Bedvacs is an online bed availability service, designed to make it easier for care managers and social care staff to quickly find suitable residential care places for elderly clients.
Care managers and social workers at Edinburgh City Council social services department can now access up-to-date information about bed vacancies in residential care, simply by logging into a secure part of the bettercaring website or by checking their email.
“It is important to have access to up-to-date information quickly to ensure that delays for people waiting for a care home place are minimised as far as possible,” commented Councillor Kingsley Thomas, executive member for health and social work, City of Edinburgh Council.
He added that the system will provide more accurate information on vacancies to professionals, service users and their carers, leading to quicker placements. “This will reduce the time that providers hold vacancies, make better use of professionals’ time and make more appropriate use of hospital beds,” said Councillor Thomas.
“Using Bedvacs makes it faster to place people requiring care in appropriate accommodation, assisting earlier discharges from hospitals and minimising the disturbance to the lives of those who require care,” commented Anna Bailey, head of Bettercaring.
Bedvacs is provided by Bettercaring, which maintains an online searchable database of more than 20,000 registered care homes in the UK. Seventeen local authorities in the UK, including Liverpool and Birmingham, have so far contracted to use Bedvacs.
In addition to Bedvacs, the Bettercaring database also provides comprehensive information about each care home, including registration status, number of beds, fees and the facilities available for residents. This information is available to the public for free online.