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Faster Horses Henry ford once said, “If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. He then made motorcars for the mass market. You may also have heard about Bertha Benz’s 1886 horseless carriage trip to visit her mother (and scaring the life out of nearby villagers). Not more horses or faster horses, they looked at fundamentally new way of solving the fast transport problem. Within adult social care, when asked what we need in community [...]

One of the main talking points at the COP26 is that bold new climate commitments are required. Global emissions could exceed the internationally agreed 1.5 degrees of global warming stated in the Paris Agreement. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the IPCC Working Group 1 Report was “a code red for humanity”. To prevent this, the UK (and other countries) need to achieve their promised net zero targets. To help the UK achieve this goal, individuals and organisations need to [...]

The UK’s age structure is changing. By 2050 it is projected 1 in 4 people will be over 65 . Our ageing population is struggling with loneliness, with half a million older people going 5 or 6 days without speaking to anyone at all. There are 1.4 million chronically lonely older people in England which comes with damaging health implications. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened mental health issues and increased social isolation for the most vulnerable in society. This Loneliness [...]

It has been a year since Boris Johnson addressed the UK. Since then, there have been 2.72 million deaths worldwide. Last week we have had Marie Curie's Day of Reflection where we remembered the lives lost to Coronavirus. We constantly talk about what the 'new normal' is going to look like, but the new normal is already here. The past year has been filled with such hardships. However, it has brought people and communities closer together, highlighted our amazing health [...]

The Coronavirus pandemic affected the whole world last year and with new lockdowns starting 2021 off. Getting back to normal is looking further away. However, ‘the new normal’ has brought many people closer together, seen more people enjoying spending time outside and shown how resilient we are. The sense of community shone through last year, with people volunteering to help their neighbours and strangers with weekly shops, friendly phone calls and three quarters of a million people committed to volunteer [...]

Delays in discharge:   Delays in hospital discharge leave people feeling stranded. If you are fit and healthy, you should be able to leave the hospital quickly and safely. Caroline Abrahams, Age UK said "Being forced to stay in hospital when you are medically fit to leave is utterly soul-destroying, undermines your chances of making a full recovery, and is an enormous waste of public money too." However, 20% of ‘blocked beds’ in the NHS is directly attributed to ‘awaiting care [...]

COVID-19 has made the healthcare system slowly adapt to new digital technologies enabling remote care. However, there are still strides to be made in reforming adult social care. ADASS and the TSA are making recommendations to the government, health, care and housing sectors about the role of digital technology in a reformed adult social care system. Even the Adult Social Care Winter Plan highlights the shift towards technology enabled care (TEC), and how through technology people have been able to [...]

We interviewed our CEO, Deepak Samson, about the history of Ethel. What was the inspiration behind the Ethel Smart Hub, what challenges were faced and where he sees Ethel in the future. Who is Ethel? Ethel is a lovely 98 year old lady who lives in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. I met Ethel in the year 1997 when I moved to a small village in County Fermanagh as a youth worker and she is was and still is one of [...]

Our CEO Deepak discusses whether technology enabled care can help improve resilience as winter pressures have become a year-round problem. Even before pandemic hit, most of us were aware of the NHS winter pressures from news stories (surprise, surprise, it happens every year!!). It’s usually made in reference to the period when temperatures drop, the seasonal flu is widespread, and hospitals have to cancel a good number of planned surgeries to deal with the influx of patients in Emergency Departments [...]

The NHS is hit with winter pressures. This year we have the added pressure of COVID-19. December 2019 was the worst year on record for A&E waiting times “with 2,000 patients waiting 12 hours for a bed”. Hospitals are already at a high capacity and this year is expected to be worse. “When winter comes there is a surge and often the NHS has to work very hard to keep up with demand” Dr. Layla McCay.  Hospital beds are at a record low since 2010. [...]

Future waves of COVID-19: “As the UK prepares for potential future waves of the virus, The Health Foundation warns that social care must be given equal priority to the NHS, including a great focus on domiciliary care.” (The Health Foundation). Everyone is feeling the affects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With potential new waves on the horizon, we need to be proactive and ensure that we are prepared. “Policy action on social care has focused primarily on care homes and this has [...]