Borrowing from upstairs
It is Wednesday. The ground floor has run out of the right size of pads for two residents. A carer goes upstairs to borrow some, leaving the first floor short on Friday. Gloves in a common size are down to a couple of boxes. The delivery is not until next Tuesday.
Someone rings the supplier for an emergency delivery, which costs more. Or a staff member goes to a local shop and buys what they can. The store room is overflowing with sizes nobody needs any more, because a resident who used them left months ago.
Why stock runs short
Consumables in a care home are used in many places, by many people, at different rates. Continence products depend on each resident's current needs, which change. Gloves and aprons depend on staffing and infection control levels. Usage can shift quickly with new admissions.
Stock is spread between a central store and unit cupboards. Counting it all is a job nobody has time for, so orders are placed from a look at the store room and a feeling about how busy it has been.
Where continence products are supplied under a separate arrangement based on assessed needs, that list goes out of date as residents come and go, and the delivery no longer matches what is being used.
Nobody owns the job, either. The store room is everyone's and no one's. Care staff take what they need, the administrator places orders, the manager signs off the invoice, and none of them has the full picture of what goes out, what comes in and what is sitting unused on the top shelf.
What running short costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Units run out | Staff borrowing and searching mid-shift |
| Emergency orders | Extra delivery charges and shop purchases |
| Wrong sizes in stock | Money tied up in products nobody uses |
| No usage record | Orders based on guesswork |
| Resident needs changed | Supply out of step with the current list |
Staff time is the hidden part. A carer searching for the right pad is a carer not with a resident.
How we track consumables
- A product list with sizes and pack quantities, and the storage locations: central store and each unit cupboard.
- Quick stock counts on a phone at each location, taking a couple of minutes, with barcode scanning where products carry barcodes.
- Transfers from the store to units recorded with a scan, so central stock and unit stock are both known.
- Usage worked out from counts and transfers over time, with continence product needs drawn from resident records where they are held electronically.
- Reorder levels that adjust to usage and resident numbers, and a prepared order for your supplier, sent by email or through their portal or API where available.
- A slow-moving stock list, so sizes nobody needs can be returned, redistributed or not reordered.
If your supplier's portal already offers stock tracking, we will point you to it first. We build when your stock sits across units and suppliers in a way no single portal covers.
A store room that matches the residents
Units get topped up from the store before they run out. Orders go to the supplier based on what is actually being used, and the store stops filling with sizes nobody needs. Emergency deliveries become rare.
When a new resident arrives or needs change, the order adjusts to match, rather than someone noticing weeks later.
Is this your store room?
- Units borrow pads and gloves from each other
- Emergency orders or shop runs happen most months
- The store room holds sizes nobody uses
- Orders are placed from a quick look at the shelves
- Deliveries no longer match residents' current needs