Care provider We Care Group has introduced PainChek’s digital pain assessment technology across its care homes in North and Northwest England.

We Care Group operates 28 care homes and 1,423 registered beds. The adoption of PainChek follows a 12-week pilot across two of We Care Group’s homes, with PainChek providing education and training.

A PainChek assessment considers six domains: the face, voice, movement, behaviour, activity, and body. It uses artificial intelligence and the camera of a tablet or smartphone to assess the face domain, while the carer observes the resident to assess the other five domains. This enables carers to identify the presence of pain in a resident when pain isn’t obvious, quantify the severity, and monitor the effects of treatment.

Tom Lovell, home manager at Berwick House Care Home in Blackpool said: “One of our residents who is unable to verbalise their pain had previously been prescribed a benzodiazepine for distressed behaviours. Through use of PainChek, we identified they were experiencing pain, and the cause was investigated, identified and treated. As their pain levels reduced, so did their distressed behaviours, and we were able to use the pain data to initiate a prescription review. The benzodiazepine was changed to PRN, which has helped to improve the resident’s overall quality of life.”

Jack Lee of PainChek commented: “Having recognised the importance of embedding best practice pain management for all residents, particularly for those living with dementia, We Care Group was seeking an innovative, person-centered solution to replace existing traditional observational pain assessment methods that are often inconsistent and subjective.

“We are looking forward to building on the success of the trial with this broader implementation that will empower We Care Group’s staff, equipping them with a reliable, safe and effective means of assessing pain and enhancing residents’ care and quality of life as a direct result.”

PainChek stated it has contracts with more than 1,400 aged care facilities across three continents, with more than four million digital pain assessments conducted to date.