Prospective residents can look inside Gracewell care homes with Google street map technology

Future residents, families and healthcare professionals can now look at the inside of Gracewell care homes using Google street map technology.

The first home to employ the technology, Parker Meadows in Fareham, Hampshire, has already seen people from as far afield as Canada and America log on to the service to take a look at the home before recommending it to relatives here in the UK.

Home manager Geraint Williams said the virtual tour has been a huge help to people deciding which care home to choose.

He said: “This makes everyone’s lives easier, from prospective residents to commissioning healthcare professionals, because they can instantly see if we are suitable for them, even before coming for a visit in person.

“This is such an important decision for families that I knew we needed to do something radical that would make the whole process of choosing a care home much more intelligent.

“Now they can simply go online and have a good look around the home to see our fabulous luxury facility via a computer, iPad, laptop or even a mobile phone. I firmly believe technology like this is the future of the social care sector as people demand more and more transparency.”

Mr Williams added that he had received welcome feedback from healthcare professionals and residents on the new Google technology.

He said: “With so many homes in our local area no healthcare professional could know all of them and remember all the tiny details about layout and size. Now they can simply go online and it’s all there for them. Many professionals have told me how useful this is.”

It also helps potential residents who are too frail to visit the care home in advance. “When waiting for a discharge from hospital I can visit them with an iPad and introduce them to their new home and allow them to choose their new room – this takes away a lot of fear of the unknown and they then already recognise the home when they first arrive.”

The Google street map technology was developed by Paul Burrows of Hampshire360 giving people the opportunity to see inside the care home navigating as they would using Streetview.

Mr Burrows said: “As a former qualified social worker I recognised that finding a suitable care home for a loved one at what can be quite a traumatic time is often an emotionally difficult time. There is the need to find suitable home whilst coming to terms with the events that lead up to such a decision. I Saw Google Business Photos tour as an excellent way of supporting both client and carers in the search for a home. I believe that it will also be a fantastic tool for social workers as well.”

Gracewells has nine care homes and a further 10 care homes, are being planned across the South East, South West and Midlands.