On the one hand the basics. On the other hand, aspire to the care home of the future

I am in the midst of two projects which are pulling me in different directions, or at least that’s what I thought.
On the one hand I have just recorded a webinar going out this week about the potential for digital transformation in social care and what needs to be in place at a basic level ‚Ķ and on the other hand I have a client who says: “The basics are OK, but I want to know what the care home of the future looks like.”

I am in the midst of two projects which are pulling me in different directions, or at least that’s what I thought.

On the one hand I have just recorded a webinar going out this week about the potential for digital transformation in social care and what needs to be in place at a basic level ‚Ķ and on the other hand I have a client who says: “The basics are OK, but I want to know what the care home of the future looks like.”

The basics 

What do you need in place for digital transformation? I started looking at this in my blog of June 2020 at some of the building blocks for digital transformation (The Basics of Digital Transformation 25 June 2020). I am now proposing that you keep it even simpler and do a resource map of what you have in place and where you want to be. The resource map acronym I use is PHIF – Physical – Human – Intangible – Financial: it is a way of breaking down what you have and what you need – where you are and where you want to get to.

PHIF model:

P – Physical:

Do you have the infrastructure in place, the connectivity, the data points and the space for the digital tools you need? Do you have the hardware (tablets, phones etc.)?

H- Human:

How will you work with the people you care for, with staff teams and with families to implement the new tech in a digital first world. Do you have the right people to work with who can introduce the new tech and help embed it? Will they accept new ways of working? What training facilities do you have in place?

I – Intangible:

Think of the resources you have at your disposable which are not visible in plain sight or tangible. These include your brand, what people say about you, your social media channels and your intellectual property. Look at the image you want to portray and how you want to convey that image.

F- Financial:

Make sure you have planned how the development will be financed and be realistic and prudent.

It is common sense – all I am trying to suggest is a framework for common sense planning.

So, with the basics in place what is the care home of the future? 

My other client is aspiring to smart home and environment management technology, where:

• recording the appropriate data is done seamlessly and analysed in the background;
• the systems in place are co-produced with the person requiring support and with their advocate and care support groups; and
• the environment is controlled to be as healthy as possible for individuals who are empowered to be as independent as possible and live meaningful lives.

I was very taken with an analogy Martin Green, CEO of Care England, made between air travel and care. When we travel in a plane, we see nothing of the background work being done: all we know is that we fly from A to B, over the airspace of many different countries, and the bureaucracy and planning behind the scenes aid our journey, unchecked without involving us.

The care home of the future should allow the person requiring support and care to journey on, with all the background work being taken care of by discreet systems and the most appropriate solutions presented to the person. For example:

i)                 meals could be planned according to what people like and what will benefit them most according to their condition on any particular day; or

ii)                if a person has Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), their lighting could be adjusted accordingly without the need for intervention.

Sleep, walking and vocal patterns could be fed into recording systems to monitor a person’s wellbeing, and their schedule could be amended appropriately. If there is deterioration, it should not be happened on by chance or examination, it should be either predicted or managed discreetly.

Increasingly in talking about care systems of the future, I am using the word ‘discreet’, because the support around a person should be co-designed with them and be a discreet part of their day. This will mean that they can manage their day as they want and choose the interactions they want.

This comes with a caveat about the need for every person to be able to make their own personal choices and ensure their inner life is part of the support they receive. There is so much to incorporate into how we set up the care home of the future, and my vision only goes a small part of the way in the journey to design how people can receive the support in the environment they want.

But maybe considering the basics and considering the care of the future are not worlds apart in thinking … maybe they are just part of the whole iterative process.

Just read: Future-proofing infection control with technology: Care Home Environment  May 2021 definitely worth a read.

Daniel Casson is Care England’s Adviser on digital transformation.

Co-host of theTalking Care podcast

Digital Care Tech 21 _ Laing Buisson Conference Director _ DCT21 _ Laing Buisson

Executive of Digital Social Care _ www.digitalsocialcare.co.uk

@CareEngDigital | @DigiSocialCare

Daniel Casson _ LinkedIn