimize processes, reduce waiting times, secure the flow of information, make high quality decisions and empower citizens. We are the leading healthcare and welfare ICT provider in the Nordic countries with a strong presence in Germany and the Netherlands. With 40 years of experience and a thorough understanding of our customers' processes, we help our customers to secure the future of care services and develop lifecare services at the individual, regional and national level.