An outstanding first for Your Home Care, as it delivers RESTORE2
A proud announcement: We’re delighted that Your Home Care has become the first company of its kind in Nottinghamshire to offer an NHS service called RESTORE2 that helps to monitor and improve the health of people in their own homes.
We’re working with the NHS locally to offer RESTORE2, a service that means Your Home Care Home Care Assistants can run a series of medical checks and detect any changes in a person’s health.
If any changes are identified, we can notify the relevant healthcare professionals and action can be taken.
It’s already proving to be a benefit because when our Registered Care Manager Denise Pitts used the RESTORE2 process for the first time, we found that an existing client who had not seen his doctor for over a year needed his blood pressure medication changing. That’s a fantastic outcome for him.
Denise said: “This new service is unique in Nottinghamshire and we are happy to be working with the NHS on this because we see the value that people in our care will get from it.
“People can’t always go to see a doctor, for many different reasons, but as we go into their homes, we can be the eyes and ears and can identify where action is needed. It’s an honour to be able to provide yet more value to people who need it most.”
So, how does RESTORE2 work?
In a nutshell, RESTORE2 has five key components that support carers to recognise deterioration, assess the risk and then act on their findings.
It helps Home Care Assistants to know what is normal for an individual so that any changes can be acted upon if needs be. After all, as Home Care Assistants, we spend a lot of time with people and get to know what’s right and what’s wrong.
To help Home Care Assistants, RESTORE2 focuses on what are called “soft signs of deterioration’, the early indicators that someone might be becoming unwell. Family and friends may well know some of these things anyway of course, but RESTORE2 gives a framework for them to be spotted.
Through RESTORE2, Home Care Assistants learn to spot the signs, of which there are many, but include things like worse than normal lethargy, shortness of breath, and reduced interest in activities of daily living.
Some of it is about asking how a person is. It’s second nature to us at Your Home Care, but you’d be surprised just how many “caring” companies simply don’t ask and certainly don’t listen.
So how will we use RESTORE2?
Initially, we’ll assess someone at the start of the care and monitor them regularly. We then use early indicators – those soft signs. If one of our Home Care Assistants suspects there is a problem with the client they are with, ad-hoc observations will take place where the results of which will be recorded on a visual chart so we can track them.
These tests will result in a score and, depending on the score, we can either continue to observe the client or escalate it accordingly all the way to a 999 call. In instances where communication with the client’s doctor is required, consent will be sought.
It’s a simple fact that RESTORE2 works. As the family member whose father-in-law was helped by our Denise, said: “Your Home Care, using the RESTORE2 process, discovered that my father-in-law’s blood pressure had dropped significantly, an issue we were totally unaware of. As a result of these checks, we were able to contact the GP who changed medication, allowing my father-in-law’s blood pressure to return to a normal reading.”
At the end of the day, it’s all about the person we are caring for. Your Home Care is so proud to step up and be the first company in Nottinghamshire to help deliver this outstanding service as part of our care packages.
We want to make a difference, and this is one way we can do that.
For more information on the RESTORE2 service please contact our dedicated care team by filling in our contact form or by calling us on 01623 375275.