Please note: The following feature is available for all of Birdie’s packages.
Birdie is designed to be flexible and carers can check into both scheduled and unscheduled visits. This means that it can suit different care settings, including supported living.
Visit planning with Supported living
When you are setting up your visits in Birdie, it totally depends on how your care is structured. For example, if your clients live independently then you may schedule one visit per client.
If multiple clients live together in one building, some of our partner agencies find it easier to create a ‘Client’ for the property and then schedule a visit for the property and assign a carer to visit.
If you are using a rostering integration, you don't need to assign carers to visits in the Birdie roster, as this will be managed in your rostering system. You will need to create visit plans to match the visits you've scheduled in the rota.
Checking in
If your carers are working for a set shift and visiting clients on a roster then they should check into the scheduled visit at the scheduled start time.
However, if carers provide ad-hoc support to clients at any point during their scheduled shift then the carer can record an unscheduled visit in Birdie.
Carers can check into the client by searching for their name in the app under ‘Clients’ and record notes and observations. They will be able to view and record support with tasks and medication, reflecting the support they have provided. On an unscheduled visit, carers can view the list of tasks and medications for the whole day.
Scheduling tasks and medications
Care managers can schedule tasks and medications for certain times or anytime. For example, medication and tasks to be administered during the morning can be assigned to the “morning” time period in Birdie, however, for supported living, it is common for care managers to use the “anytime” option for tasks that have no defined period for completion. For example, “Assist with laundry” may be done whenever there is a full laundry basket. In this case, the task can be assigned to all days (assuming the carers will be visiting every day of the week), and “anytime” can be selected. In the app, the carer can simply tick off the task if they do it.
Top tip: You can use the notes on tasks to make it clear to carers which tasks need to be done at specific times and which tasks can be done anytime.
We highly recommend scheduling medications for exact times and not time periods. This is so that the carer can clearly see in their app the time they need to administer the medication during the day. In the image below, panadol has been scheduled using time periods and Levetiracetam has been scheduled using exact times and this is why we suggest scheduling medications using exact times.
Completing tasks, medications, observations, and daily notes
Whilst checked in, carers can tick off tasks, record medications, and observations and notes as they would if they were doing hourly care. Carers can edit these until they submit their report. Any changes to this information can be made right up to the point that the carer submits their report.