Like most developed nations, the UK’s population is ageing: by 2030, one in five people in the UK (21.8%) will be aged 65 or over.
But although we are living longer, we are not necessarily living more healthily. Long-term conditions like heart disease, diabetes and COPD are placing pressure on the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), accounting for 50% of all GP appointments and 70% of all hospital bed days. Their treatment and care absorbs 70% of acute and primary care budgets in England.
New technologies can support the effective delivery of health and social care; enabling early intervention and avoiding the need for more complex care, hospitalisation and ambulance call outs. Such technology is scalable, cost-effective and empowers individuals to take control of their own health and allows them to live independently for longer.
Gavin Bashar, UK & Ireland managing director at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses the benefits of technology in supporting an ageing population and helping vulnerable people live independently for longer.
The benefits of technology
Devices that once seemed like science fiction are being used to support vulnerable people to live safer, healthier and more enjoyable lives as they age, whether at home or in group living environments. Relatively low-cost telecare systems can automatically raise a call for help if they sense someone has fallen, or alert a sleeping carer if the person they care for experiences a seizure. This 24 hour support can help to avoid hospital admission, delay and prevent the need for residential care, and reduce carer burnout as the people they care for are monitored consistently for changes in behaviour and emergency events.
Existing solutions can also support the effective delivery of healthcare at home; for example, remote patient monitoring (RPM) enables early intervention and care to be person-centred, rather than place-based.
Digital technologies have tremendous potential to improve the lives of an ageing population. They can enhance the services on offer, giving people greater independence and control over their care and are proven to help support wellbeing. They can free up the time for more face-to face care, and help care providers to operate more efficiently, so they can do more to look after those they support and their employees.
The power of data
Raising awareness of the technology solutions available within the health and social care sector and developing an understanding of the way data is collected, stored and processed is vital. The wider digital transformation and the application of data analytics is now seen as essential to the smarter management of operations, allocation of resources, collaboration across teams and services and ultimately, better delivery of care.
With the digital frameworks in place, the integration of technology can become focused on the citizen, their choices, their health, their care, where institutions no longer work in silo and can provide better outcomes for citizens. It is in this context that the digital transformation can enable innovation in terms of service design, to meet the needs of an ageing population and enable new models of care to be developed and scaled up.
Next steps
Investing time in exploring existing and emerging technology, and educating health and social care professionals is key to enabling us to shape the services of the future and embrace the opportunities presented by digital solutions. By educating staff about the benefits, we can ensure all stakeholders can commit with confidence to the transformation of services.
As technology continues to touch every aspect of modern life, we must not miss the chance to harness its power to support our ageing population’s health, wellbeing and quality of life.
For more information please visit www.tunstall.co.uk/telecare-solutions
