Homecare Association and Tech Event review

Dr Jane Townson OBE of the Homecare Association delivered the opening remarks for the day, before moving on to the first of the event’s seminars to the audience titled “How can technology solutions help move care closer to home?” – the first of eight talks throughout the day. 

“Panel 3: What can we learn from the data in digital systems?” featured The Access Group’s Steve Sawyer, who spoke about what Access has discovered whilst developing solutions alongside NHS trusts and other partners, and how data is generating ever more insights which in turn is helping us to hone our data capturing but also to expand what it is we’re looking to catch and analyse. 

A full list of the day’s talks and panels can be found on the Homecare Association website and their dedicated conference 2024 page.

Financial constraints and tightening budgets have been common viewing in the media for the last few years, but it’s the belief of the event’s speakers that there are ways to get more out of domiciliary and residential care. 

Person-centred care is a long-standing ambition of the NHS and other care providers, but the reality is that constraints often mean “time and task” is the go-to approach; methodical and a little calculated, but a fair way of delivering consistent care. The argument was made that modern care technology can help redirect focus by providing new data-driven insights to help shape care delivery. 

A big part of what this could and should be helping was coaching and leadership. Current hierarchical systems are deemed archaic and dated, but platforms for training and development could empower current leaders with coaching skills so that they can foster a culture of collaboration and innovation, and help breed future leaders in the process.

As a solutions provider, we’re inevitably going to advocate for health and care technology and the benefits good solutions can provide, but our bias isn’t wrong to suggest that. Digital tools can and are optimising workflows and providing greater support, education, and freedom to healthcare professionals. 

There are five things that the experts highlighted as benefiting from technology: 

On a tangent, when it came to the topic of funding the general rhetoric was to apply – even if you know your service is unlikely to succeed – because you will be given a list of reasons as to why you haven’t passed and these will allow you to build a better case next time you apply for funding.

Having the information to hand can be challenging for many care homes and other care providers. A lack of awareness regards care solutions is quite common, and while providers like The Access Group do their best, there’s always more that needs doing to reach the full audience and showcase what’s on offer and what it does. Further education was deemed the key to this, though more accessible resources and better targeting of engagement.   

This solves the intelligence challenge, but there’s also financial issues too. The budget constraints we discussed earlier are a significant barrier. Again, education can help here too, with support for advocacy for government grants or partnerships to onboard scalable solutions. 

This support is especially welcome when considering the fragmented market for care technology can confuse providers. Collaboration between stakeholders can simplify adoption pathways. There seemed to be a strong opinion in the room that Local Authorities were not moving in line with care businesses, which is something that needs to be addressed. 

That is a people problem, and people are always going to be a challenge. There’s invariably resistance to change and a fear of new technologies. These issues must be mitigated through ongoing education and strong leadership. 

The key thing hammered home is that there must be adaptability to change. Technology offers care homes and others the tools for a dynamic response to future challenges; long-term safeguards and solutions to known or unknown problems. This goes beyond compliance and note-taking, and gets down to the core nature of data and communication; data capture, insights, analytics, forecasting, and the sharing of all the above and more with other colleagues and stakeholders.

Artificial intelligence sounds cool and futuristic, whilst AI sounds short, sharp and scary. The reality is that a good chunk of it revolves around machine learning and pattern recognition to optimise workflows and processes, and what we the public see is just a fraction of its purpose. 

With this pattern recognition, AI can predict risks, automate administrative tasks, and personalize care plans, allowing staff to focus on human interaction. This enhances care delivery, and it’s worth pursuing – on the care delivery side and the solutions development side. 

The Access Group has its own ethical AI guild to guide our hand in developing our own AI, Access Evo, and that’s an important step we’ve taken and that others should too. Developers have a responsibility to implement ethics in the build process so that AI understands its limitations and adheres to rules that do no harm.  

It’s also on senior management and leadership to be transparent and honest with their workforce and to work in collaboration with providers to ensure complementary support for human decision-making, rather than a takeover. 

Again the speakers’ consensus came back to training and education: we must equip care workers with the knowledge to use AI effectively; demystifying the concept and developing trust, so that stigma and fear don’t deny the opportunity for enhancing care delivery and encouraging better outcomes.

Many effective solutions fail to scale up in size and scope due to funding or systemic barriers. Demonstrating measurable outcomes and building case studies can drive broader adoption, which helps raise the floor of care quality. 

Similarly, collaboration and data sharing allows insights to go back and forth between care teams and stakeholders, meaning care homes can create more integrated workflows and provide better person-centered care.

Where better technology can overcome the issue of scalability, so too can it support automation and thus the streamlining of operations. Automating processes like rostering, payroll, and auditing reduces administrative burden, freeing staff to focus on care delivery. Care professionals don’t want to be doing admin – they want to be helping people in need. 

This automation also supports faster decision making, delivering real-time insights from automated systems to improve response times for care interventions.

Following up on the earlier discussions of recruitment and retention, speakers and guests alike brought up the power of technology to transform the thinking around recruitment. 

AI was posed as a more intelligent solution, utilising algorithms to assess key data points like qualifications, location, and availability to match candidates efficiently, reducing bottlenecks. There was also talk about process optimisation and how technology can simplify onboarding and ensure workers are set up for success from the start, fostering longer-term retention.

The Buurtzorg onion model is a radiating model of care. The client is at the centre, as is their self-management, but then each layer of ‘the onion’ adds in elements such as informal and formal networks for care and support. 

The system looks at the independence and activation of patients or clients, but also highlights the benefits of person-centred care and the innovations that can be achieved by engaging with people in a different way. 

The room’s consensus was that systemic change shouldn’t apply to just the clients though. Staff should have better education, coaching, to empower them and improve team dynamics. There should also be better local recruitment to foster a deeper connection between care workers and the community they serve, improving health outcomes.

The tenth and final theme of the day brought us back to care outcomes and how to improve them. Unsurprisingly technology was deemed the key here, and the experts told us how. 

Resource optimization was the first point, discussing how AI tools can identify inefficiencies and recommend improvements, maximizing care delivery without additional costs. Again it was reiterated that it is nothing without careful and responsible leadership and operation. 

The benefits of independence and supported living were also discussed, and how quality of life and the home comforts can help people live longer, more fulfilled lives with the help of through remote monitoring and connected care solutions. This also would have added cost benefits due to reduced hospital admission long-term, and greater satisfaction with individuals feeling less inconsistent in their wellbeing. 

Data again was showcases, and the importance of actionable insights from high-quality data analytics to help care teams make informed decisions, improving both individual and systemic outcomes, but all of the above was second fiddle to the big point made about proactive health management. This was the point really hammered home - early interventions, facilitated by technology, can delay or prevent the onset of complex care needs, reducing long-term costs per individual.  

Monetary concerns can’t merely be brushed off as a distraction from bigger picture thinking, because ultimately money does make care delivery happen, but a lot of thinking has been hindered by concerns over budgets and a hesitation to further explore ideas behind collaboration, or trial projects. Greater efficiency, more staff retention, and reduced readmission all add to money saving, and that return on investment is what will help the care sector go from fighting the tide to surfing the waves.