As the UK’s population grows older, housing providers will need to play a more advanced role in the care of older residents, and integration between the health and housing sector must begin to take shape. Both sectors in many cases have valuable data and information relevant to the independence and care of older age residents, and when these two bodies operate in silos important time and resources are wasted in an experience that is as costly for the resident as it is providers.
Tunstall healthcare has responded to the Government’s 10 Year Capital Plan for Health and Social Care, and has called on the housing, health and social care sectors to ensure that digital transformation remains firmly focused on the people it is trying to help.
The plan sets out a decade-long shift from hospital to community, analogue to digital and reactive to prevention, backed by major investment in digital infrastructure to support people to live independently at home.
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However, technology-enabled care (TEC) specialist firm, Tunstall Healthcare, says the success of that transformation will depend on whether technology is used to strengthen independence.
Mark Hindle, Managing Director at Tunstall Healthcare UK, explains: “The Government’s capital plan rightly recognises that the future of health and care depends on moving support closer to people, making better use of digital technology and intervening earlier. But digital transformation will only succeed if we remember what it is ultimately there to do.
“For too long, our sector has focussed solely on technology. While innovation will always play an important role, that’s never been why our work matters.
“The real story is the people. It’s the residents continuing to live life on their own terms, the communities that exist within independent living schemes. It’s the families who have the reassurance their loved ones are safe and the dedicated people who support them every single day.
“Technology isn’t the headline or end goal, it is quietly sitting in the background, giving people the confidence to live the lives they choose – that’s what our sector must understand and become defined by to truly progress and support people to keep as much independence as possible, for longer.”
Older generations today, and certainly in the future, are more and more comfortable with technology. This is a clear opportunity for innovation and technology to be able to enable independence and security in our older generations, something that can enhance resident experience for these age groups whilst at the same time avoiding an overwhelming amount of pressure as our population continues to grow older, and birth rates continue to slow. The age demographic shift within the UK population is something that could become an existential threat if the correct preparations aren’t made to care adequately for the UK of tomorrow, and the correct systems must be put in place today.
Mark added: “Independence within supported living settings is different for everyone. There isn’t one story and there certainly isn’t one type of resident. What connects every story is the desire to remain independent and in control of their own life. If technology can help make that possible, then we’ve done our job.”
