A sector-leading transformation in dementia care—powered by PainChek® and led with purpose, ethics, and measurable impact across Dovehaven’s 23 services.
We’re proud to share that Jo Hadfield Cubbin, Head of Clinical Governance at Dovehaven Care Homes, has won the UK Dementia Care Awards – Technology & AI in Dementia Award—an honour she was nominated for in recognition of an extraordinary programme that is changing what great dementia care looks like in practice.
Following her win, Jo said
“Improving the lives of people living with dementia and cognitive impairments has always been a passion of mine and with this comes the need to ensure optimal identification and management of pain. PainChek has enabled me to reach this career goal, with its AI functionality and smart automation allowing us to spread the responsibility of assessing pain across the entire workforce and not just our nurses.
The Support we have received from the PainChek team has been instrumental in our success, especially the one-to-one help from our Customer Success Manager, Sara. Winning this award is an achievement I share with Sara who has been instrumental in our success.”
Turning distress into a clinical signal—It’s not “just dementia”
Jo has long championed a simple but powerful principle: distress should never be dismissed as an inevitable feature of dementia. Instead, it must be understood as a clinical signal—often pointing to untreated pain, particularly for people who can’t reliably self-report their pain.
Before the rollout of PainChek, pain assessments relied mainly on periodic checks using traditional tools, often completed only by nurses or senior carers during reviews. This made proactive monitoring difficult, limiting frontline involvement, and meant pain could go unnoticed—sometimes presenting as behaviours that were then managed in other ways.
Embedding AI-enabled pain assessment into everyday care
Under Jo’s leadership, Dovehaven embedded PainChek®—an AI-enabled digital pain assessment tool—across all 23 services. Using a smart device camera and artificial intelligence, PainChek® helps carers detect micro-facial indicators of pain alongside observations across a person’s voice, movement, behaviour, activity, and body. Each assessment generates an overall pain score and builds an evidence base that supports timely interventions and clear monitoring over time.
Crucially, this wasn’t “tech added on” to care—it was built into the rhythm of daily practice: medication rounds, post-fall checks, and the wider clinical governance that keeps residents safe. Dovehaven also introduced a clear ethical safeguard: a PainChek® assessment is required before any PRN benzodiazepine is given, so potential pain is identified and treated—rather than masked by sedation.
What changed: results that speak for themselves
- 165,000+ PainChek® assessments completed (July–December 2024)
- Severe pain reduced by 67%, moderate pain by 42%, and mild pain by 25%
- Distress incidents reduced by 41%
- Resident-to-resident altercations reduced by 58%
- Benzodiazepine use reduced by 58%; only 2.8% of residents now have a PRN benzodiazepine prescribed (down from 20%+)
- Emergency ambulance callouts reduced by 36% (July 2024–June 2025)
- Hospital admissions following a fall reduced by 50% (July 2024–June 2025)
Preventing falls through proactive pain management
One standout initiative was Dovehaven’s six-month “four assessments per day” project for residents at higher risk of falls, for example for people with osteoarthritis in their lower body. With real-time pain insights, teams could adjust interventions quickly supporting comfort, mobility, and confidence.
Across 59 residents, 45% fewer falls were recorded. In the subgroup living with knee osteoarthritis, falls reduced by 70%—and every resident in that group experienced fewer falls. This approach is now embedded into policy, with new admissions who have osteoarthritis supported through intensified assessment until pain is consistently well managed.
Leading change at scale—without losing the human touch
Dovehaven completed rollout across 23 services within three months, supported by onsite training, webinars, practical resources for teams, and sustained coaching informed by real data. Jo’s daily review of trends and completion, alongside regular reporting and audits, ensured consistency—then continuously lifted quality as confidence grew.
Just as importantly, the programme has helped build a culture where pain assessment is “everyone’s business”—and where technology supports compassion rather than replacing it. By making outcomes measurable and sharing what works, Dovehaven has created a replicable blueprint for ethical, AI-supported pain management in dementia care.
Congratulations, Jo
Winning this award is a fitting recognition of Jo’s clarity of purpose, her commitment to dignity and least-restrictive practice, and her ability to deliver meaningful change at scale. Congratulations to Jo—and to every Dovehaven team member who has brought this work to life for residents and families, every day.
Want to learn more? Get in touch to hear how Dovehaven approached adoption, governance, and staff engagement to achieve these outcomes—or to explore how AI-enabled pain assessment can support your own dementia care strategy.
