After facing a series of substantial cutbacks to their budget and at the same time having a growing number of older patients requiring publicly funded social care, Hampshire City Council were struggling to find a solution to both of these huge issues.
Hampshire’s management team needed to find something that could keep the costs low but also assure the safety and security of their patients, after assessing the situation they quickly realised that they were not utilising assistive technology to its full potential.
AT, also known as Telecare, has been around for several years but Hampshire’s social workers were not deploying it frequently to their vulnerable adult service users. Where it was used, there was no feedback system to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Eventually the council decided to make Telecare a more mainstream option and decided to promote it as a safe and viable alternative to home visits when reduced personal care is required.
They also focused on how Telecare could help enable people to stay in their own homes and out of costly residential institutions for as long as possible.
Success Relies on the Evidence
The success of a Telecare service has little to do with the supply and operation of the equipment itself, and more to do with how it changes the staff behaviour. This would require a good understanding of the opportunities and benefits available, as well as confidence in the safety and quality of the service. Staff will need to understand what is available so that they will be able to identify the right candidates for this service.
Success also relies on being able to show evidence of the new system’s benefits. If good results can be proven, it encourages social workers to refer more clients to the service, further increasing its impact.
The system put in place by Hampshire council involved training around 700 social workers who were able to identify good candidates for Telecare. An online referral process was also developed to speed up the process and within 8 months the programme saw a tenfold increase of Telecare referrals. Within this same period of time the system managed to record over £500,000 in net savings, effectively making it run for free for the council now.
If the Telecare system can offer the same level of round the clock care that people require but for a fraction of the price, then using it should be a no brainer. However each council is unique and will require specific modifications to a system such as this so the success or failure of the system will be dependent on the local area and patients located therein. It would be nice to see more local councils follow Hampshire’s example and give the system a test run.
Do you think that this Telecare system will be effective and what can be done to make it more appealing?
Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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