How transformative tech in social care could help speed up hospital discharge

With winter on the horizon and the NHS already at full capacity, Ben Weatherall, co-founder of Curam, the UK’s largest care worker marketplace, says technology may be the only way pressures are eased on the health sector this year.

Last winter the NHS experienced near-record highs of medically fit patients stuck in hospital. At the height of the crisis, over 14,000 beds were occupied by patients who were well enough to be discharged. The acute lack of social care is a major contributor to this problem due to the high proportion of patients, in particular older patients and those with long-term conditions, who require post-hospital care.

Extra days in hospital cause severe pressure across the entire health system – from creating delays in A&E patient admissions, through to increasing wait times for routine treatments and surgeries. And for the patients unable to leave – in particular, older people, and those dealing with long-term conditions – delayed discharges can have serious negative impacts on health outcomes. For example, these patients are more likely to acquire infections, to experience muscle strength decline and see deteriorations in their mental health.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that keeping vulnerable older people out of A&E is part of the government’s long-term strategy. If care capacity was increased, the sector could not only help to get patients discharged faster, but also enable more people to proactively manage long-term conditions or to prevent long-term conditions from arising in the first place.

Enabling access to skilled, qualified care workers

The care sector continues to grapple with an unprecedented staffing crisis – it is estimated that there is a current shortfall of around 165,000 trained and vetted carers. Last year, council directors said that this resulted in around 170,000 hours of domiciliary care not being delivered each week.

On the surface, it might appear that the removal of the 20-hour per week cap for international students working in the care sector will alleviate this problem. But this is simply not so. The relaxing of the rule doesn’t take into account the specialised skills that many vulnerable people require. The majority of the student overseas workers do not have relevant or extensive experience working with patients with complex physical or mental health needs, making them unsuitable for working with many of the people who require post-hospital care. The upshot is that locating experienced carers remains challenging and continues to demand extra resource from already time-poor local authorities. This, in turn, also contributes to delayed hospital discharges.

This is where technology comes in. Let’s take carer recruitment as an example – local authorities tend to still rely on recruitment agencies to source support workers, which can be a slow and expensive process. What’s more, there is little guarantee that at the end of the process a suitable candidate will be found. Online platforms mean that local authorities can post a job advert for free and see at a glance whether the skillset and experience of applicants matches the requirements. These platforms are enabling local authorities to locate and sign-up experienced, biometrically verified and fully-vetted carers – and all without the need for a ‘middleman’.

Fast, real-time access to care

Currently, filling care gaps can take days, or even weeks – which is especially concerning for those patients who require post-hospital care. Job posting platforms are transforming the status quo by empowering local authorities to effortlessly fill shifts quickly, at scale and within tight budgets. Authorities can post shifts via these platforms, which are immediately shared with local, available carers. This enables care to be arranged within as little as 20 minutes.

Technology also gives service users greater control and transparency over who they hire to provide care. Bespoke platforms – some of which also include one-to-one video calling capabilities – means that local authorities can post jobs, interview and hire support workers all from one place.

The tech-enabled model of care is thus helping to significantly speed up access to care while also reducing the cost of finding qualified, vetted carers. By improving the supply of carers to both private and public sectors, these platforms are helping to get people out of hospital faster, while also cutting admin time and costs for local authorities.

Uninterrupted tech-enabled patient care

Virtual wards and tech-enabled integrated care are exciting examples of how technology is helping to solve the problem of delayed hospital discharges. Harnessing the latest technology, virtual wards support patients to manage their health and care at home once they are ready to be discharged from hospital.

Tech-enabled integrated care involves a carer meeting a patient in their home or in a care facility before they go into hospital. By gaining a holistic view of what the person’s unique care needs are, the carer can ensure the necessary support is in place, and if needed, set up a plan so that the patient is able to access relevant professionals, such as physios. The carer accompanies the patient back to their home once they are ready to be discharged.

This transformational approach gives local authorities greater control over the complexity and unpredictability of care, enabling a far smoother and swifter hospital discharge.

Preparing for winter 

With this year’s seasonal NHS problems promising to be just as significant – indeed, if not even more serious than last year – there are big challenges ahead. The dominant view is that increasing Government funding is the only way to solve the problems in social care, to speed up hospital discharges and to free up beds. I don’t agree. The truth is that throwing more money at the problem will not solve the underlying inefficiencies and limitations of our care system. The system is broken – it has been slow to modernise and continues to rely on slow, manual processes. The answer is not to spend more money, but to look at how we use the money we already have in a better, more effective way.

Digital tools hold the key to transforming the industry and increasing capacity, without the need for additional investment or increased staffing costs. A tech-enabled model of care will help reduce inefficiencies, save time and cut costs.

However, if we are to properly maximise the potential benefits of these technologies, we must engage everyone across the sector – starting with the NHS and local authorities and including care provider organisations and, perhaps most importantly, the carers themselves.

Images: geralt and National Cancer Institute

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