18CARINGTECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE
Resident living with MND defies prognosis and publishes book A CAMBERLEY care home resident has raised vital funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association following the launch of his new book which he wrote over three years aided by cutting edge technology. The book of 21 poems, entitled Reflections of a Life Well Lived, provides a heart-warming and moving memoir of Robert Murphy’s life journey and subsequent Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis in January 2018. His story covers his early days on the Kings Road in Chelsea, defying his doctors’ 18-month prognosis following his diagnosis, consequently allowing him to see his daughter Sarah get married, twice overcome Covid-19 and welcome his grandson into the world. Robert wrote the book using eye gaze technology, a specialist and lifechanging piece of equipment which converts minute movements of the eye into spoken words and allows
him to communicate with others. To celebrate the official launch of his book, the team at Signature at Camberley, where Robert has been
a resident since early 2019, hosted a celebratory event to mark his big achievement. Girly Braga, general manager at
Signature at Camberley, said: “It was an absolute privilege to host such a wonderful event and help in making Rob’s dream of publishing his book of poems a reality. He is truly an incredible person who continues to inspire us every single day.” The launch party was attended by members of Robert’s family, friends and representatives from the West Surrey MNDA branch who came along to congratulate Robert on his inspirational accomplishment. Throughout the afternoon guests enjoyed a selection of speeches, a congratulatory video message from chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Motor Neurone Disease, Andrew Lewer MP OBE, and book readings from Sheila Easey and Brenda Hill, friends of Robert at Signature at Camberley. The emotional day concluded with a book stamp signing by Robert and final reflections from the inspirational man himself.
Equipment designed with the future in mind MEDICARE Systems offers a professional and friendly service from initial consultation and design to installation and after-sales support for care providers. The Medicare HTM series nurse call system can be designed for ease of use and built to withstand the demands of the busiest and changing care environments. The nursecall range for care homes provides the latest technology for the care industry, offering discreet silent night options, to assist in reducing the risk of falls, and complete visibility over your nurse call reporting data with Medicare’s management software. The automatic reposts have the functionality to show the staff’s ID in the logs against who did the required
wellbeing and time taken through personal care reports. Medicare’s wireless system is compatible with meeting HTM/
SHTM guidelines, exceeding the industry standard. This allows us to create the perfect nurse call system giving your staff
and residents convenience and peace of mind. We understand the importance of allowing residents the ability to use a nurse call system; however, pressing a button is impossible for some. Medicare’s in-house development team has decades of experience designing and manufacturing nurse call technology. Our development team explores any new advances in assistive technology that are likely to impact care positively. All Medicare equipment is designed with the future in mind and is a costeffective alternative to an existing wired system. For more information call 0800 849 5123, email info@medicaresystems.co.uk or visit www.medicaresystems.co.uk
From paper to professional IT managed services FOR too many years we have seen a significant under investment in IT technologies and services across the social care sector. Even today there are still many medium to large care organisations continuing to use paper based systems. With the recent CQC / Care Inspectorate focus on a data driven environment and ready access to national and regional digital transformation grants, organisations are starting to invest in care software and associated IT technologies. However, with IT uptime being critical, and with many organisations being geographically spread across the UK, how do you successfully manage your IT? There are plenty of managed IT services companies out there, but with most being regionally based,
and with a focus on multiple business sectors, the unique IT needs of the care sector are often overlooked. For example, how do you get an average IT reseller to fully understand DSPT compliance? Workplace IT changed all of this with a specific focus on providing managed IT services to the health and social care sector with four primary differentiators: 1) We operate across the UK so wherever you have a care home, office or head office you will be supported both from our UK based service desk and on-site. 2) We recognise that everything IT in the care sector is critical, and as such all service desk calls are responded to within 30 minutes and we will attend site within four business hours for all critical issues. 3) We speak your language –
understanding the terminology your sector uses, understanding urgency and being patient while care is provided is paramount to a successful IT relationship. 4) We work together by augmenting your existing in-house IT team or operating as your primary IT partner. These four key differentiators have seen Workplace IT experience significant success, with us now supporting several UK top 20 care organisation including Healthcare Homes Group, Potens and The Disabilities Trust, as well as many medium to small organisations including Notaro Homes, Sears Healthcare and The Care Company. Call Simon Darlington on 0333 016 5090, email simon.darlington@ workplaceit.co.uk or visit www.workplaceit.co.uk
Simon Darlington