Innovation in home care can’t solve every challenge domiciliary care providers face. If you are a care provider in the UK, you probably feel extremely held back by the low price paid for care and the impact this has on staffing, your capacity and even care quality.
That said, the fact you have found yourself here shows you want to succeed despite these challenges, to utilise the best new innovative ideas, approaches and technologies, to help improve care quality and safety, in an efficient and sensible way.
Our sector is not necessarily the quickest to utilise these innovations. Probably in no small part due to the financial pressures faced and the disparate ways in which innovation is shared across the UK’s care networks, if at all.
At The Access Group we provide a complete suite of home care software to tens of thousands of home care services across the UK, through our relationships with clients and partners like the Home Care Association, National Care Forum and others, we stay ‘plugged in’ to how home care providers are innovating.
So, while I can’t help you getting a better rate for care services, I can show you some of the best examples of innovative home care and how they could help you and your care services.
In this article I will highlight some key examples of innovation in home care, including self-managing teams, artificial intelligence, next generation telecare and robotics.
After reading it, you should have a selection of practical approaches and technology that you can consider using in your own care services, and which you should avoid.
Telehealth has lots of benefits and challenges. One of the biggest challenges is providing telehealth to older adults.
Like the rest of the UK, you are more than likely to be aware that the use of telehealth and telemedicine has risen dramatically since the pandemic. Even if you are unsure what telehealth means, you have more than likely been exposed to it thanks to the rise in virtual health visits.
In 2020 80% physicians and 22% of consumers were using virtual visits and these numbers continue to rise. However, with the number of virtual visits increasing telehealth services have experienced a number of barriers and challenges.
The cost of telehealth services, plus the cost and staff involved in using telehealth technologies can vary from place to place. As a whole the use of telehealth services across the whole of the UK rose dramatically during the pandemic. Even though the rate of health and social care providers and local authorities using telehealth services have stabilized since then there have been many benefits for both end-users and the system itself.
But just how much do telehealth services cost and is telehealth cost effective?
If you are a health or social care provider, or a loved one you may be wondering whether the return on investment for telehealth services is worth it and whether you will still receive the same quality of care virtually.
Assistive technology (AT) has transformed the way care services support people with age-related conditions and disabilities. These assistive technologies are beginning to play a crucial role in care homes, as they enhance the quality of life for residents, promote independence and improve overall health and wellbeing. From helping people living with dementia maintain cognitive function, to aiding those with physical impairments to perform daily tasks, assisted technology offers a wide range of solutions.
The Access Group have been supporting care services across the world for over 30 years through digitisation. We know more than most about the fantastic impact technology can have on a business and how it can save time, money, space and resources in the long run.
As the use and development of assistive technology increases, we thought it would be a great idea to put together this comprehensive guide, so you can gain a better understanding of these devices and learn how they can improve the lives of your service users. We will take a closer look at the importance of assistive technology in care homes and provide examples of assistive technology being utilised to address a variety of needs.
Outcomes focused care is an approach in health and social care that concentrates on tailoring specific goals and outcomes to best suit an individual’s needs. It’s one of the most crucial ways to help improve both the quality and the continuity of care delivered.
But what is outcomes-focused care and how can the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework help to achieve better outcomes for adults who need care and support?.
With the UK population changing and almost 11 million people being aged 65 and over, the needs for older people keep changing. The demand for social care keeps increasing and social care providers are struggling to meet the demand.
At The Access Group we are aware of the challenges facing the social care market and the importance of improving the quality of care delivered.
By the end of this article, the importance of outcomes focused care and what it is will be explained as well as, what the benefits are from using this approach, and how to overcome challenges when implementing outcomes focused care to get the best outcomes possible, prolong independence, and improve the overall health and wellbeing of your community.
Increasing independence in health and social care is not just a goal it is a way to improve an individual’s quality of life. With over 3.2 million people being aged 80 or over in the UK and many of them living with more than one chronic condition, being able to facilitate independence so they can live independently for longer has never been more so important. It helps to both reduce the burden on the NHS and families to delay future care needs.
Our ageing population shows that more people are living longer lives with potential additional needs which come from old age. Both the government and The Care Act 2014 are aiming to ensure people can live independently in their homes for longer to help delay future care needs and prevent individuals feeling they have lost their independence.
But you may be wondering what exactly does independence in health and social care mean, why is it important, and how best can care providers and local authorities facilitate it?
At The Access Group we work with providers of care, the NHS and local authorities. Though this we’re well acquainted with the challenges facing the social care market and how important it is for individuals to be more proactive and independent in managing their health to reduce their dependency on clinical support, care homes, and carers. Our Assure offering allows individuals to live a home longer safely whilst reassuring loved ones support is there when they need it.
This article will review what it means to promote independence in health and social care as well as how to maintain independence so individuals can live at home longer to delay future care needs and reduce the dependency on care homes, by delivering more proactive care. After reading you will have a greater understanding of what independence means and what you can do to promote and support it.
Community housing technology enabled care services are ever-growing in demand just like technology enabled care services in general.
With the analogue to digital telecare switchover happening imminently, there has never been a more crucial time for housing associations to invest in easy-to-use and effective technology-enabled care to increase independence and provide better housing support.
But what are community housing technology enabled care services and why are they important?
At Access Technology Enabled Care (Access TEC) we are aware of the challenges when implementing digital telecare in the housing sector and we want to make the transition as smooth as possible to ensure that residents get the support they need to achieve their independent living goals.
This article will review what community technology enabled care services are, why they are important, as well as the challenges that can occur in providing these services to your residents, so you can have the best methods in place to overcome these barriers and ensure that each resident receives the housing support needed.
Burnout in social care is causing significant staff retention and recruitment issues. A recent report by HFT and Care England found that a third of care providers have considered exiting the social care market due to financial pressures, further compounding the issue.
In the CQC’s State of Care Report 21/22 they stated that staff turnover is at an all-time high across both healthcare and social care leading to many care homes, agencies, and providers having to turn down contracts due to not being able to keep up with capacity.
Care worker stress then continues to build for adult social care workers left working in the market as the demand increases but the resources continue to plummet. At the start of 2022 alone, 2.2 million hours of homecare could not be delivered because of insufficient work capacities.
But what is causing care worker stress and how can local authorities help to work with healthcare and social care providers to prevent staff burnout and improve the continuity of care as individuals transition through the system?
At The Access Group we are aware of the challenges facing the adult social care market and the impacts it has on care workers, care homes, care providers, local authorities, and individuals and their families themselves.
We want to help overcome these issues so workloads can be more manageable and resource allocation can improve so individuals can receive the right care and support when they need it to avoid long waiting times, pressure continuing to build on the social care market, and most importantly prevent more social care workers leaving the profession due to burnout.
In this article we will review what burnout in social care is, what the main causes are, why it is important for everyone involved to notice the signs of burnout and how best to prevent it, as well as explaining how technology can help prevent burnout, which in turn can help improve the quality of care delivered.
Rare diseases have been part of Chris Williams’ life for a long time. Growing up, his parents were seriously ill with long-term conditions. His father died from a rare kidney disease, and he was the primary carer for his mother, who developed trigeminal neuralgia.
Chris founded the award-winning Tiggo Care after looking for carers for his mother and discovering that many care organisations were not set up to cater for people with a rare disease and intermittent needs. Tiggo Care provides a wide range of home care services in London including personal care and more complex support, including for people with rare diseases.
Here, Chris talks about rare diseases, supporting his parents and providing personal care for people with uncommon conditions to help you understand more about rare diseases and how best to support people living with them.
The best domiciliary care software in the UK depends on your service’s individual needs. There are many established domiciliary care software systems. The one which is best for you is the one that helps you to deliver the right care, with the right skills, at the right place and time.
In this article we will review eight of the leading domiciliary care management systems in the UK:
- Birdie
- everyLIFE PASS
- CarePlanner
- Carebeans
- unique:IQ
- Nursebuddy
- CareLineLive
- Access
Each domiciliary care system will be evaluated using the same five criteria. This will allow you to decide which software for domiciliary care is the best choice for you.
