Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) has gone live with an online care bed vacancy and booking system this week to provide an up-to-date database of information for all registered care homes across the county.

The service provided by OLM Group is accessible to members of the public and the council and will ensure OCC maximises its use of care beds.

OCC will use the Bedvacs system for online access to real-time, detailed, searchable information about vacancies in registered care homes across Oxfordshire. At the same time, the Care Booking system will allow staff to track, monitor, commission and report on the use of block-contracted respite care beds in the locality, helping to maximise occupancy.

Respite care is a nationwide problem for local authorities, and through implementing an online bed availability service, authorities can locate and allocate suitable care much faster, resulting in efficiency savings and allowing staff to redirect their focus to best practice and client care activities.

Paul Purnell, head of social care for adults at OCC, says the system will improve access to residential care.

‘The information provided by these applications will improve the delivery of important services to the citizens of Oxfordshire. We are confident that these cost-effective solutions will bring time-savings as well as financial savings, and will transform our service bringing improved efficiencies,’ he said.

‘This service is for all people who are looking for residential care in Oxfordshire. It is as much for people who are funding themselves as it is for those funded by the council.’