Transforming pain management with PainChek^® at Ryeview Manor Care Home

Ryeview Manor Care Home, part of B&M Care, provides residential, specialist dementia and respite care for 94 residents across its purpose-built, three-story building. Ryeview Manor encountered significant issues with its previous pain assessment tool, which was considered subjective and too lengthy for users. As a result, it was underutilised. The staff believed that the existing tool did not adequately meet the needs of the residents, particularly those who were living with dementia.

This led to Ryeview Manor implementing PainChek in March 2024. Since then, they have seen significant efficiency gains. Between the period of March and December 2024 over 2,300 PainChek assessments were completed, with a 100% success rate of follow up assessments when pain was identified.  Caroline Inch, Director of Dementia Care for B&M Care said:

“The team at Ryeview Manor can complete an accurate and reliable pain assessment with PainChek in 2 minutes. Meanwhile, managers in other homes have reported that it takes up to an hour to complete a paper-based assessment. They have to print out the assessment, observe the resident and complete the form, then return to the office and scan the completed assessment into our systems and ensure it is entered into the relevant domains of the care records. We are seeing a significant time saving with PainChek, which is an additional benefit to the increased accuracy of the assessments and therefore improved quality of care we can provide”.

This time saving is not only encouraging more regular pain assessments, but also freeing up significant time for staff to have meaningful interactions with the residents. Caroline also highlighted:

“Not only is this a valuable tool, but it provides training for our teams about pain and dementia. It encourages everyone to ‘think pain’ whenever they notice a change in someone’s behaviour which is a great step forward to the service we provide”.

In addition to efficiency gains, PainChek has supported Ryeview Manor to manage residents’ distress better. Since implementing PainChek, they have not had to move any residents to nursing care with other providers, as they have found that better identifying and treating pain vastly reduces the level of distress in the home. Looking at the 12 months prior to PainChek’s implementation, 8 residents had to leave their service to receive nursing care elsewhere. Not only is this bad for the resident, who may find the move distressing and worrisome, but it is also bad for the care home in terms of revenue and administrative time required to find new residents to fill those vacancies.

By improving the accuracy and efficacy of pain assessments, pain becomes much easier to manage. Ryeview Manor has seen a 61% reduction in safeguarding incidents when comparing data from a 3 month period pre/post implementation of PainChek.

“PainChek has equipped B&M with a state-of-the-art tool /app that revolutionises the way in which B&M address pain management. This innovative AI technology complements our dementia care strategies, allowing us to provide truly compassionate person-centred care. With the effective management of pain at Ryeview, we’ve experienced a significant decrease in distress, leading to enhanced wellbeing through better pain management. Moreover, we have seen a significant reduction in the reliance on antipsychotic medication. By using PainChek we are not only elevating the quality of care we provide but also enriches the lives of residents at Ryeview”
Caroline Inch, Director of Dementia Care, B&M Care Homes.