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Restoring the Reputation of the British Domiciliary Homecare Industry
When a missed appointment can quite simply be a matter of life or death for some domiciliary patients; current concern surrounding carers cutting short visits, or worse, not attending at all, is wholly justified.
The recent, damning exposé of some of the UK’s biggest domiciliary care providers, by BBC’s ‘Panorama’ undercover investigation, has raised serious issues of trust in the industry. With increasing scrutiny, companies now must face up to what they can do to prove that curtailed care is not the industry norm and thanks to Mobile-e-Solutions and its latest technology, we can take steps towards re-shaping and restoring faith in Britain’s home care industry.
The programme, one of the most respected investigative shows on television, used secret filming to unveil problems in homecare providers entrusted to care for tens of thousands of loved ones across Britain – leaving clients, patients, carers and regulators, as well as care companies themselves, seeking reassurances that carers are doing their jobs properly.
The countless examples documented by Panorama, of carers squeezing-in as many visits as possible into small amounts of time, resulting in visits being rushed and those towards the end of the day even being missed; has caused outcry. With erratic attendance, problems occur in even the most basic domiciliary care, such as the provision of food or medication, leaving patients scandalously neglected. Public reaction has been highly critical because so many rely on home care workers to look after family and friends.
The harsh reality of the aftermath of the Panorama Special is that EVERY care provider, and not just those companies exposed by the investigation, now faces a difficult and uncertain future as consumers demand to know that care providers can still be trusted to administer high standards of care, on time, as required and as promised.
“Re-establishing the vital trust element”
With a shell-shocked industry asking ‘where do we go from here’, Mobile-e-Solutions believes it holds the key to rebuilding the industry’s integrity. The company plans to help restore attendance as a priority of domiciliary care with its mobile ‘Proof of Attendance’ technology that is able to provide real time information on the visits that carers and staff make, including proof of times they arrive and leave, together with details of work carried out.
Mobile-e-Solutions Managing Director, Mike Lister, said: “It is vital to re-establish the fundamental trust element upon which care provision is dependent.
With our latest mobile phone solution, care workers simply touch a tag inside the patients’ home with their mobile phone and our web database is instantly updated, proving when they arrived and when they left; along with options to notify of the type of work they did, of any incidents or on the client’s current general well-being.”
He added; “To further the duty of care to patients, we can also provide an Appointment Monitoring Service, which alerts managers when carers are late for appointments so that they can arrange cover and ensure that any attendance problems, such as those highlighted recently in the media, will never be repeated.
“Changes must be implemented for the sake of the patients; for the sake of companies’ reputations; and for the sake of the future of the domiciliary care industry.”
This future clearly lies with solutions such as mobile Proof of Attendance technology to ensure standards are kept and that our nation’s most vulnerable citizens receive the high quality, safe and dignified care they are entitled to.
For more information on Mobile-e-Solutions and how its mobile phone and ‘proof of’ technology can work for you and your business, please call Mike Lister on 0845 643 4898.
For further information or interviews, please contact:
Kara Rose from Kara Rose PR.
Tel: 07985 166480 or e-mail kara@kararosepr.co.uk
Archive
In the current economic climate, all businesses are looking at ways to save money and operate more efficiently.
This is especially true for businesses whose workforce operates remotely as it can be difficult to manage their movements, often resulting in money wasted on missed appointments or bad time-keeping.
Mobile-e-Solutions Limited has deployed a simple and easy to use ‘proof of attendance’ system, which can be operated through a mobile phone with no need for expensive PDAs or laptops and which gives clients the reassurance that they are getting a reliable and efficient service.
In sectors such as security or contract cleaning, time is money and while employees are a valuable asset, they can be costly if not managed correctly. For example, in a business with 10 employees earning £5.73 per hour, if just 10 minutes a day is lost by each employee, the resulting loss to the business is almost £2,500 per year.
Mike Lister, founder of Mobile-e-Solutions comments: “We have worked hard to deploy a cost effective package that helps businesses save money by minimizing the loss of billable man hours by monitoring the attendance of remote staff at all times. The technology is compatible with any back office computer system so it’s a very cost effective solution. Employees just need the phone and a package that includes internet access to allow the data to be transmitted back to our server. This information is then accessible to our clients to enable them to monitor and organize their business more efficiently.”
Mobile-e-Solutions has deployed a “Proof of Attendance” package to allow businesses to manage remote staff and minimize the amount of time and money wasted during the working day. This package is available to industry at a cost effective price using the latest mobile phone technology.
So, how does it work? The mobile phone acts as a ‘clocking in’ device providing arrival and departure times, together with details of the work carried out. The data an employee enters into the phone instantly updates a web-based data warehouse which is then fed through to the business’s own system for work flow management, information which can be passed on to the clients, giving them the reassurance that they are getting a good and efficient service.
The technology uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and Near Field Communication (NFC) allowing customers to prove in real time where employees have been, at what time and what they did while they were there.
Mobile-e-Solutions develops data capture menus specific to a client’s requirements and places RFID tags at relevant locations with a client’s business. When an employee’s mobile phone touches these tags, relevant information, unique to that person, is captured and stored on a web server which can then be accessed by the customer.
Mobile-e-Solutions is an approved Partner of the Finnish company Reslink Solutions Oy, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of mobile phone data capture solutions.
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For further information or interviews, please contact:
Kara Rose from Kara Rose PR.
Tel: 07985 166480 or e-mail kara@kararosepr.co.uk
Archive
Technology provider, Mobile-e-Solutions has consolidated its business growth by moving into new premises – Earnshaw Business Centre in Leyland and securing them as a client at the same time!
Mike Lister, founder of Mobile-e-Solutions said: “The move into more established, bigger premises was a natural progression for us – the fact that they were so impressed with the products we can supply was a great bonus!”
Since the business conception in January 2008, Mobile-e-Solutions has seen significant growth and demand for its unique ‘proof of’ technology solutions and the move into the business centre elevates their business proposition and ability to compete and roll out larger projects. The increased awareness of what the technology can actually do and how it can be adapted and tailored to individual businesses has been an eye-opener for many SME’s in the area.
Mandy Cardwell, Managing Director of In The Zone which is also part of Earnshaw Business Centre is one such business owner who knew she needed more effective, manageable internal processes but wasn’t aware of how this technology could help. She said: “I met Mike when he moved into our business centre and it immediately became apparent that he could solve my problems and make the service we offer our clients even more efficient.”
Mandy and her team currently use the Mobile-e-Solutions mobile phone and various sticker ‘tags’ to log all their bookkeeping work for various clients both onsite in the office and off-site which instantly makes them more accountable. By simply activating the client’s tag, they are able to log efficiently the time spent on every client and provide an exact log for more precise invoicing. It also provides a written log that is available if required providing that added value and ‘trust’ between client and supplier.
For more information on Mobile-e-Solutions and how its mobile phone and ‘proof of’ technology can work for you and your business, please call Mike Lister on 0845 643 4898.
-Ends-
For further information or interviews, please contact:
Kara Rose from Kara Rose PR.
Tel: 07985 166480 or e-mail kara@kararosepr.co.uk
Archive
The following article appeared in the Chorley Guardian on Wednesday 8th October 2008: –
A Chorley businessman has become one of the first in the UK to sell an innovative piece of mobile technology that allows firms track their employees.
Mike Lister, director of Whittle-le-Woods firm Digital-e-Brochures Limited has set up Mobile-e-Solutions Limited to market and sell RFID tags that work with mobile phones to prove that staff have visited premises or attended meetings.
The technology has been developed by Finnish company Reslink Solutions, which specialises in ‘proof of attendance’ devices for business in a country where the mobile phone is king. Holding a mobile phone against one of the small tags or chips proves an employee has arrived at a fixed point at a particular time.
The mobile phone display can also show questions relevant to that location and user, then relays real-time information back to head office.
“The technology uses radio frequency identification (RFID) tag stickers or discs which transmit a signal that can be detected by the latest near field communication (NFC) technology available in newer mobile phone models,” explained Mr Mike Lister, who is currently the only supplier in the North West and just one of three in the UK.
It’s like a clocking-on system for the 21st century, only it enables businesses to do far more than just record when staff arrived for work.
“A security company might want real-time evidence that their guards are checking every section of a perimeter fence, or a field service worker could use the system to record their business mileage and log jobs. A care worker could use it to prove that they have visited a patient and to record their medical state
Mr Lister says NFC is an emerging technology that has the power to turn a mobile phone into a multi purpose smart card for shopping and travel.
We extend thanks to the Chorley Guardian and if you would like more information please email us <here>
Archive
Within the mobile ‘proof of attendance’ solutions from Mobile-e-Solutions have always been able to provide a ‘tag goes to phone’ scenario where a person has an RFID key fob, id card or bracelet and goes to a static phone that they touch to prove their attendance at that phone.
A big issue has been how to secure that phone so that it cannot be vandalized or stolen – without having a person permanently manning the location.
We now have the answer…
SECURE PHONE HOLDERS
These are weather proof, secure and lockable phone holders for use in all weather situations, either indoor or outdoor. There is a touch pad on the front of each box, behind which is the NFC part of the mobile phone. The user simply touches his tag to the pad and our software does the rest – a truly ‘touch and go’ scenario.
There are three types of phone holder: –
- Wall Mounted Box.
- Solar Powered Post (illustrated right)
- Non Powered Post.
Whatever solution is chosen, the phone inside is running the RFID solution, in a ‘touch and go’ scenario and every time a person touches the pad in the holder with their tag, the phone instantly transmits that information, via GPRS, to our back-end database.
There will shortly be a release of the software (for the phones) that will transmit an ‘I am still running’ signal every few minutes (if there has been no tag activity). This will enable managers to be able to monitor remotely, that the device is still operational.
This is a very cost effective method of providing a remote clocking machine that can be used & located almost anywhere. For a remote location this product allows you to know who, where and when personnel visit a site.
If you would like more information please email us <here>
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Reslink, Mobile-e-Solutions European partner, today announced that its mobile solutions are now compliant with, and certified against, the first Workforce-XML data integration standard which enables the passing of IN, OUT and TIMESTAMP information directly from NFC-based mobile phones to enterprise systems that are also compliant with the same Workforce-XML AR01X standard.
In practice, this means that any client with a Time/Attendance, Rostering, Workforce or Field Force Management solution who wishes to capture proof-of-attendance data from their mobile employees, simply by them touching an RFID tag with their mobile phone, is now able to do so on a “plug & play” basis, provided that their back-office application is also compliant to this industry-standard. Data will be sent directly to the workforce management solution from the mobile phone without the need to develop special integration routines.
Mark Ellwood, Sales/Channel Manager of Reslink states “By implementing open standards we are able to work with any compliant software seamlessly and add value not only as a single provider but also to organisations wanting a mixed solution of data collection devices. This development makes it even easier for clients and resellers to quickly integrate Reslink’s mobile applications into their own”.
About Workforce-XML (www.workforce-xml.org)
Workforce-XML represents a consortium of organisations looking to create open industry standards between data collection devices and workforce management software, with the aim of increasing choice for end-users whilst at the same time reducing total costs of ownership.
Archive
The following news story appeared on the BBC web site on 11th January 2008:-
NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION (NFC)
An NFC or Near Field Communication tag is the technology that allows devices to communicate with each other simply by being put close together and they are starting to be incorporated into phones.
When a phone with built-in NFC is near a Bluetooth speaker, also with NFC built-in, the two devices can pair and work together. In some countries we can already buy tickets on the web and use handsets to redeem them when we get to the concert.
In Japan they already use this kind of technology to pay for things. The phone knows how much is in your bank – the transaction takes place with a simple swipe.
NFC chips in photo frames due out this year will automatically recognise a friendly phone and start the transfer of your pictures or print them out again without wires or the need to manually set up a Bluetooth connection.
“NFC isn’t just about phones. Imagine being able to take your home remote control and touching it to all the different components you’ve got and all of a sudden you’re miraculously connected,” explained Deborah Arnold of the NFC Forum.
“Or the same thing in your home office, if you were to take your mouse and touch it to all your devices you have a wireless office. NFC is very intuitive.”
To read the full article please click <here>.
Archive
Mobile-e-Solutions are pleased to announce that the latest version of the mobile phone RFID solution contains additional features to help protect lone workers in potentially hazardous or even dangerous situations.
As well as “overt” notification functionality, the product now allows for “discreet” notification too – whereby the worker wishes to request assistance without making their potential assailant aware that they have done so.
For DISCREET lone worker protection, the solution operates as follows:
Worker carries an NFC-enabled mobile phone with our software on-board that they may also be using for their daily work tasks
They carry an item with a passive RFID tag inside it – that is their ALERT tag which could be a pen, a matchbox, thermometer, etc….
When they feel threatened, they simply put the ALERT tag close to their phone – inside the same pocket, or next to it on the desk
The phone immediately sends a silent alert to the back-office system, providing a database record and notifying any monitoring staff
At the same time, the phone silently dials a pre-defined number, allowing the person on the end to listen in, speak, or record what is happening.
For OVERT lone worker protection the solution operates in a similar manner but the phone can beep and vibrate to let the employee know that their alert has been sent. In these cases the employee could have an alert tag sewn into their uniform, embedded in their id card, etc.
Reslink’s use of “context-sensitive” tags (patent pending) makes this possible as the phone application is able to distinguish an Alert tag from other types of tags that the worker uses during their daily routines to prove where they are and what they are doing.
Jukka Hautala, Reslink MD comments: “it’s an all-in-one solution – real-time proof-of-attendance, data capture, and now lone worker protection, all available via the users’ mobile phone”
