The problem
In a small care home, notes and charts are often written up at the end of a shift from memory, while the next shift waits for handover. If writing up takes 30 minutes of carer time a shift, across 3 shifts a day, 7 days a week, that's 630 minutes a week, about 45 hours a month.
What the AI does
Log my Care is a digital care records system, and its Starter plan is free for providers with fewer than 10 service users. Starter includes logs, charts, task management and access security. Carers record care, food, fluids and other charts on a phone or tablet as they go, and the manager reads the day's records from anywhere. Care plans and incident reporting are on the Pro plan, which has no public price, so a home on Starter keeps those in its current system. Log my Care's site lists residential care among the services it supports, and ISO and Cyber Essentials Plus certification.
A worked example
An 8-bed residential home in Shropshire for adults with learning disabilities runs three shifts a day. Carers start logging care and charts on two shared tablets during the shift instead of writing everything up at handover.
Before
30 minutes of write-up per shift, 3 shifts a day: about 45 hours a month
After
10 minutes per shift to finish and check notes: about 15 hours a month
What it's worth
About $519£390€464A$749C$733 a month of carer time freed for care (30 hours at an assumed $17£13€15A$25C$24 an hour), on a plan that costs nothing. The 30 hours are 20 minutes saved per shift, 3 shifts a day, 7 days a week, times 4.3. Tablets or phones for staff are extra if the home doesn't have them.
How to set it up
- Check Log my Care's data protection terms and sign its data processing agreement before entering any resident's details.
- Set up each resident's logs and the charts you actually use, such as food, fluids and repositioning.
- Agree a rule that notes are written at the time, in plain factual language, and run one shift as a trial.
- Have the manager read the records daily for the first month and give carers feedback on quality.
- Keep care plans and incident reports in your current system until you decide whether to move to a paid plan.
What goes wrong
- Starter stops at fewer than 10 service users, and it has no care plans or incident reporting. A home that grows past 9 residents moves to Pro, which has no public price.
- Quick notes typed on a phone can be thin. CQC reads your records, so train staff on what a good note includes.
- Starter has self-service support only; live chat is on paid plans. Plan who sorts problems on a night shift.
- Shared devices need individual logins so every entry shows who wrote it.