News
Telecare offers crucial opportunity to help save health and social
care systems
20 July 2009
By 2025 the number of people aged 85 or older in England is set to
increase by 70% to nearly two million. In this group more than a third
of men (37%) and more than half of women (55%) live alone. Most have a
limiting long term illness.
The government issued a new Green Paper, Shaping the Future of
Care Together [1] on 14 July that sets out a vision for a new
fairer, simpler and affordable care and support system.
Responding to the Green paper, the University of Leeds and the Bow Group
have published new research that shows:
- telecare offers a proven “win-win” for the health and social
care system by helping sick, disabled and older people remain at
home for longer by supporting them 24/7 with alarms, alerts, health
monitoring and communication;
- the time for the universal, mainstreamed approach to telecare is
now; and
- telecare consists of a base unit and wireless sensors that link
to a 24-hour response centre that monitor risks associated with, for
example, falls, fire, dementia, poor health, gas leaks and security
issues.
With many people living longer with illness or disability, the future
scenario for care at home — where most people wish to be supported
during periods of illness, disability or infirmity — threatens to be
increasingly costly. Families, employers and the public purse will have
to pick up the soaring costs.
Social care costs are rising not because those who provide care are
generously rewarded. Care work is amongst the lowest paid occupations.
Carers’ benefits are derisory and paid to just 10% of family carers.
Instead, demand for social care will soon outstrip supply and this
responsibility will pass to the state, where funding is unsustainable.
Sue Yeandle, Professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds and Co
Director of CIRCLE says, "This paper is about one of the most important
challenges facing this country — how the growing demand for health and
social care at home can be met, when faced with unsustainable costs and
rising demands for caring labour.
This research evidence clearly demonstrates
that telecare is already making an impressive impact in helping sick,
disabled and older people remain at home for longer, supporting unpaid
carers and saving money in the health and social care system.
“Progress is being held back because of a lack of investment, low
awareness among health and social care staff and access which is limited
by eligibility criteria”
New options
The report finds that rising demand for care is outstripping capacity
to care and that the current system of care and support is
unsustainable. New options are needed that are more efficient without
harming services to:
- enable people to remain at home who would otherwise need to be
placed in residential or nursing care establishments;
- reduce the number of preventable injuries, accidents or risks
encountered by sick, disabled or vulnerable people living at home;
- support unpaid carers to care without experiencing such intense
pressure or stress that they themselves become ill or have to give
up their caring role;
- improve the efficiency of home care services; and
- offer additional choice, independence and dignity to sick, frail
or disabled people by giving them information, safety, control, and
practical assistance.
The research report notes that projects up and down the country in the past decade have demonstrated
that telecare can deliver almost all of the above, at remarkably low
cost. Telecare is not a panacea, but remarkably no study of telecare has
yet demonstrated any negative or adverse effects.
More information
1. Shaping the Future of Care Together
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/
PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_102338
There is also a consultation running till 13 November 2009
that "asks everyone to provide their views about how they think
Government can make this vision a reality and develop a care and support
system fit for the 21st century."
The consultation web page is at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_102339
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