Rethinking night-time care at Greys Residential Care Home
For more than 40 years, Greys Residential Care Home has cared for residents with low to moderate needs, including people living with dementia and cognitive decline. As a 24-bed, family-run home, the focus has always been on calm, respectful care, particularly at night, when residents are most vulnerable.
But like many care homes, Greys faced a familiar tension: how to keep residents safe overnight without disturbing them unnecessarily.
Before Ally: doing the right thing, the hard way
Before Ally was introduced, night-time care at Greys relied heavily on routine physical checks and sensor mats. These approaches were well-intended, but they often disrupted residents’ sleep and placed pressure on staff time.
Anthony Browne, Registered Manager at Greys Residential, explains:
“The main challenges we faced at night were that staff carried out regular checks, which disturbed certain residents and were quite time consuming. If something more urgent came up, those checks could then be delayed.”
Sensor mats added another layer of difficulty. Alerts were frequent, but often unnecessary.
“We had quite a high reliance on sensor mats to alert staff if a resident was accessing their room independently. That would trigger an alert and mean staff would intervene and check if they were okay. Sometimes that intervention was needed, but more often than not they were just going to the toilet and didn’t need support. It felt unintentionally intrusive.”
At the same time, the home was experiencing a high number of falls, particularly in February and March 2025. Both residents and staff were feeling the impact.
A change in approach
In April 2025, Greys introduced Ally’s AI resident monitoring system. The intention was not to remove staff oversight, but to reduce unnecessary disturbance and enable teams to respond more accurately when residents genuinely needed support.
Within the first three months, measurable changes were already evident:
- 14% reduction in disturbing checks
- 44% reduction in physical checks
- Around four staff hours freed per night
- 41 occasions where care was delivered closer to the time of need
Falls reduction and safer nights
One of the most immediate and significant outcomes was the reduction in night-time falls.
- May 2025: 1 night-time fall
- June 2025: 0 night-time falls
- July 2025: 0 night-time falls
Anthony reflects on this change:
“Since the introduction of Ally I have noticed a reduction in falls over a 24-hour period, and I can only attribute that to the way Ally monitors residents’ night-time activities. In May we had one night-time fall, in June none, and in July none recorded. Back in February and March there were very high numbers of falls, both with and without injury. Since March/April, when Ally was installed, there has been a clear indication that falls have dropped.”
Greys’ experience reflects wider evidence on reducing night-time falls in care homes when sleep is better protected.
Better sleep leading to better days
As night-time disturbance reduced, staff began to notice a difference in residents during the day. Residents appeared more rested, more engaged and more interested in activities.
“Our falls during the day have also dropped. It’s not a tangible thing as such, but when I speak to residents they just seem brighter and more attentive. When we run activities, there’s a higher level of interest, maybe because they’re not needing a nap. There’s more energy in the home.”
This mirrors what Ally has learned about sleep in care homes, where reduced disturbance supports safer outcomes. Staff also observed that calmer nights translated into greater stability and confidence throughout the day.
A more person-centred way of working
With Ally supporting night-time decision-making, Greys was able to move away from routine, time-based checks and towards a more individualised approach to care.
“It gives reassurance that we’re doing a good job and delivering care in a person-centred way, rather than generically templating everyone to be checked every two hours. It gives confidence not only in the management of the home, but also in the direction of Greys in embracing the right technology in the right way. It benefits residents and reassures colleagues that we’re a forward-thinking company adding value to people’s experience of living here.”
This shift also had a positive impact on staff morale, particularly on night shifts.
“I talk to staff about Ally and they tell me what challenges they’re facing and what adjustments might be needed. They appreciate having the system because it reduces unnecessary interruptions for residents. That makes them feel better about their job, because they’re not going in and disturbing people.”
Culture change and staff confidence
Although there were initial concerns about changing long-established routines, staff adoption happened more quickly than expected.
“One of the benefits I didn’t expect was how open staff were to getting on board and how quickly they adapted to a new way of working. They had been conditioned to do physical checks at set times, and I thought that would be a barrier. There was still some desire to double-check physically, but Ally proved reliable and colleagues came to trust it. That shift happened quicker than I expected.”
Insight and oversight
Ally also gave management clearer visibility into what was happening overnight, supporting handovers, reviews and audits.
“Every day I check the morning handover. Yesterday, for example, 22 residents had a peaceful night and none had an active night. Today I saw seven had an active night. I can look into that and see whether it was early evening, mid-night, or early morning, and also how quickly staff responded to the sounds. I find that very helpful.”
Leadership reflection
From a leadership perspective, the impact aligned closely with Greys’ values around dignity and quality of life.
Jo Kennedy, Director, CQC Provider & Director, said:
“As a family-run home, our priority has always been providing calm, respectful care that genuinely improves residents’ quality of life. Introducing Ally has supported that aim by helping our teams work more thoughtfully at night, reduce unnecessary disruption, and focus on what residents actually need.”
Looking ahead
Reflecting on the overall impact, Anthony is clear about the difference Ally has made.
“I can’t help but feel that the introduction of Ally has had a notable impact on our residents’ well-being. The results we’ve spoken about support that.”
