Superior continence management ensures best outcomes for residents.

Eldercare currently has 1,000 licensed aged care beds across 13 sites throughout the Greater Adelaide and Yorke Peninsula regions and approximately 85 percent of residents require continence management. When it came time to review the incontinence aids tender, Eldercare was looking for a partner they could work closely with to achieve significant improvements.

Naturally, achieving the best possible outcomes for residents was the most-critical factor. The decision to change to TENA was based on a number of considerations including training and ongoing support, electronic capabilities for updating prescriptions and data reporting, product innovations and cost reductions through reducing consequence costs. The TENA Plan, Coach, Monitor approach ticked many of the boxes.

Eldercare Procurement and Contracts Manager, Tony Pascoe worked closely with care services to review brand and product options available in the marketplace and consulted with other aged care providers  before ultimately selecting TENA. 

Eldercare reported that in the trial to win the business, TENA performed 20 percent better than its competitors based on quantity and quality measurements supported by industry best reporting and measurement tools. As part of the process, the TENA team conducted a well-executed and phased implementation and rollout plan for each site. 

“Full product and application education assisted with the change in all processes at a site level,” said Mr Pascoe. “This enabled the focus to remain on the outcomes for our residents.” 

One of the TENA team goals is to work in close partnership with customers to ensure a thorough understanding of their business and staff needs. 

While improvements are often hard to quantify, global studies suggest 95 percent of care homes that implement TENA report an improvement in care including a 38 percent reduction in leakage and a 47 percent reduction in skin irritation. 

Eldercare reported a reduction in labour time with some of the TENA products requiring only one staff member’s assistance compared to two with some of their previous products.

Mr Pascoe said Eldercare was pleased with the change overall. “The best things about switching to TENA have been the improved quality of product, the data reporting and visibility plus the education and support from the TENA team,” said Mr Pascoe. “The change to TENA was worth it – especially for the residents.”