Technology in care homes: what families should know

Many care homes now use digital care records, alarms and sensors alongside paper, and 73% of providers surveyed in early 2025 used a digital social care record. Good technology can improve recording and safety, but it needs a person’s consent, careful data protection and staff who still know the resident. Families can ask how each system is used.

At a glance

• NHS England keeps an assured list of digital social care record software that meets national standards.
• CQC expects providers to show compliance with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) or an equivalent, completed annually.
• Sensor monitoring needs consent from the person, or from someone authorised to consent for them.
• CQC does not approve specific technologies; it checks whether they support safe, effective and fair care.
• You have the right to ask what personal information a provider holds about you or about someone you represent.

What technology do care homes use?

The technology falls into a few groups. Digital care records replace paper care plans and daily notes. Electronic medicines records track what has been given. Call systems, personal alarms and sensors alert staff when someone needs help. Some homes also use tablets for video calls with families and with health professionals.

Government guidance describes digital social care records as software for recording a person’s care information, sometimes called electronic care plans or care management systems. They normally do not include rostering or electronic medicines administration records, although some products offer them. This guide uses the plain terms rather than product names, and does not recommend any supplier.

How common is digital technology in social care?

The government’s 2025 adult social care provider technology survey, published on 6 March 2026, had 1,085 respondents. It found that 73% were using a digital social care record. Separate quarterly data put registered provider adoption at 77% in March 2025 and 80% in July 2025.

The same survey found that 43% of respondents used monitoring equipment with sensors, and 35% used personal alarms. Treat these as sector-wide figures: 57% of respondents were home care providers and 33% were residential, so they do not describe care homes alone. The survey found that set-up costs and ongoing licence costs were the most cited barriers to adopting more technology.

What is a digital care record, and what does “assured” mean?

NHS England maintains an assured solutions list of digital social care record software. Each listed solution offers essential features such as care planning, recording, reporting and audit trails, and meets national standards for quality and security. Providers with their own in-house system do not currently have to be on the list, although guidance recommends they meet the same standards.

Assurance is a check on the software, not on the care home. A home can use an assured system badly, and a home with a different system can still keep good records. CQC says it does not assess the technical functioning of record systems; it looks at the way a provider governs and uses them, under the well-led question. Our guide to CQC ratings explains how that fits into a rating.

What does CQC expect from homes using technology?

CQC encourages innovation but does not approve or certify specific technologies. Its guidance on artificial intelligence, updated on 21 May 2026, says regulations on person-centred care, dignity and respect, consent, safe care and treatment, and good governance all apply when technology is used. The same principles apply to any digital tool.

In practice, that means human oversight of automated alerts, clear information to people about what is being used, a non-digital option where needed, secure handling of sensitive information under UK GDPR, and a data protection impact assessment to document privacy risks. When you read a home’s inspection report, look for how records and monitoring are described, as covered in how to read a CQC inspection report.

Are sensors, falls alerts and telecare appropriate?

They can be, if the person agrees. CQC’s published example of in-home sensors says monitoring and notifications need consent from the person being monitored or someone authorised to consent for them, and that consent also decides who sees the information, such as the provider, a family member or a first responder. Reported benefits include early alerts about changes in behaviour, dehydration, mobility or fall risk.

The same example notes that much of the outcome evidence came from the supplier, and that costs, false alerts and what happens when someone declines monitoring were not discussed. A sensor is a prompt for a human response, not a substitute for it. For monitoring that involves cameras, see CCTV in care homes, and for equipment used at home, personal alarms and telecare.

How is your relative’s data protected?

Providers are expected to complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit annually, and CQC’s guidance on digital records points providers to free advice through the Better Security, Better Care programme. Digital systems can improve security through automatic backups and multi-factor authentication, but they also hold sensitive information about health.

Under UK GDPR, you can ask an organisation whether it uses or stores your personal information and request copies, verbally or in writing. If your relative cannot manage these decisions themselves, the home will want to see what authority you hold. Our guides to health and welfare power of attorney and mental capacity assessments explain how decisions are made on someone’s behalf.

What about GP and health professional access?

Under the NHS Enhanced Health in Care Homes model, each home is aligned to a primary care network and has a named clinical lead, a weekly “home round” with a multidisciplinary team, and a comprehensive assessment within 7 working days of a resident’s admission. Digital tools can support that, for example by sharing records.

Some providers can view a restricted version of a person’s GP record through GP Connect, but only if they have an assured system that connects to it, have reached “standards met” on the DSPT and have signed the National Data Sharing Agreement. People have the right to say they do not want their data shared in this way.

What can families ask a care home about technology?

• Which records are digital, and which are still on paper?
• How was my relative asked for consent to any monitoring, and can they say no?
• Who can see their information, and can we see their care plan?
• Does the home complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit each year?
• What happens if the system fails, the Wi-Fi drops or the power goes out?
• When an alert sounds, who responds, and how quickly?
• Do residents and families get training or help to use any tablets and video calls?

Our checklist of questions to ask when visiting a care home pairs well with these.

Frequently asked questions

Are digital care records better than paper?

CQC’s guidance says digital records let staff update and share information in real time, support quality monitoring, and should reduce risks such as medication errors, dehydration and missed visits. They are only as good as the way staff use them.

Can a care home use sensors without my relative’s consent?

CQC’s example says monitoring needs consent from the person being monitored, or from someone authorised to consent on their behalf. If your relative cannot decide, the home should follow the mental capacity process and involve the right people.

Can I ask to see my parent’s care records?

You can ask a provider what personal information it holds about you, and request copies, verbally or in writing. For a parent’s records, the home will need to check your authority, so have any power of attorney ready.

Does CQC rate a care home on its technology?

No. CQC does not approve or rate specific technologies. It assesses whether care is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, and looks at how digital records and data security are governed as part of the well-led question.

Is AI used in care homes?

Where a provider uses AI-assisted tools, CQC says AI should support human decisions, not replace them, and people should be told clearly about its role. Ask any home what tools it uses and who checks their output.

Where to get help next

If you are choosing a home, our guide to how to choose a care home sets out what to check, and you can search for care homes near you. For equipment at home, see personal alarms and telecare in West Sussex.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Digital social care records, choosing and implementing solutions
• GOV.UK: Findings from the 2025 adult social care provider technology survey
• CQC: Digital record systems, best practice guidance
• CQC: Digital record systems, assessing and inspecting
• CQC: Artificial intelligence in health and social care
• NHS England: Enhanced health in care homes

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 9 November 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.