AI giving Elmbrook Court residents pain-free days and a good night’s sleep

AI systems being used by Elmbrook Court care home are transforming the wellbeing of residents by identifying pain for those who are not able to express how they are feeling. They’ve been trialling an innovative system that scans the faces of residents to assess their levels of pain.

“No-one wants to think their loved one might be in pain, and although our care team members understand our residents very well, this is an amazingly useful addition to their care,” said Elmbrook Court Deputy Manager, Aislinn Mullee.

“It’s non-invasive and we can record the images we’ve taken, compare them over time and even share them with a resident’s GP, so we make sure their pain is promptly and appropriately managed.  It’s also helping us best meet the needs of our residents who are end of life.  If they can’t tell us how they’re feeling, this system can literally see it on their faces.”

The system uses the camera on a smartphone or tablet device to scan a person’s face then analyses the images using AI-driven facial recognition.  It recognises facial muscle movements indicative of pain and records the results.  There is a framework for team members to follow to further assess behaviours and comments made by the resident that could indicate they are in pain, and the result is an overall pain score for that individual.

“Introducing PainChek into Elmbrook Court has been significant to the way in which we now assess and manage pain,” said General Manager, Rebecca Warman.  “This AI-powered tool has enhanced our ability to support residents who have difficulty communicating, enabling our team to deliver timely and person-centred care. The improvement in residents’ comfort and overall wellbeing has been clear, and PainChek is now and essential part of our care approach.”

Resident Elaine Mizel is among those who have benefited from the system. “It was really helpful when I had pain in my leg,” she said.  “It was hard for me to describe how I felt and it helped the team to recognise my level of pain and get me the appropriate pain relief, and I am now back on my feet.”

It is also trialling a falls prevention acoustic monitoring system to assist the care team in managing residents with mobility challenges and facilitating improvement in resident’s sleep patterns.  The Ally system detects sounds in a resident’s room overnight.  If it detects something unexpected, like a resident calling out or getting out of bed, an alert is sent to a care team member’s handheld device.

“We normally check on residents every hour overnight,” said Aislinn, “and light coming in from the door opening and a team member entering the room can be disturbing.

“With this system, we’ve been able to safely reduce checks down to every four hours.  In the short time we’ve been trialling it, one gentleman is now sleeping right through the night, and our care team members have been there to help a resident to the bathroom, removing any danger of them falling.”

The small units are installed in 12 residents’ rooms.  Alerts are sent to care team member’s hand-held devices that they use to plan and record each individual’s care.

The home will continue trialling both systems until June 2025 but so far, the results have been extremely positive.

“Care is evolving,” concluded Aislinn.  “When I started my career, we recorded everything with pen and paper.  AI doesn’t take away the skills and the dedication of our care team members it adds to them.  If technology can help us to provide better care and improve our residents’ quality of life, it’s a great addition to our day to day.”

To find out more about our exceptional care at Elmbrook Court, click here