Comment: Tunstall Healthcare on how technology can be deployed to enable people to live better lives
The Adult Social Care Committee’s spotlight on adult social care, a “gloriously ordinary life”, was published recently in effort to change perceptions of the social care sector. With over 165,000 vacancies across the social care sector, it continues to face challenges when it comes to effective delivery of its services.
The Adult Social Care Committee’s spotlight on adult social care, a “gloriously ordinary life”, was published to change perceptions of the social care sector, drive understanding through the voices of lived experiences, and encourage social care to become a national imperative.
With 165,000 vacancies, the social care sector continues to face challenges when it comes to the effective delivery of its services. However, recent findings suggest that by integrating technology effectively into the sector, service providers may see a reduction in the requirement for acute care, and quicker response times.
Reshaping the delivery of support
Over the years we’ve seen care provision and requirements from citizens go through significant changes. The 1980s saw the rise of private care, while today we’re seeing an emphasis on the provision of nursing care for people with high support needs, particularly as they come to the end of their life. This is continuing to evolve as we move into a digital-first world which can positively impact the ability of social care providers to deliver proactive, and preventative care that is tailored to each individual. We’re at a unique point in history where our technology networks are having a complete overhaul with the digital transition ongoing up to, and beyond, 2025.
By integrating modern solutions into service provision, such as SaaS models and cloud-based solutions, social care providers and other operators will be able to harness the power of digital technology and reshape services to better meet the demands of our modern population.
Reflecting modern work styles and demands
The reshaping of services in turn impacts working patterns and locations. The compelling benefits for all stakeholders, including from an economic and operational perspective, are clear when considering how technology can be used to reflect modern ways of working.
As technology advances, we have the capability to not only react to events, but to predict and even prevent them, using data-driven insights. The digital solutions of today help to create intelligent, personalised care programmes and effectively allocate resources, making sure staff are able to deploy the right levels of support and reassurance to the people that need them.
As more investment is deployed in digital solutions, services are being designed and built for the modern, digital telecare world that harness the benefits of being able to add greater flexibility to our work environments, whilst freeing up time and investment resources typically required to deploy hardware and manage the technology or travel.
Setting new standards
New products, such as Tunstall’s Lifeline Digital, provide robust connectivity and platforms for highly personalised and efficient care solutions, leading to new standards of care.
Care provision is becoming increasingly focused on supporting independence at home, including older people, those with reduced mobility and those managing long term health conditions. Round the clock intelligent connectivity and monitoring can enable vulnerable people to live a gloriously ordinary life through dedicated reassurance that their wellbeing is being monitored and supported, 24 hours a day.
