REGISTRATION PLUS

The Comprehensive Software for Registration and Inspection Units

Introducing Registration Plus

Registration Plus can record both Social Services and Health Authority registrations, including Nursing Homes, Residential Care Homes, Day Care for Under 8s, Childminding, Children's Homes and Domiciliary Care Agencies. It is ideal for joint inspection units.

Registration Plus gives registration and inspection officers quick and easy access to the information that they need. The system will track applications through the registration process. The comprehensive diary can record all contact between the authority and a registered establishment. Registration Plus also helps with forward planning and resource use analysis. Powerful reporting facilities allow a wide range of management information to be obtained.

Designed for Microsoft Windows� 3.1 or Windows 95, Registration Plus works on ordinary PCs, including portable computers.

Types of Registration

The system deals with the following types of registration:

Health Authority registrations

Nursing homes, mental nursing homes, private acute hospitals, clinics
Registered under Part II of the Registered Homes Act 1984.

Social Services registrations

Residential care homes
Registered under Part I of the Registered Homes Act 1984.

Small residential care homes
Under the Registered Homes (Amendment) Act 1991.

Children's homes
Registered under Part VII of the Children Act 1989.

Child minders
Under Part X of the Children Act 1989.

Day care facilities
Under Part X of the Children Act 1989. (Includes nurseries and playgroups).

Community homes
Under Part VI of the Children Act 1989.

Other types of establishment

In addition to the registrations listed above, the system can keep details of other types of establishment:

For Health Authorities

Nurses agencies
Dealing with the health authority aspects of their licensing. (Under the Nurses Agencies Act 1957).

For Social Services Departments

Local authority residential care homes
Other day care
Facilities that are exempt from formal registration.
Voluntary homes
Under Part VII of the Children Act 1989.
Independent boarding schools
Inspected by Social Services under Section 87 of the Children Act 1989.
Domiciliary care agencies
Some authorities operate a voluntary registration scheme for companies and organisations providing domiciliary care.

The system concentrates on the relevant Acts of Parliament that apply in England and Wales, together with the associated Regulations.

Main register

One table contains the list of all the establishments (including nursing homes, residential care homes, day care facilities) and registered people (childminders). The "filter" facility allows you to select the establishments that you are interested in. Finding a particular entry on the register is quick and simple. You can call up any of the information stored about an establishment or registered person, with just a few clicks of your mouse.

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Diary

Registration Plus provides a comprehensive diary facility. All contact between the authority and any home or other establishment on the register can be recorded in the diary. Other diary entries can be made for staff holidays, other absence, general meetings, etc.

The unique Diary Links feature means that making one entry in the diary can automatically create follow-up diary entries. For example, entering an inspection visit may create a reminder that the findings should be filed two weeks later, and then another inspection may be scheduled for 6 or 12 months time.

Example of Diary program

"To do" lists can be viewed or printed, showing diary entries that have not been marked as completed. The Diary for each establishment can be view or printed. This will show all activity connected with the establishment, including registration changes, inspections, complaints, and any other kind of contact.

Time spent, mileage and other costs can all be recorded. Costs can be totalled in various ways. The system will provide you with summaries of how resources have been used. For example, the time spent in relation to each registered establishment can be analysed.

The Week Planner provides a quick way to get an overview of what's happening this week.

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Checking staff and other people

You can record details of staff and other people associated with all types of establishment. Individual proprietors (and potential proprietors), together with groups, companies and their directors (including national groups and holding companies) can all be recorded. For homes the persons in charge / managers, nursing staff and other care staff can be recorded. Other types of people that can be recorded include play leaders connected with play groups, adults living in houses used for child minding and recruitment consultants working for nurses agencies.

Various kinds of checks and references can be recorded and tracked. For example, you can record whether a police check has been carried out, and whether the result was satisfactory. The system provides a summary of all references and checks for an application.

When you enter someone's name onto the system, they are automatically checked against the National List of Cancelled Registrations, the UKCC Removals and Suspensions and a Concern list (that you can maintain).

Cross-checks done by the system will reveal multiple home involvement of proprietors, managers, persons-in-charge and individual members of staff.

A history file, showing where individuals have worked in the past, is automatically maintained by Registration Plus.

Registration Plus can help you to monitor staffing levels and qualifications.

A Data Protection Report lists all the information on the system about one particular individual. Registration Plus also provides facilities for removing information about individuals when it is no longer relevant to hold it. This aids compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Automating the registration process

Registration Plus helps you to monitor the progress of an application for registration. As you record each step of the registration process in the diary, the system will automatically prompt you about the next step to take. Letters connected with the registration process can be generated automatically. This feature works in conjunction with a word processor (normally Microsoft Word).�

� The word processor is not supplied as part of the Registration Plus package.

Tracking requirements and recommendations

The "Action Points" facility in Registration Plus brings together information about the requirements and recommendations that the establishments need to address. This helps you to monitor what is being done (or should be done) to rectify any shortcomings.

Complaints

Registration Plus provides a complaint recording facility, which is linked into the diary. This enables you to track how the complaint is dealt with. Printed reports provide an overview of outstanding complaints and an analysis of the complaints in a particular period.

Deaths and other notifications

Notifications of death can be recorded on the system. You can then review these death notifications in a number of ways. For example you may wish to look at the number of days between admission and death, or analyse patterns in the causes of death.

Infection outbreaks, untoward incidents and absence of manager can also be recorded.

A comprehensive database

Registration Plus can record details of facilities, including details of each room in a home.

You can maintain occupancy figures (places filled).

Several different kinds of approvals (inspections) can be recorded (including Environmental Health, Fire Officer and Pharmacy inspections).

For nurseries, playgroups and child minders, their hours can be recorded.

Inspections

The inspections program is based on Software Division's flexible Question Master package. (Please see the Question Master brochure for more details). This is linked into the Diary facility.

You can set up your own customised checklists for different types of inspection. Automatic report generation is possible.

The inspections program can be used on portable computers.

Financial information and annual returns

Registration Plus can be used to keep track of fees due and fees paid. You can generate invoices or invoice requests for registration fees.

The system will print information for annual returns, including the K�rner KO36 and the Registration Account.

On-screen help and advice

On-line help is provided, in a similar way to other Windows programs. This provides guidance on the software itself. Alongside the help, on-line "advice" is also provided. This gives guidance on the relevant Acts and Regulations, and other suggestions on procedures to be followed. It includes extracts from "Home Life" and NAHAT guidance.

The help and advice are indexed, allowing you to search for keywords. Links from one page to another provide cross-references. An annotation facility allows you to add your own notes to the help and advice text. If portable computers are used on inspection visits, then information can be looked up without the need to carry reference documents around.

Example Advice screen

Contacts database

Registration Plus provides a simple-to-use contacts database. This includes a list of registration and inspection units across the country, together with details of relevant national organisations. You can also add details of local contacts for your area.

Printed reports

Registration Plus provides powerful reporting facilities which allow a wide range of management information to be obtained. A printed Register can be obtained in a format that is suitable for giving to members of the public. All the reports have a smart, modern presentation, using proportionally-spaced fonts. An on-screen print preview allows you to see what a report will look like without wasting paper.

A report writer allows you to extract information from the system to meet your own requirements.

Access control

Password protection restricts access to sensitive and personal information. The system administrator can allocate access rights to individual users. Different access levels can be set for each user, for each type of information. For example, a Health Authority inspector may have full access to details of nursing homes, whereas for residential homes they can view the information but cannot change it.

Meeting NAHAT's recommended standards

NAHAT's "Raising the Standard" document sets out recommended management standards for the registration and inspection units in Health Authorities.

Standard number 7 from this document says: "The R&I unit has systems for the collection, analysis, storage and retrieval of requisite information.

Criteria: Contemporaneous records of all contact in relation to registration and inspection matters are maintained. Accessible cost effective information systems are maintained.

A library of support information is resourced and maintained.

A database of available skills for specialised inspection reporting and for solving registration/inspection problems is maintained."

Registration Plus will help your department to meet this standard.

Computer requirements and compatibility

Registration Plus will run under Windows 3.1, Windows 95 or Windows NT. It has been designed to work on networks of PCs. Registration Plus is compatible with most popular networking software, including Novell Netware. The system can also be used on portable computers.

To take full advantage of the system, a computer with 8 Mbyte of RAM (or more) will be needed. Our consultants would be pleased to provide you with further information on the best configuration for your authority. Many registration and inspection units will find that their existing computers are suitable for running Registration Plus.

Registration Plus uses Windows printer drivers to work with any type of laser or ink-jet printer.

Registration Plus is fully "year 2000 compliant". The diary and other parts of Registration Plus cope with dates on both sides of the new millennium.

Flexible licensing

The price you pay depends the maximum number of registered establishments that will be entered onto the system, and the facilities you need.

If your requirements change, upgrading to get access to other facilities is quick and easy.

Built on solid experience

Registration Plus builds on Software Division's experience with the Nursing Home Registration (NHR), Residential Home Registration (RHR) and Question Master systems. Software Division Ltd was established in 1988 and is committed to supplying comprehensive solutions to meet the changing needs of Health Authorities and Social Services Departments. Software Division�s products are used by many authorities across the country.

Software Division Ltd provides a friendly and professional service from pre-installation advice to on-going support and maintenance.

About this document

This document aims to give you a "flavour" of the system. The design of the Registration Plus system will continue to evolve. The screens shown are examples from a version of the software running under Windows 95. Details will vary due to changes in the design, changes in computer configuration and changes in the data.
This document is not intended to form part of any contract between Software Division Ltd and any of its clients.
This version dated 29th November 1996.

Contact

Tony Hughes
Software Division Ltd
Telephone: 01753 681883
Address: Colne Cottage, The Island, Longford, Middlesex, UB7 0ES
Fax: 01753 681081
E-mail: tony@softdivn.demon.co.uk