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.
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.
Commissioning cycles for social care can vary across different local authorities. The social care needs of a local authority can change continuously so it is vital procedures are in place to accommodate that so every individual gets the care they need when they need it.
But, what are the best ways to do this?
With the NHS pushing local authorities to use both population health management and strength-based approach, it can get complicated when figuring out how best to commission care in your local area to accommodate to your local community’s needs whilst following specific approaches, and aiming to reach national targets.
Whether you are a care provider or a care commissioner it is vital to understand the commissioning cycle definition and how to adapt it to meet the care needs of your local area. With budgets so limited it is crucial to have methods in place that re-evaluate the care delivered to ensure the best care quality at the best price is always delivered.
At The Access Group we have encountered many local authorities using cyclical models to define requirements, select providers, and evaluate their services.
This article will review what the commissioning cycle is in social care, why it is important, as well as breaking down the commissioning cycle stages and what the benefits are from using technology in every step of the commissioning cycle to enable better commissioning, better outcomes, and better quality of life for the residents in your local community.
The UK domiciliary care market is continuing to grow year on year. In 2020 it was recorded that over 810,000 people were receiving homecare across the UK and it is clear that number is continuing to rise rapidly.
In fact, The Department of Health and Social Care have predicted that 57% more adults aged 65 and over in England will require homecare in 2038 compared to 2018.
As the demand keeps increasing so does the pressure on care providers to arrange and deliver the care and support individuals require to delay future care needs, help reduce discharge delays, and allow individuals to remain as independent in their own homes for as long as possible.
In order to reach this demand successfully, local authorities need to overcome the home care challenges which care providers, caregivers, care workers, and the individuals themselves have to deal with.
But what are the challenges that are facing the domiciliary care market and how can they be avoided or overcome?
This article will review what domiciliary care is, the challenges facing the market and how best to overcome them with technology, so local authorities can be better prepared for the demand now and in the future to ensure the best quality and continuity of care is always delivered.
Are you looking for local government technology trends that will improve the quality and mitigate the risks to the range of services your local government department provides? Have you recently started revitalising your digital journey but are not sure what software, products, or equipment are best to invest in? Or maybe you’re just interested in seeing how other local authorities are innovating workflows with technology?
If that is you, then your first step is to fully understand the variety of technology that can be used to improve your services.
Very much like legislation, technology is constantly changing. It is essential to keep up-to-date with the latest technology advances and trends to ensure the needs of citizens in your local area are met, outcomes improve, and both local and national targets are reached.
CQC inspections of local authorities were reintroduced as part of the Health and Care Act 2022, as you are probably already aware.
These changes allow the CQC to act upon their additional responsibilities laid out in the Care Act 2014. Here their additional responsibilities include assessing how local authorities are meeting their adult social care duties including market shaping, market oversight and more.
You may be wondering exactly how the CQC inspections of local authorities will work, what will the CQC be assessing, and most importantly how can your local council can best prepare for CQC local authority inspections.
At the Access Group we want to make sure that all local authorities are as prepared as they can be for these new inspection changes, and we will be answering these key questions in this article.
As well as addressing the fundamentals about the changes to the CQC inspection we will also address how the CQC have been preparing their assessment methods and what they discovered from testing and the changes they are making to ensure when these new inspections take place they will be effective and beneficial for all those involved.
The availability of the Local Digital Fund is more important than ever as the UK looks to steadily modernise public services to catch up to the technological levels present in other aspects of society.
Digitisation is the driver behind local government technology trends at present, with a demand to better handle data management, communication, the transition to cloud-based data storage (rather than huge server racks) and to improve cyber security in the wake of an ever-rising number of attempts to illegally access private information.
The benefits are self-evident, but the cost of digital transformation in local government is a difficult challenge for local authorities – many of whom are fighting to break even each year. We’ve already heard the sad news that Birmingham and Nottingham city councils have, respectively, declared bankruptcy. These won’t be the last councils to struggle with the economic squeeze post-pandemic, so it’s important that financial assistance is given to ensure that key projects such as digitisation aren’t overlooked given how vital they are to the future functionality of government and the potential for cost-savings too.
In this article we will explore the local digital funding available to local authorities in England specifically, as well as where councils can find the funds, how to apply for funding, and some examples of successful development off the back of receiving funding.
Local digital funding
YPO and Access Adam Care Commissioning have been in partnership since 2020. This partnership has been able to provide bespoke commissioning solutions to customers across health and social care, transport, housing, and procurement.
But what are the benefits of this partnership? How does it overcome the challenges the public sector face during the procurement cycle and what are the best ways to use YPO frameworks?
By the end of this article, all these questions should be answered as well how a YPO framework agreement works, and how working with both YPO and Access Adam Care Commissioning is the best way to procure the services and goods your local authority needs at the best value for money.
At The Access Group we are aware of the challenges of procurement in the public sector and they can be difficult to overcome, especially when transitioning to digital procurement. We want to help local authorities make the process of commissioning and procuring the services they tend as easy as possible, at a better value, and take a fraction of the time.
This article will review who YPO are, how they work, why we decided to partner with them, as well as the best ways your local community can work with both of us to get the best outcomes.
Prevention and early intervention in health and social care is undoubtedly crucial to ensure we delay future care needs, reduce hospital admissions and readmissions, and reduce the pressure on the NHS, and clinicians, and social care providers.
But, you are probably aware there has been a shift towards implementing more proactive care to catch illnesses and conditions earlier to reduce hospitalisations, discharge delays and have a better and bigger positive impact on people’s lives so no care need is left unmet.
The shift towards proactive care is important as it is driven by the desire to improve outcomes, enhance quality of life, and create a more sustainable and efficient health and social care system.
With more than 10% of patients being on waiting lists for treatments for up to a year, making the shift from reactive care to preventative and proactive care is essential to delay and reduce the need for further care and support in the future. Digital telecare is a great way to achieve by offering the opportunity to increase independence and decrease the dependency on social care providers and the NHS.
But what exactly is the difference, and why is the shift important, how will being more proactive help local authorities, hospitals, and most importantly the individual?
At the Access Group we are aware of how important the shift to proactive care is and want to make this shift as easy as possible to minimise disruption.
This article will review the difference between reactive, preventative and proactive care to highlight the importance of being more proactive to address every unmet need and ensure no one is left without the high quality care they need, as well as what the challenges are when making the shift to proactive care and how best to overcome them.
