In the early 90's when carrying out a feasibility study of Residential Care Homes I was, to say the least, very surprised when collecting the paperwork from what was then, the Joint Registration and Inspection Unit (JRUI) which came under the 1984 Registered Homes Act. Once I had read and analysed all the different rules and regulations that had to be satisfied, along with the requirements of the different agencies, I then scanned the market place to find a Care Management System that would assist me in the setting up of the Home. When I entered into the commercial market place to acquire such a system I was surprised to find that there was not really one available and that it was only really possible to purchase generic health and safety policy and risk assessment forms that would come from one company. Other documents were spread over a number of other companies which meant at the end of it I had an array of paperwork but none of it was matching or personalised to my business. I did at that time consider whether to produce such a program but felt with the renovation of a building to the standard required under the act and ensuring that everything was in place ready to collect my certificate that maybe I would put it on hold.

Over the years I have watched the industry change and the running of a Care home is a much more complex business. With the introduction of the Care Standards Act 2000 and the new National Care Standard, which has now been superseded by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, this vision that I had for years started to play heavily on my mind. It was becoming increasingly more apparent that we were having to change the way we conducted our business. There was a lot of press coverage and with the new proposed standards coming into force a number of homes had shut resulting in residents losing their homes. It was becoming obvious that  home owners / managers were coming under unreasonable levels of pressure. It now seemed the time to form Universal Systems to see if we could firstly help to relieve some of the stress that home owners are feeling and secondly it was my hope this would lead to residents keeping their homes.

It was at that time that I sat down with a blank sheet of paper and started to put together the 24/7 Residential Care Management System that we today have.

Universal Systems hopes that the framework laid down in the program will assist home owners to develop a comprehensive management system that would help them to care with confidence, relieve stress and anxiety and help reduce pressure.

With the introduction of the new Care Standards it has highlighted an increasing trend on recording and monitoring the quality of care within the care sector.  For people employed in the care industry the new legislation is proving difficult to implement into working practices and many care home owners are finding more and more of their time tied up in paperwork and less hours spent delivering care to residents.

The fully interactive 24/7 Residential Care Management System has been created as an easy to use tool for complete Care Home management. Each aspect of the managing a residential home has been covered within a starting framework for home owners. The program is packed with useful information and advice along with numerous recording charts and other working documents which will help you meet the variety of regulations required. The recording charts are printed directly from the program on your computer and filled in by staff on either a daily or weekly basis. The system also includes staff management documents and a comprehensive staff handbook, it's multi tasking and easy to use.

The program includes an inbuilt customisation wizard which allows you to enter certain information about your business and will insert it in the program in the appropriate places.

To create the documents included in the system, it took 12,500 sheets of paper, 2,000 hours, one year and countless printer cartridges.

Stephen Harris