Sussex Village Homecare is a small, person-centred home care provider founded by Katy Clayton-Turner. With a strong focus on quality, continuity, and truly knowing each client, the business has grown steadily since its early days. Today, technology plays a vital role in helping the team deliver outstanding care while remaining efficient and compliant.
“When we started, my plan was always to keep things small and personal,” explains Katy Clayton-Turner, Founder and Registered Manager. “We have a very small team, we don’t do visits shorter than half an hour, and we always make time for a cup of tea and a chat. We know what our clients like, dislike, even their favourite colours – it’s the small details that make it better.”
Life before CareLineLive
Rostering and paper notes
In the early days, rostering was done on paper.
“The rota was written down in a diary with bits of paper everywhere,” says Katy. “As the business grew, I realised this was not the best way.”
Sophie Rolfe, Senior Carer, remembers the challenges too:
“Before CareLineLive, we were on paper spreadsheets that we were printing maybe ten, 15 times a day – if the printer worked. If not, we were writing things down by hand. Carers sometimes had to come into the office just to collect an updated rota. It was incredibly time consuming.”
Invoicing and payroll
Sophie recalls how invoicing used to be done by hand:
“Katy would hand me her invoicing pad on a Monday morning. I had to decipher her handwriting, check discrepancies between rotas and timesheets, then write up invoices and deliver them by hand. It took hours and was full of errors.”
Payroll was just as time-intensive with managers were ringing around to check who was in, who was off sick, and trying to reconcile it all manually.
Choosing CareLineLive
Katy discovered CareLineLive through a fellow care agency owner looking two or three options. She chose CareLineLive because it was local and a smaller company. her friend had bad experiences with the big providers, so she stayed well away from them. She says that with CareLineLive it wasn’t a cost thing – it was about trust.
Watch CareLineLive in action with Sussex Village Home Care
The impact of CareLineLive
Smoother rostering and operations
“CareLineLive has made the business run so much smoother,” says Katy. “We can rota easily, see who’s going where, and track hours at a glance. Nothing gets missed because carers can’t check out of a visit until all tasks are completed. That’s one of my favourite things.”
Sophie agrees:
“Now if someone calls in sick at 7am, I can make changes from home in five minutes. Carers instantly see updated visits on their phones. If a call is cancelled, it shows with a big red cross. Everyone knows where they should be, and we can see it all live.”
Faster invoicing and payroll
Invoicing that used to take three or four hours now takes under an hour – sometimes just five minutes. Managers can instantly see cancelled visits, filter by private or NHS, and click issue. Payroll links through to Xero, so this also saves hours every week.
Medication management (eMAR)
Sophie highlights the benefits of CareLineLive’s eMAR:
“It’s a live MAR chart, so even if medication changes ten minutes before a visit, carers see the update straight away. They can also check side effects and special instructions like whether tablets need to be given with water. It keeps clients safe and carers confident.”
Person-centred care
CareLineLive supports the company’s ethos of personalised care.
“It helps us keep client preferences at the centre. For example, Joe likes his tea strong with two sugars – it’s written in the app. Carers don’t have to keep asking, and clients feel listened to.
The agency provides a lot of palliative care with clients’ conditions changing daily. Having live notes and concerns flagged means they can liaise quickly with district nurses or hospices.
Family communication
The team have found the Care Circle portal is really useful. Families can see exactly what’s happening at each visit, whether carers stayed longer, or if a visit needs to be extended. It saves managers having to repeat the same update multiple times.
Saving time and boosting efficiency
“It saves me from chasing scraps of paper,” says Katy. “Families are reassured, carers have the right information, and I can keep on top of everything from my phone.”
Managers are able to upload care plans instantly, so carers see them straight away. This provides consistency for clients with the added benefit that don’t have to explain themselves over and over.
Supporting carers
Carers also benefit from the system and they have all found it easy to use. Sophie says:
“They especially love the map function. We work in rural villages, so being able to click directions to the next property is a lifesaver.”
Handover notes also help for instance if there’s a pile of washing that couldn’t be done in the morning, carers can leave a note for the lunchtime call. this keeps care flowing smoothly.
Supporting compliance and inspections
CareLineLive also played a vital role in Sussex Village Homecare’s CQC inspection.
“When the inspector asked for information, we could just say, ‘It’s on the app.’ She logged in and had everything she needed. That made life so much easier.”
The business proudly achieved a Good rating in all areas at its first inspection.
Capacity management
CareLineLive helps the business make quick decisions about new care packages.
“With CareLineLive we can instantly see if we have room for a new client or not. It takes seconds, rather than manually calculating availability. We can run reports to check current and upcoming hours, and get a real-time picture of our capacity. It means we can say yes or no with confidence.”
Challenges in the sector
Despite efficiencies, external challenges remain.
“Staffing is a nightmare,” says Katy. “People don’t want to work in care, and NHS rates aren’t great. By the time you pay mileage and travel time, it’s tough to make it profitable. We try to save money on driving distances, and we use Peninsula for HR support, but it’s hard.”
Why digital matters in home care
Katy is clear that going digital was essential:
“Paper just does not work. Unless you want to spend your whole day chasing notes and sending updates, you need a better solution. CareLineLive is worth every penny – we’d never go back.”
From paper notes and handwritten invoices to a fully digital care management system, Sussex Village Homecare has transformed its operations. CareLineLive enables the team to deliver safe, person-centred care, keep families informed, and run the business more efficiently.
As Katy sums it up:
“CareLineLive has transformed the way we work and the quality of care we provide. We wouldn’t be without it now – definitely not.”
