Investing in technology

Why should health and social care providers invest in technology?

We are all very aware of the financial difficulties that are facing health and social care providers. Local authorities are struggling to fund the increasing demand for care that is required for an ageing demographic with improved life expectancy. With local authorities having to cut back on spending, many individuals are now having to fund their own care or  top up the funding they do receive.

With the increases in National Minimum Wage, travel costs, additional infection control costs due to Covid19 and the introduction of the auto-enrolment pension scheme, providers are seeing significant rises in payroll which comprises the vast majority of their costs. Margins are being squeezed so hard that some providers are failing and others will no longer consider working with their respective councils.

It may seem like a strange time to call for providers to invest and add further costs to their operations. Whilst external pressures on costs are somewhat out of our control, we can affect our own efficiency and achieve time savings and improve the quality of care we provide through wise investment in new technology.

There has been some exciting technological developments and you will not be surprised to learn that some of these advances include the use of mobile phones, tablets and cloud based systems. Bluebird Care, the UK’s leading provider of care and support in the home, chose everyLIFE Technologies’ cloud-based product ‘The PASS system’ following a successful pilot scheme. Smart phones used by staff facilitate the real-time flow of information about the customer’s care plan from their home to office support staff. Updates such as tasks, nutrition, hydration and medication alerts are visible to office based staff, who in turn use this information to ensure customers continue to receive the very best care they need.

Sheree Jenman, Director of Bluebird Care Leeds North, said:

We are proud to say we are the first domiciliary care provider in Leeds to introduce the PASS system. By investing in this technology we are showing our commitment to all of our customers and also our care assistants. This is an outstanding leap forward and will truly make us stand out from the crowd in terms of providing safety and security for customers and our team. 

Having real time information is such a great tool to have. For example, our care manager and other office based staff are able to view and amend any medication within minutes of being informed. Using mobile devices, our care assistants know exactly what medication needs to be given and at what times. We can provide an improved service for customer whilst at the same time providing high quality support to our care team. The time efficiencies also enable us to focus on adding value in other ways for our customers.