Introduction
Christine Herbert, the daughter of a 99-year-old resident at Oaklands Rest Home, shares her journey and experiences with the care her mother receives. The use of Ally’s AI resident monitoring technology at Oaklands plays a crucial role in ensuring her mother’s safety, especially during the night, which was a significant concern for Christine. This case study explores how Ally has impacted Christine’s trust in Oaklands and her mother’s well-being.
Background: A daughter’s concern for night-time care
Christine’s mother is nearly 99 years old, frail but mentally lucid. With limited mobility, she spends most of her time either in bed or in a chair, only moving with assistance. As her mother’s primary caregiver, Christine had grown increasingly concerned about the quality of night-time care in her mother’s previous care home and the uncertainty about her mother’s safety during the night became a significant source of anxiety.
Christine began considering the difficult decision to move her mother to a different care facility and her priority was to find a place that not only provided excellent overall care but also addressed her specific concerns about safety at night.
Discovering Oaklands Rest Home and Ally Cares
Christine’s search for a new care home led her to Oaklands Rest Home. When she visited the home, she had a good feeling about the general atmosphere and the caring staff. However, it was the introduction to Ally Cares technology that truly stood out. Christine recalls her initial reaction to seeing the device, likening it to a “baby alarm,” though she quickly came to realise its capabilities were far more advanced.
“My appointment was made with Mia to have a look round the care home. She showed me the room that was possible that my mum could have and then showed me this wonderful little device in the corner and explained to me what it was. And I was absolutely astounded! I was just aghast really that there was such a thing.”
Mia Williams, Head of Care at Oaklands, explained how Ally’s AI technology monitored residents continuously throughout the night, rather than relying solely on periodic checks by staff. This innovative system provided real-time alerts and tracking, ensuring that residents like Christine’s mother were closely monitored without the need for invasive, hourly checks. Christine was astonished that such technology existed and wondered why it wasn’t more widely known or used in other care homes.
The decision to move: trust and peace of mind
While the decision to move her mother to Oaklands Rest Home wasn’t based solely on the presence of Ally, it played a significant role. Christine found herself comparing Oaklands with another nearby rest home that didn’t have the technology. Ultimately, the comprehensive care and the reassurance provided by Ally made Oaklands the clear choice.
“My decision to go with Oakland’s wasn’t only based on the Ally system because there are other things to take into account. But if I were given an option again where I was undecided about which home I would take and I really didn’t know I’d most definitely pick the one that had got this Ally system. it would win hands down.”
Christine emphasised that the system didn’t just offer her peace of mind—it also directly impacted her mother’s well-being. Her mother, aware of the system’s presence, felt reassured that any help would be available whenever she needed it. This knowledge has helped to reduced her night time anxiety, allowing her to sleep more soundly.
“You can get the feel of the place, you can see what people are doing. But you don’t as a relative ever have any idea whatsoever what happens at night. You rely on if you get a report in the morning or what your relatives says or something like that. I was just taken with the fact that this is all monitored and recorded and that there’s no disparity or discrepancy about what has happened at night. It just won hands down.”
Impact on well-being and night-time safety
Since moving to Oaklands, Christine has noticed a change in her mother’s night-time behaviour. Previously, her mother would get up or call for assistance four times a night; at Oaklands, this has reduced to just two. Christine attributes this change to the quick response time facilitated by Ally. With the system in place, her mother no longer has to wait long periods for assistance, leading to less disruption in her sleep.
“The impact on the Ally system is twofold to me and to my mum. My mum as I say is very old and frail, but she’s very lucid, but she is very confident that because she was unwell that there would be a response. And the impact on me is that she knows that and I know that so I don’t worry at night that she’s unattended. A visual check is fine, hourly or two hourly, but I don’t know, anything can happen after that, but in this system if she calls out it’s a double whammy for her really, she can’t lose on it”
Christine also shared an incident where her mother’s frailty increased after a hospital stay. The sensitivity of the Ally system was adjusted to provide even closer monitoring, which further reassured both Christine and her mother. Knowing that the system could be adapted to her mother’s changing needs provided Christine with an additional layer of confidence in the care her mother was receiving.
Building trust through technology
One of the most significant benefits of Ally, according to Christine, is the trust it fosters between her and the team at Oaklands. Christine explained that, while it’s easy to assess day-time care, night-time care is a different matter. Families often have to rely on second-hand reports about their loved ones’ well-being during the night. With Ally, Christine could see actual data on her mother’s night-time activities and the staff’s response times, which has helped to build a deep sense of trust.
“I most definitely feel reassured that she’s being looked after. Because I know there’s a record of what’s happened. In fact, I was a bit sceptical about it, at first thinking this is just possibly too good to be true, but the first two nights, Mia printed me out a document, a footprint of my mum’s activity in the night. Well there’s the footprint in black and white.”
Christine also mentioned that the presence of this technology has a positive ripple effect. Not only does it reassure her, but it also alleviates her anxiety, which had been a burden during her mother’s time in her previous rest home. The knowledge that her mother is safe and well-cared for at night allows Christine to focus on her own well-being and that of her family.
Transparency and communication
Ally has also improved the communication and transparency between Christine and the Oaklands staff. Thanks to the system, she has previously been given a detailed report about her mother’s night-time activities and this transparency has meant that Christine is reassured about her mother’s well-being.
Christine believes that the system’s ability to provide this level of detail and reassurance should be a standard in all care homes and hopes that in time more care homes will adopt similar systems in the future.
“The big word for me is trust. I’m not trusting someone once an hour or every two hours to go and have a look at my mum. The trust is there for the whole night shift really and I do trust the computer because as I say I’ve seen the printouts and I’ve had day staff say to me on a hand over “oh mum got up an extra couple of times last night, we’ll just keep an eye if there’s a UTI or something like that”. So I know it’s the word trust really”
The role of technology in care homes
Christine is convinced that integrating technology like Ally is essential. Her view is that those care homes that don’t embrace these kinds of innovations risk being left behind as the standard of care continues to evolve. For Christine, Ally has exceeded her expectations and has set a new benchmark for what she believes should be the norm in night-time care.
“I just can’t help thinking why it’s not really well known because I speak to people about it and I say what mum’s got there. We’ve got this system. what it does and they’re astounded but as I say, I’m privileged to promote it and extol its virtues”
Conclusion: A new standard of care
Christine’s experience with Oaklands Rest Home and the Ally system has been overwhelmingly positive. The combination of attentive day-time care and the innovative night-time monitoring provided by Ally has significantly improved both her mother’s well-being and Christine’s peace of mind.
Christine has no plans to move her mother from Oaklands, confident that the care and safety her mother receives there are unparalleled. The trust she has developed in the system and the staff has alleviated much of the anxiety that previously dominated her life. Christine is now an advocate for the integration of such technology in all care homes, believing that it represents the future.
“Integrating the technology in any care homes or anywhere is going to happen, isn’t it? We’re on the techno wave for everything and I probably feel that those that don’t embrace it and don’t have it will be left behind because it will hopefully grow and grow as a very positive step forward in care”
In summary, Ally has not only enhanced the quality of life for Christine’s mother but has also provided Christine with the peace of mind she sought, highlighting the profound impact that innovative technology can have on both residents and their families, setting a new standard for care homes everywhere.
Watch our interview with Christine Herbert:
Find out how Ally can positively impact the families of residents in your care home.