A market leading technology company, HAS Technology, is urging local authorities and care providers to embrace digital solutions and innovation to tackle the social care crisis, following the release of the CQC State of Care report.
The report, an annual assessment of health and social care in England, states that ‘the wider challenge for providers and health and social care communities is to now consider technology in the broader strategic sense, as an enabler of high-quality care’.
Various barriers to adopting new technologies were identified in the report, including funding to invest in technology; attitudes of staff towards technology; IT infrastructures; and data protection.
There is also the perception that technology could replace personal support and that users of adult social care are not able or do not want to embrace technology.
CM, part of HAS Technology Group, has found that the person-centred technology service they provide has actually received positive feedback from everyone involved in the circle of support, including healthcare professionals, service users and their families.
Moving away from a more traditional outlook on care delivery and implementing technology can provide the ability to gather intelligence, support the achievement of outcomes and ensure the right care is delivered, at the right time.
Mark Kennion, CM Director, commented: “The CQC State of Care report has shown that the delivery of care in England overall is of good quality. However, it also highlighted that although there are a range of technologies being used to deliver care, these tend to be in scenarios where there is a specific need.
“Although we are continually researching and developing the latest technology for our customers to implement, sometimes the very basic of innovation can make a huge difference to the quality of care delivered. Using mobile phones, instead of timesheets for example, provides a real-time view of care delivery whilst delivering significant back-office efficiencies.
“The care sector needs to be brave to embrace digital transformation. With the cost efficiencies that can be made, the simplest implementation of technology can be an affordable solution with benefits for all involved.”
CM’s vision is to help improve the efficiency and quality of home care delivery with the belief that care should be good quality with services that are transparent.
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham’s Homecare Reablement Service, user of CM and rated ‘Outstanding’ by CQC, implemented technology to support efficient scheduling of visits, improved communication with field-based staff and real-time information on service delivery.
Their Community Independence Service Manager commented: “Care is about people and we empower our staff to provide a responsive, caring service. This is underpinned by processes and systems that promote safe and effective delivery.”
CM started as a simple visit time recording solution and has grown rapidly now supporting 122 local authorities and over 3,000 care provider branches with integrated care monitoring, scheduling, care management and financial management solutions, as well as latest innovations including wearable technology.
CM has continually innovated to meet the changing needs of the social care market and has been at the forefront of supporting outcomes-based commissioning and continuity of care delivery, with over 240,000 service users currently benefiting from CM’s technology services.
