Saved by the bell: The ripple effect of rapid response in aged care

When a resident presses a call bell, this alert can signal anything from a simple request for water through to the most serious of incidents. In aged care, swift responses to these alerts are critical, not just for safety, but for fostering trust between staff and residents.

Yet, outdated systems and manual processes often delay responses, pulling carers away from the human interactions that define quality care. Ange Ryan, CEO of RTM Cloud, is a leader in aged care technology, delivering solutions that slash call bell response times and making critical alert reporting far simpler. This technology gives staff time back to connect with residents, enhancing both safety and care quality.

Delays and disconnection

Aged care facilities often grapple with fragmented technologies, as nurse call systems, security alarms, and maintenance logs that operate in silos.

“They might have multiple technologies or different systems, and they all have different types of reporting,” Ange explains.

This forces frontline staff to juggle multiple alert dashboards or manually log data in “dark, dingy” comms rooms, eating into time better spent with residents. Delays in responding to call bells can heighten resident anxiety, increase risks like falls, and leave families questioning whether their loved ones are truly safe.

Manual reporting for compliance, such as tracking response times, adds further strain.

“A big requirement for the industry now is to report on response time, excess response time, and care time given,” Ange notes.

For carers, whose passion is to “interact with residents,” as Ange puts it, these administrative tasks can feel like a barrier to the meaningful moments that make their work rewarding. The result? Less time for the conversations and care that residents cherish.

Smarter systems, more time for care

RTM Cloud, under Ange’s leadership, addresses these challenges with a unified platform that integrates nurse call systems, alarms, security, and more into a single, user-friendly dashboard.

“We standardise the messaging,” Ange says. “The call bell gets to the frontline worker through pagers, DECT phones, smartphones in multiple ways, and we can interface into all of them.” With an escalation process ensuring alerts reach the right person: “two rings, it goes to this person; five rings, it goes to another.”

RTM Cloud has cut response times significantly.

“General managers are loving it because they can see their response times going down. They might have been eight minutes, now they’re two minutes,” Ange shares.

This faster response speed translates directly to happier residents and staff. The ease of reporting translates into more time for frontline care. By automating reporting, RTM Cloud saves carers one to two hours daily.

“They can spend more time and communicate with residents,” Ange says, noting that “90% of staff get into the industry to interact with residents. That’s the best time of their day.” 

The platform’s reporting system lets staff select a date, wing, or room and generate one of 35 customisable reports instantly. “No Excel expertise needed,” Ange adds, highlighting how streamlining this process is freeing carers from laborious administrative tasks.

RTM Cloud’s proactive monitoring further reduces administrative burdens beyond nurse call. By tracking assets like CCTV cameras, door sensors, and even drug fridges in real time, the platform acts as a facility’s “eyes and ears.”

“If there’s a door being opened, and it shouldn’t be, we notify the team, because a resident could walk out,” Ange explains.

In one case, a broken fridge seal was detected, and RTM Cloud’s monitoring and early detection ensured that $30,000 in stored medication did not go to waste.

By handling maintenance issues automatically, RTM Cloud lets staff focus on care, not troubleshooting. “Their job is to give care. Our job is to make sure everything is functioning well,” Ange says.

The ripple effect: Safety, trust, and connection

The benefits of faster responses and reduced workloads ripple across aged care communities. For residents, rapid call bell responses mean greater safety and reassurance.

A carer arriving in two minutes instead of eight can prevent a fall or ease a moment of distress, strengthening residents’ sense of security. For families, knowing that alerts are answered promptly and systems are reliable builds trust. For staff, the time saved translates into deeper connections with residents.

“They can have better care, spend more time and communicate,” Ange says. 

RTM can customise a facilities dashboard to monitor all online systems, such as smartsheets that alert staff when a resident needs repositioning.

“An alert pops up saying, ‘Mrs. Smith has turned,’ or ‘they’re due to turn,” Ange explains, again, eliminating the need to monitor separate dashboards for different systems.

Compliance also becomes seamless. RTM Cloud’s automated audits, conducted every 30, 60, or 90 days, saved one large aged-care organisation $270,000 annually compared to costly manual checks.

This ensures facilities meet standards without diverting staff from resident care.

By cutting call bell response times and streamlining systems, RTM Cloud empowers carers to focus on what matters most: providing quality care for residents. Ange Ryan’s leadership is transforming aged care, ensuring every call bell becomes a moment of safety, trust, and connection.

Discover how smarter monitoring can give carers more time with residents at rtmcloud.com.au.