On Saturday 7th December Connected Care Camp is bringing together professionals, people who use services, carers and volunteers from across the care, health, housing, community services and voluntary sectors to explore how innovative thinking and technology can improve the wellbeing of individuals who need care and support as well as their families and carers. Connected Care Camp is provided as part of the Hub Launchpad and FutureGov Public Sector Innovation programme.
Thanks to everyone who completed our online survey for Connected Care Camp. These problems will form the starting point for our discussions on the day as we consider a whole range of possible solutions guided by the considerable and diverse knowledge and experiences of participants.
We are not live streaming Connected Care Camp because most of the day will be taking place across six different breakout sessions but you can follow and contribute on Twitter using #psicare. We will be taking photos (with thanks to @tomsprints) and hopefully will be capturing highlights through some video interviews.
Snapshot of the responses
The problems identified from the online survey and discussions (NB: this is not an exhaustive list of all the care challenges confronting social care, health and housing sectors )
Problems to be explored in the Breakout Sessions
1. Social Isolation and Loneliness
How can health and care services support people who are lonely and isolated?
How can we learn and share lessons from successes and failure across the wider care sector?
2. Information, Advice and Support
People struggle to find information, guidance and advice – how can we improve the systems?
How can we support self-funders and help make their purchase of care services more effective? What are the implications of the Care Bill?
How can we learn and share lessons from successes and failure across the wider care sector?
3. Connected Communities
How can we support more connected communities?
How can we support people with disabilities to live more independent and fulfilling lives?
How can we encourage all hospitals and care homes to provide wi-fi and internet access and ensure that residents in care homes are less isolated?
How can digital technology help to support carers & care networks?
How can we find out who funds innovation in the care and health sectors?
How can we learn and share lessons from successes and failure across the wider care sector?
4. Digital Literacy, Inclusion and Technology Barriers
How can we support staff, people who use care services, carers and volunteers to improve their digital skills and feel more confident using technology?
How can we negotiate the internal barriers which stop the adoption of technology which will support people to live more independently?
How can we share innovations including digital technology and good practice across the wider care sector?
Are commissioners aware of the importance of continuing technical support when establishing technology projects?
How can technology help develop the local care market place?
How can we learn and share lessons from successes and failure across the wider care sector?
5. The challenges of Integrated Care
How can we ensure that integration is focused not on systems but on co-ordinating care and support around individual needs and aspirations?
Are there any alternatives to the 15 minute care visits?
How could doctors, nurses, social workers and support staff better coordinate care planning and visits?
How can we encourage care homes to have video links to GPs and hospital doctors to avoid unnecessary visits and disruption?
How can technology help to reduce unplanned or readmissions to hospitals and ensure effective discharges
There are particular challenges for people living in rural areas to access services & product. How can technology help us to address the rural premium?
How can we learn and share lessons from successes and failure across the wider care sector?
6. User and patient engagement and the personalisation of services
How can digital technologies give people more control of their care and support and make person-centered care a reality?
Are there practical ways in which we can implement effective preventative measures?
Can we make any connections with NHS Change Day?
How can we run an effective campaign in the care sector to challenge perceptions and change the conversations?
How can policymakers (e.g. Health and Wellbeing Boards) use social media to liaise with local people?
How can we learn and share lessons from successes and failure across the wider care sector?
What do you think the wider care sector should stop doing i.e. because it involves duplication or is not cost-effective?
Endless assessments (that are not acted upon/shared) ‘buck passing’ between services
Evidencing everything – instead find intelligent ways to do this to support care staff – so they are not spending all there time working on paperwork rather than care.
Large scale system developments – these invariably seem to be expensive with dubious improvements in the quality of care and support
Transport and ignoring the wider community offer.
Commissioning separate services for a specific client group
Not sharing information between professionals working with one individual. There is a major cost to duplicating of collection of data, storing and not sharing.
The training of carers is not good enough and needs to be overhauled
Make medication reviews mandatory for older people every 3 months. This to be done by a pharmacist to avoid duplication, conflicts and unnecessary repeats
Using jargon
Spending money on high level conferences and developing top down national initiatives
In local government – let go.
Commissioning in blocks
Find different ways of dealing with falls – current call outs are very costly for Ambulance Trusts.
Practical ideas about where money should be spent
Prevention, Prevention, Prevention
Developing capacity at neighbourhood level and encouraging micro-commissioning via online service portals.
Identify mavens/community champions – the people who know things in the community and ask them how we can support them in what they do. Do not create systems or structures for them to work within – they are already ‘doing it’. It should be about public services supporting what already exists, not building new.
Increasing number of hospital support assistants so that older people can be offered regular fluids to avoid delayed hospital discharge because of urinary tract infection.
Training for those interviewing care staff to ensure that those being cared for are not vulnerable to abuse.
Use data/info to focus approaches and look at effective discharges. Develop a new role for health and care mentors.
Develop voluntary connected care champions in every neighbourhood.
Carers want to support each other through sharing their experiences, carer to carer training and using technology. Carers are fearful of asking for help from local/public sector but carers and their skills are community assets and they should be given micro finance to support and help identify more carers. Technology and reciprocity schemes are important to carers too.
Joint commissioning and integrated services.
The challenges in the system are significant in terms of technology and the lack of specific transfers between key professionals. Still heavy reliance on faxes for example.
Increasing the digital skills of activities co-ordinators Raising awareness in care organisation about the importance of technology
Providing digital access is a major barrier for connecting care. User demand can only happen when you give people the plaform and the skills.
Encouraging cross sector collaboration. What can business do in terms of working with the providers and Local Authorities around preventative measures? We need to acknowledge the ability to recruit talent and drive engagement for productivity is affected by factors outside the workplace.
bonklesoul
Ermy
shirleyayres
Connecting Social Care and Social Media 