The municipality of Gladsaxe had been using the TO+ platform for about six months, when we met Early Detection Consultant Dorthe Melchiorsen to discuss the effects of TO+ on the Home Care Department's work with early detection. Even after the relatively short period, a number of changes in their daily work are clearly noticeable, particularly a more systematic way to register changes in the citizens' health state and interdisciplinary discussions of observations.
When Gladsaxe municipality decided to step up their efforts for early detection of health problems and functional decline in elderly citizens, they chose the TO+ platform. Essential to the decision was the system's flexibility and user-friendly interface: a system that all employees can use, without any need for specific IT skills or costly additional courses.
Practical peer training
Taking a new system into use changes both the workflow and the very way of thinking in the organisation, which can be a big challenge.
Gladsaxe Home Care Department chose to use practical peer training. An experienced Early Detection consultant follows all care workers on their first assignment using the TO+ app and provides practical guidance and feedback. In addition, a number of superusers have been assigned a pivotal role in keeping TO+ on track, for instance by ensuring that the TO+ boards are switched on and acting as advisers on a practical level.
A system that makes sense for everybody
It seems almost a law of nature that new IT systems are met with a certain resistance. But on the whole, the care workers in Gladsaxe Home Care welcomed TO+ with an open and positive mind.
"TO+ makes sense, because it supports many of the care workers' daily tasks. It gives them a simple way to record their observations. And it allows for here-and-now reporting. Once the change is registered in the app, the care worker doesn't need to think about it anymore, it gets flagged automatically on the next triage meeting."
The care workers are especially satisfied with the Change Chart, which is a basic tool in their work day. The tool is easy and accessible. Simple questions and simple ways to answer. Everything they need is in the app, there is no need for documentation elsewhere.
Well-structured triage meetings where everybody gets their say
With the implementation of TO+, Gladsaxe Home Care Department went back to a meeting culture that brings together every profession involved in home care: nurses, social and health care assistants and helpers, physiotherapists and ergo-therapists. The triage has led to a more focused meeting structure. Previously a lot of time was spent discussing citizens with whom the care workers had a difficult interaction. Now that the basis for the triage meetings are the changes registered in the TO+ app, focus stays on the citizens in need of special attention.
Social and health care helpers, who are the largest employee group in Gladsaxe's Home Care Department, have a greater voice than before. Their observations form the basis for action plans. Their feedback is dealt with systematically, and there is a more consistent follow-up on the action plans being initiated at the triage meeting.
Customisation that doesn't cost a fortune
Gladsaxe municipality has nutrition and fall as targeted areas and required their system specifically tailored to support this. All elderly citizens receive twice a year an offer to be screened. VisiCare's focus on creating flexible tools, adaptable to customers' requirements, has meant a lot for Gladsaxe municipality.
"I think it has been excellent that you were so receptive to our wishes. It was great to discover that customisation does not necessarily have to cost a fortune. Small things can make a huge difference."