Introduction
PainChek™ is clinically proven to reliably detect pain in those who may be unable to verbalise it, such as those living with dementia or other cognitive impairment. PainChek™ uses artificial intelligence (AI), facial analysis, and smart technology to automate the pain assessment process at the point of care. Watch this brief video explaining how PainChek™ works and visit the PainChek website for more information.
Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) Health and Care Partnership is being funded by NHS England to evaluate the impact of PainChek™ on adults receiving social care. Delivered in partnership with Health Innovation East and the University of Hertfordshire, the project will evaluate how introducing this technology impacts the care quality, safety and independence of cared-for people living in their own homes as well as care homes.
An online Expression of Interest form is further down this page.
Adults within the scope of the project
Participants to the project will be selected based on the following characteristics:
- Communication difficulty
- Living with dementia
- Living with or experiencing behaviours of concern (i.e. increased agitation)
- Cognitive impairments
- Low mood or anxiety.
These adults may be living independently with support from domiciliary care or living in accommodation designed to support adults with care (such as extra care or assisted living, or full-time residential or nursing care).
Anticipated benefits of PainChek™
Research into the use of PainChek™ has identified a range of social care benefits. The project will evaluate how, when and where the following benefits can be realised for cared-for people in BLMK.
- Identify pain and work towards reducing levels of pain, insomnia, stress and distress, and mobility
- Strengthen self-confidence, increase motivation, broaden outlook and experience
- Encourage greater independence through activity and exercising new skills in a supportive environment
- Self-confidence of staff in recognising and managing pain, and optimising effective medication.
Getting involved – our inclusion criteria
Please note Expressions of Interest will be treated on a first come, first serve basis – subject to meeting the below inclusion criteria.
- You are an adult social care service registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and either a residential care, nursing home provider, domiciliary care, assisted living, independent living, or LD provider.
- Priority will be given to those participating within this trial supporting residents living with communication difficulties, living with dementia, living with or experiencing behaviours of concern (i.e. increased agitation), cognitive impairments, low mood or anxiety.
- You must be able to commit to participating in the evaluation being conducted by the University of Hertfordshire, which may include sharing data, collecting additional data via questionnaires, and enabling access for the evaluation team to conduct observations and a small number of interviews. Commit to timely completion of surveys.
- You must be able to share the NHS number for each resident (to be supplied at a later date – not on the Expression of Interest form).
- You must be actively using a Digital Social Care Record (DSCR) from the assured supplier list and provide the name of the DSCR supplier.
- You must be ready to implement the PainChek app from an agreed date, along with a supportive, strong leadership team.
- You must not be currently participating within the Robopet project, unless you can clearly demonstrate the two applications are used independently.
- You must agree that the PainChek app will NOT be downloaded to personal staff devices – all downloads of the app must be on business-only electronics through their DSCR.
Responsibilities
You will:
- Commit to using the application.
- Provide comprehensive data on each cared-for person – including but not limited to personal and care information, an initial quality of life assessment data before using PainChek, regularly collect and share data on PainChek’s impact, Provide feedback of the project by attending ad-hoc project-related meetings and timely completion of surveys to prove benefits and support the future sustainability of the project. This may include admitting researchers from the University of Hertfordshire to visit the site and observe the application in use.
- Commit to staff training and utilising this new technology throughout the lifecycle of this pilot.
- Share experiences of the application with peers and potentially taking part in case studies.
- Commit to the project – as will be detailed in an MOU and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
We will:
- Provide the PainChek application including installation and any configuration required. Provide remote or on-site training to support the use of PainChek application
- Provide clear descriptions and explanations of the type of data to be collected and shared, including the frequency and method, and engage with care settings to capture feedback through various means such as email, telephone, and virtual meetings. Provide remote or on-site training to support the use of PainChek application.
- Be the first point of contact and offer ongoing support.
- Provide terms of reference for case studies and assist with the drafting and finalisation of the same.
- Provide the MOU and SOP.
Please complete the online EOI form:
Next steps
Please note your Expression of Interest will be added to the reserve list for this project, and does not guarantee inclusion in the project. We will confirm receipt, and will notify you in writing once a decision has been made.
You can find out more about what we’re doing by clicking on each of the links below. For more information on the programme, or any of our projects, please email the team.