GM Care Record is first to receive information from Safe Steps Covid Tracker

The Greater Manchester Care Record, powered by Graphnet’s CareCentric shared record solution, is now receiving information from the Safe Steps Covid Tracker - the world’s first Covid management app for care homes.

A new, real-time view of the Safe Steps dashboard, which shows Covid data from 233 care homes, covering approximately 7600 residents, is allowing the fast, easy identification of individuals who require advanced care planning by picking up early signs of deterioration. Care homes, GPs, hospitals, social care workers, and other clinicians, are able to view the dashboard, resulting in greater collaboration and better, more personalised support for residents.  

Access to Covid data from care homes also has population health benefits, providing improved visibility and understanding of Greater Manchester’s most vulnerable citizens.

The Covid Tracker monitors symptoms and interventions, such as testing and vaccination. It can also alert health and care staff to deterioration by measuring and comparing oxygen saturation levels, using RESTORE2™, a physical deterioration tool for care homes.

Safe Steps, which is well known for its digital falls risk assessment tool, co-created the app with the NHS in April 2020, when it became apparent that care homes were struggling to deal with the numerous challenges presented by the pandemic. Since it was launched, it has been used half a million times.

Lee Omar, Safe Steps Founder, said:

The development of the Safe Steps Covid Tracker and the integration into the GM Care Record this month is a great example of how quickly things can be done with an innovative approach and good leadership. At the end of the day, it’s about helping people live happier, healthier, longer lives.

The data from the Covid Tracker will bring care home staff and healthcare professionals closer together and help them make the right decisions for their patients. We’re hoping that it will serve as a blue-print and inspire other regions to adopt a similar approach.

The Covid Tracker was developed as part of a partnership formed by Health Innovation Manchester, which includes the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, Tameside Council, local GPs, and Safe Steps.

Guy Lucchi, Digital Innovation Director at Health Innovation Manchester and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said:  

Having the Safe Steps Covid Tracker feeding into the GM Care Record will further bridge the gap between care homes, and local health and social care services, including GPs and hospitals, and ensure that Covid treatment plans are efficient, effective, and tailored to the individual.

It will also help Greater Manchester develop an understanding of our older citizens, and the impact that Covid has had and is having on them, which will be particularly important as we head into the winter months. Having that rich source of data will enable us to refine our health and social care strategies, create a more joined-up approach, and continue improving our standard of care for the people that need it most.

The right care at the right time
The GM Care Record collates information held by different health and care organisations to ensure that GPs, doctors, nurses, and care practitioners can see up to date medical records, care plans, medications, and test results to inform the right care and treatment.

The GM Care Record is a partnership between the GM Health and Social Care Partnership, the 10 GM localities, Health Innovation Manchester and Graphnet.

At the start of the pandemic, development and use of the GM Care Record was fast-tracked to support the city-region’s response and to build on borough-based care records to create a single joined-up care record for all of GM and its 2.8m citizens.  Rapid progress was made in weeks, rather than months, as part of the digital response plan and collaborative effort.

The GM Care Record has become a major digital asset for Greater Manchester in the past 18 months. Almost 11,000 frontline users access the GM Care Record each month to support the delivery and planning of care for more than 108,000 patients.

Graphnet recently renewed its contract to provide the technology behind the care record for a further three years.