Home users can set up the shift patterns within the home. Each home’s shift pattern can be unique. As many shifts as required can be entered by clicking on ‘Shifts’ in the menu under ’Home Administration’ to reach the following screen:
This shows an example set up for a nursing home with 45 beds. Each shift shows the start and end times, the length of any break deducted from the hours (more on this in a moment), the number of each grade deployed across all of the units, and the total staff per shift. Note that night shifts are marked with an asterisk. N.B: staff numbers are not entered on this screen; they are entered separately under each unit.
Click on ‘Add Shift’ to access the following screen:
Complete the information; the ‘Break Length’ is for longer meal breaks, usually lunchtime and the middle of the night. It is not for coffee and other short breaks which DepenSys takes into account in its calculations.
Indicating a ‘Night Shift’ as such ensures that the day and night staffing ratios are calculated correctly.