Reinventing care with purpose and technology

Growing older is something that should be celebrated. But as our ageing population increases, it’s vital that everyone in our communities is supported to live life to the fullest. We should be striving to support older people to thrive at home, not just survive.

Yet care has been under-resourced and undervalued for too long. At BelleVie, we’re changing that narrative. We’re reinventing home care through a radically new way of working with the help of innovative technology.

Our model, which we introduced four years ago, is building a society where everyone is valued and supported. It revolves around self-managing care teams empowering people in their own communities to thrive at home.

Our flat management structure means local teams make decisions for themselves. But this revolutionary approach needed digital technology to match. Teams told us that one of the biggest challenges was organising their rotas, with no external manager to set the schedule or find cover. We looked at off-the-shelf software, but nothing met our unique needs. Instead, we decided to build our own.

We’ve co-designed our bespoke Wellbeing Operating System from scratch, the first English language digital platform built specifically for self-managing teams. With easy drag-and-drop rota planning, we’ve simplified the complexity of scheduling, allowing each team to manage their own rotas seamlessly. They can request cover from neighbouring teams, see how many hours they’ve worked, and address any empty shifts and overtime requirements. With simplicity and accessibility at its core, teams also have real-time visibility of live rotas and any cancellations. It integrates with Google maps to help teams with logistics and route planning. It records travel time between visits, resulting in greater efficiency and optimised care delivery.

We prioritise the people we support, placing them at the heart of everything we build. Our scalable system incorporates wellbeing boards that allow us to track the day-to-day status of everyone we support. It’s a central hub to digitally record weekly meetings where our community teams discuss the unique needs of each person.

The technology gives our teams the tools they need to streamline administrative tasks, freeing up their valuable time to provide compassionate care and support. We estimate that it’s already given a team of ten Wellbeing Support Workers four days back per month by reducing admin time and supporting them to optimise their rota. This tech-enabled approach not only enhances the wellbeing of those under our care, but also promotes a positive work environment for our dedicated teams.

With policies and documents all in one place, the system simplifies CQC compliance and gives us the transparency we need for a safe and effective service. It also contains a peer-based review mechanism called ‘Confirmation Practices’. This allows pairs of Wellbeing Support Workers within a team to reflect on their ways of working and agree on actions to support their personal development and responsible practice.

Our commitment to leveraging technology for good has allowed us to create a care model that challenges the status quo. By combining purpose-driven care with our innovative technology, we’re reinventing the care landscape. We believe that care should be dignified, compassionate, and empowering. Our digital platform is a testament to this belief, ensuring that our self-managing care teams have the tools they need to make a meaningful difference in the lives of everyone they support.