January 31st 2025
Saint Cecilia Care Group has been a trusted name in care for over 35 years, providing support to individuals with behavioural challenges, dementia, and general nursing needs. Based in coastal North Yorkshire, the group operates five services, focusing primarily on older adults as well as supporting people with behavioural challenges, dementia and general residential and nursing needs. Guided by a family-rooted ethos and a commitment to innovation, the group has evolved to meet the needs of its residents.
Mike Higginson who has been with the group for two years and Managing Director for the past year, is leading the organisation through an exciting phase of digital transformation. They’ve been steadily modernising their care by adopting new technologies that fit smoothly into how they already work. One tool has been Earzz, an acoustic monitoring solution that has helped to significantly improve resident safety and well-being.
Finding a Digital Solution for Better Care
Like many care providers, Saint Cecilia’s began their digital journey with standalone care planning systems that operated independently. Over the past two years, the group has embraced tools like digital rostering which has helped to streamline operations and improve connectivity between systems.
Saint Cecilia first came across Earzz at a Care England event, where Mike met the company’s CEO, Prad Thiruvenkatanathan. Mike was immediately intrigued by the technology’s potential for use in care homes. He saw how Earzz could track behaviour patterns, monitor sleep quality, and predict and prevent falls, offering a new way to improve resident care. “It was exciting because it allowed us to be more proactive in care,” Mike explains. “The ability to detect issues like falls before they happen and improve sleep quality for our residents has made a huge difference.”
Seamless Implementation and Responsive Support
Saint Cecilia trialled Earzz in two services over an eight-week period, one specialising in dementia care and the other providing general residential care. The outcomes were impressive, with a 100% reduction in falls at Saint Cecilia’s main care home and a 90% reduction at Alba Rose.
The implementation process was smooth and well-supported. Staff found the app intuitive, as it worked on their existing handheld devices. While some initial challenges arose such as fine-tuning the sensitivity of the monitors in environments with high ceilings and hard floors which the Earzz’s team quickly addressed and found solutions for.
“Earzz were incredibly responsive,” says Mike. “For example, we suggested a quieter way for staff to call for assistance directly through the system. Within three days, they had implemented it. It’s reduced the need for loud, intrusive alarms, which can disrupt residents and create anxiety.”
Frontline staff, initially sceptical about trusting a new system, quickly adapted as they saw its accuracy in action. “Staff now feel more confident responding to alerts and can spend the time saved focusing on other areas of care,” Mike notes.
Reducing Disruptions for Residents
Traditionally, many care homes conduct routine two-hourly night checks, which often disturb residents’ sleep. Earzz has allowed Saint Cecilia to reduce these interruptions significantly, enabling better sleep for residents while looking after residents’ safety.
Beyond fall prevention Earzz also allows Saint Cecilia group to track patterns like coughing, allowing the team to detect early signs of respiratory infections or conditions like nocturnal pneumonia, enabling faster interventions for residents.
A Family-Centred Vision for the Future
Earzz aligns well with Saint Cecilia’s commitment to providing compassionate, family-oriented care. As the group continues to explore the technology’s potential, they are also looking into its applications for home care and supported living, aiming to enhance care across different settings.
At the heart of Saint Cecilia’s family-oriented care is a commitment to privacy and dignity. A concern from a resident’s family member was whether Earzz could capture private or sensitive information. However, the system does not record any audio, but processes sound data in real-time to identify specific events such as coughs, thuds, or movement noise. This ensures absolute confidentiality while maintaining effectiveness in monitoring residents’ needs.
With the success of the trial, Saint Cecilia’s is considering expanding Earzz to all their homes, integrating it further with systems like Person Centred Software to streamline operations and reduce digital fatigue. As they look to the future, Mike is confident that technology like Earzz will play a key role in their care home for enhancing care, maintaining dignity, and keeping residents safe.
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