Home care group launches pilot scheme to help spot signs of early deterioration

A Nottinghamshire home care group has launched a new pilot scheme to help “spot signs” of early deterioration and collaborate with home care and primary care professionals to "improve the lives" of older people.

Fosse Healthcare’s new pilot scheme called ‘Early Deterioration in Home Care Project’ has been put in place to demonstrate how detailed observations made by trained Fosse care staff can be shared digitally with the care recipient’s GP using technology to decide what clinical or care support they may require.

This scheme will bridge the gap between home care and primary care professionals to help them make earlier, robust decisions.

To achieve this, Fosse Healthcare - Newark has joined alliances with Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) and Birdie, with support from the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network and Nottinghamshire Alliance Training Hub. East Midlands AHSN will be part-funding an evaluation of the project.

Fosse Healthcare managing director, Volt Sacco said: “Fosse and the CCG both wanted to understand the implications of developing a system which could be adopted throughout the industry, and used to connect care providers with GPs, emergency services and the NHS to proactively identify and treat ‘soft signs’ of deterioration before they become a larger medical concern."

Despite the pilot still being in its infancy, the feedback from participating clients and care staff has been positive.

“We believe that with the right tools and technology, we can address potential health risks in the early stages, which we project would have a huge impact on the costs and pressure currently being experienced within the health and social care system," added Mr Sacco.

'We believe home care has immense potential to support the NHS to provide better quality care'

The pilot scheme was officially launched on March 10 and affects approximately 150 consenting care recipients. The pilot will run for up to six months in total to give the academic partners enough time to undertake their evaluations.

Birdie is an agetech startup company and was founded to improve the lives of millions of older adults by providing digital tools and services that put prevention and support across social and health care at the forefront.

Dr Malte Gerhold, chief integrated care officer at Birdie: “This project is a powerful example for how digital care technology can enable new ways of collaboration between social and health care professionals and improve the lives of older people in Newark.

“We believe home care has immense potential to support the NHS to provide better quality care at home and in the community, and we are excited to be part of this collaboration.”

'We are ensuring people can continue to live as independently as possible '

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Fosse Healthcare became one of many businesses forced to adapt and digitise their services to ensure the safety of staff and clients. This pilot scheme has been put in place to ensure people are getting the healthcare they need to prevent another “crisis situation” in the future.

“The backing we have had with this project has been monumental," says Mr Sacco. "Without a doubt, its success has been a group effort and due to the support of everyone involved we have been able to launch a huge project like this in months, instead of years.”

Melanie Brooks, corporate director for adult social care and health at Nottinghamshire County Council, concludes: “It is exciting to hear how technology can support our care providers to spot the signs that someone’s health may be deteriorating and ensure they are getting the healthcare they need to prevent a crisis situation.

“By identifying these situations at the earliest possible stage, we are ensuring people can continue to live as independently as possible and receive the right level of care, in the right place, at the right time. We look forward to seeing how this project progresses."

For more information about the project go to https://fossehealthcare.co.uk/edhcproject/

click here for more details or to contact Fosse Healthcare - Newark