Prevention, early access and health inequalities: Redefining place-based care

By Gavin Bashar

Gavin Bashar, UK & I Managing Director at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses the focus on prevention, early access and health inequalities and the need to use technology to redefine place-based care.

If the healthcare system is to are to re-define care and achieve preventative services that reduce health inequalities, it’s important to approach services both holistically and through targeted resolutions to specific areas of care provision.

Redefining place-based care

Place-based care has the potential to deliver multiple opportunities. In order to capitalise on those that are presented, it is important to first define ‘the place’ and what this means to people both providing and accessing care services.

When defining place-based care it’s important to consider the different demographic regions across the UK. There are disparities in the health and wellness of communities with different population characteristics, and differences in access to technology, health and wellbeing, and life expectancy should be accounted for.

By starting with place-based care, it is possible to approach issues around prevention and proactivity and the tailoring of care. This in turn will help care providers to combat health inequalities and improve access to health, social care and housing.

The implementation of ICSs

It is hoped that integrated care systems (ICSs) will drive real system change that removes silos that are currently placing barriers on delivering the most effective services.

Considering single accountability and each step of an individual’s care journey will empower us to support ICSs in their role. This will be further supported by real collaboration and integration across the system. If we address issues and demand earlier, budgets and funding streams can be allocated to the specific areas that need them.

The role of tech

Technology’s role as an enabler can move the prevention agenda forward, however it is only valuable if it drives sustainable system change. In order to integrate technology effectively, we must bring the right skill sets into our services to ensure they can deploy digital solutions successfully.

Technology can have significant benefits for citizens, particularly in terms of using data to provide intelligent insight to inform more personalised and preventative care. We should see the ongoing progress that’s been made around data privacy continue, particularly as future generations are now growing up in a digital landscape. This will lead to citizens being more comfortable with health and care technology, and having a better understanding of how they can be empowered to play a more active role in their own wellbeing.

For more information, please visit www.tunstall.co.uk.

News, Tunstall Healthcare November 15, 2022

Using integrated care to live healthier and happier lives

By Angus Honeysett

Angus Honeysett, Head of Market Access at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses putting citizens at the heart of care through technology, partnerships and integrated care to enable people to live happier, healthier lives.

The Government’s white paper, People at the Heart of Care, has a clear focus on integration and recognising the vital importance of improving quality of life and health outcomes. In particular, it promises £150 million of funding for several key areas, including assistive technology; improving the establishment and maintenance of digital records and data; upskilling the adult social care workforce in how to use technology; and bedding in wider digital infrastructure and cybersecurity within systems.

This is translated into the core objectives of integrated care systems (ICSs) as greater integration and more funding will enable them to facilitate the delivery of high-quality local services and citizen-focused outcomes.

The system will operate at three levels – integrated care partnerships, integrated care boards, and provider collaboratives – building better system-level knowledge of the needs of people so that they can receive more support closer to home, which includes some outpatient and diagnostic procedures.

People can stay independent for longer because health providers and community-based services will support those with the most complex needs outside of hospital settings. As the work of ICSs begins, now is a pivotal time that will shape our resources for decades to come.

Technology and cultural change

As ICSs continue to develop, the focus on driving digital systems that place citizens at the centre of service design and delivery will increase. Yet to deploy technology effectively, there are significant cultural challenges to overcome.

Technology has historically been seen as an addition to existing resources – a ‘nice-to-have’, rather than a means of transforming models of support. This has led to difficulties in integrating technology effectively. Cultural change is required which in turn needs early engagement.

Top-down leadership is needed to ensure stakeholders have input at an early stage into how technology can help them and the citizens they support. There are still workforce concerns that need to be addressed and stakeholders need to understand that technology is an enabler for better services, not a replacement for human contact.

Using technology to support people can be low-cost, thereby enabling more people to have digital solutions integrated into their care provision. This in turn gives professionals the ability to provide preventative care and engage with citizens so that they can stay at home for longer with an increased quality of life. Likewise, relatively low-cost telecare systems can help to avoid hospital admission and delay and prevent the need for residential care, and reduce carer burnout.

Understanding the barriers that we face and adapting as things change – not being driven by contracts, but by providing solutions – will ensure innovation continues to flourish. To successfully build solutions however, healthcare services must first understand the problems that are faced by people on a daily basis, with the recognition that this will change between individuals. The more we understand these problems, the easier it will be to co-design straightforward and effective strategies and solutions.

Technology is a quick win for ICSs and if used effectively, can free up the time for the workforce and other stakeholders, enabling them to become more productive in providing support to citizens that need it most.

The aim should be to embed technology so that outcomes are at the centre of all support that is provided, instead of endless form-filling, unnavigable processes and a bureaucracy which sees too many people get lost in the system, rather than receiving the support they need. It puts both power and opportunity in the hands of citizens and communities, providing solutions that are easy and efficient to access.

Collaboration and integration

Working together is in the interests of the public and all stakeholders, and greater integration, co-design and uptake of technology will enable an increase and improvement in the solutions that are available. This will also ensure that services can meet the population’s needs, saving taxpayers’ money through cost-avoidance to the system.

The formation of ICSs provides a unique opportunity to consider and pursue shared common goals. Health and social care must work together to have a positive and long-lasting impact on population health, to ensure citizens are at the heart of decisions about the support they need.

Our services are all intrinsically dependent upon each other which is reflected in the establishment of ICSs. If care delivery is ineffective, it places increased pressure on our health system, therefore leading to an inability to support citizens. Healthcare services need to have a truly joined up, integrated approach where they listen, understand everyday needs and work together to bridge gaps in resource allocation, including funding flow, which needs continued reform to drive system change.

When we deliver successful and integrated services, the benefits flow through the system from primary to secondary care, to community and social care. With the right approach, citizens can stay in the place of their choice for longer, delaying the requirement for more expensive and complex solutions.

Empowerment and control

The UK’s ageing population means there is little choice but to look at alternative ways to deliver support, in order to cope with increasing demand and more complex needs. The increased integration of technology and its use not only enhances the care that people receive, but also enables them to remain at home for longer, increasing the efficiency and capacity of our systems.

As we continue to invest and integrate technology into our services, it gives citizens greater ability to become more involved in how their health and wellbeing is managed. Data plays a particularly important role in empowering citizens to manage their own conditions as through technology such as telehealth, they can take their own readings and share these with the right people at the right time.

For citizens to be fully empowered, they must be engaged with and made a part of decision making around their care, and also understand the benefits that technology can bring, alongside how to use it.

Through the use of clear language, healthcare systems can communicate more effectively with citizens and build links between the technology that they already have and regularly use, and the technology that can support their health and wellbeing through new services. This in turn should reduce fear of the unknown and help drive a culture change at both local authority and citizen level.

By integrating services through ICSs and investing in the next generation of technology, it’s easier to engage families, friends, and communities in supporting early, proactive, and preventative interventions. Digital innovation presents opportunities to improve citizen experience, supporting better quality and greater reliability of service provision, providing enhanced solutions which are tailored to meet specific needs.

Looking to the future

ICSs and their development provide a timely opportunity to revolutionise our health systems and put citizens at the heart of care through the delivery of better outcomes and cost reductions. However, challenges remain, such as the UK’s move from analogue to digital communications networks.

This will require significant investment from the public sector at a time when budgets are already under extreme pressure, however, this brings a once in a generation opportunity to modernise, improve and shift thinking from a reactive, to a proactive delivery model. AI, machine learning and the use of data are hugely important to this.

Using data in a proactive and predictive way means issues can be highlighted early, which is in everyone’s best interest. The more that citizens are involved and engaged with data, including taking their own readings, the more they’ll understand how to more effectively manage their health and wellbeing on a daily basis.

By educating service professionals and the public on the value of data and how it can be used to transform health and care provision, people will become more comfortable with their data being used in a real-time setting.

With increased funding, improved decision making through ICSs, and better integration of technology, we will be able to drive reconfiguration and collaboration. It’s essential that service providers and citizens are involved in the digital transformation if we’re to innovate, embrace technology fully and successfully, and deliver new approaches which create benefits for both citizens and the system.

This article was kindly sponsored by Tunstall Healthcare.

For more information, please visit www.tunstall.co.uk.

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Integrated care systems: reaching disenfranchised communities

By Raj Purewal

Raj Purewal, UK&I Strategic Development Director at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses how technology can be adopted by integrated care systems (ICSs), and how care services can reach all communities and reduce health inequalities.

In October, Public Policy Projects (PPP) launched its ICS Roadshow in locations across the UK. The events endeavour to bring together health, social care and housing professionals and create a new forum for integrated care, which sees national policy delivered at a local level.

Setting the strategy with ICSs

ICSs have taken over the role of Clinical Commissioning Groups, who were previously responsible for commissioning the best health services for their localities. ICSs will also be responsible for implementing strategies across footprints to ensure patients and citizens can access the best services and care possible. They will be able to link the data and insight they have access to from the daily activities of the health and care sector, ultimately transforming the way care services are provided.

The integration of health and social care services will be a key enabler in the transformation of systems for citizens. ICSs, alongside local authorities, will be the driving force behind this as they have been specifically designed as the link between health and social care to improve collaboration, care provision and patient outcomes.

ICSs have also been tasked with ensuring the continuity of care in regions across England, so that national policy aligns with the needs of patients and citizens on a local level. The introduction of new legislation will direct local and regional health and care systems to improve alignment between service providers, while supporting, enabling and educating patients, and when appropriate, to manage their needs.

Tunstall is at a pivotal place when it comes to aligning services through ICSs and it’s crucial that we adapt our strategies as required. Tunstall’s services must support ICSs’ objectives and their focus on driving best practice, transforming services and increasing the use of digital capabilities for patients and citizens.

ICSs will foster closer working between health and care service providers. Tunstall’s longstanding role and remit shall continue, and we will also support providers, commissioners, partners and vendors to deliver the Triple Aim, ROI and best value for these sectors and the public sector pound.

Adopting technology

The importance of technology in service delivery across the health and care sectors shouldn’t be underestimated, particularly when it comes to monitoring and assessing citizens and patients when discharged, or in virtual wards, and when appropriate, pro-actively before a planned attendance. To adopt technology-enabled care services, we must help to educate both citizens and health and care professionals effectively, and leaders must coordinate this across ICSs.

Adopting and scaling the right technology will support many resources, increase utilisation, and improve capacity across the health and care systems, to provide effective care. ICSs will continue to increase the focus on building preventative and proactive care models, which will include investment in the continued advancement of technology.

Technology providers are working on solutions and platforms that will identify changes in patients’ or citizens’ vital signs, mobility or behaviour. For example, Tunstall Cognitive Care® will use advanced AI in combination with technology in the home to detect whether someone’s health could be about to deteriorate, spot a potentially undiagnosed condition, or resolve an immediate social care need.

Since before the pandemic, around 22 per cent of the NHS elective backlog for surgery is for orthopaedic conditions relating to the hip or knee, or cataract surgery; patients who are on these waiting lists can be identified and supported with remote monitoring. For example, if a particular behavioural trend for a citizen who is struggling with mobility can be seen, support can be offered quickly with an appropriate intervention at the right time to minimise the need for urgent, more expensive unplanned emergency care. This type of integration and use of technology will help to reduce stress and pressure on provider resources and service work plans.

As ICSs transform services, and move towards digitisation and digitalisation, the technology that providers deploy needs to facilitate strong foundations for the future of care provision, as ICSs will aim to optimise data and to generate insight. In helping to ensure that the infrastructure and systems are in place, Tunstall can start to have positive impacts on health and care services for all as health care services make these transitions.

Improving care services and reaching all communities

The overall experience of services for all citizens should be improved through the introduction of ICSs, as they will be tasked to ensure equality of care, which historically has not always been the case.

ICSs will also increase focus on improving value delivered for the public purse, improving efficiency by reducing the incidence of unattended appointments (DNAs) and ensuring a continuum of care for the patient and citizen from referral and after discharge. This is critical in ensuring healthcare services are optimised – ranging from effective patient communication, reducing the number of DNAs, and sharing insight with practitioners to inform best practice. ICSs will be able to take an analytical approach to the data they have access to and use this to both inform planning and to allocate resources.

To reduce health inequalities, it will be necessary to take a holistic view. For example, poor housing can have an impact on citizen health if there is a lack of insulation or if there is damp. There is no singular factor or reason that causes health inequality, but ICSs will bring bespoke approaches for their different localities to ensure gaps in health and care are lessened and minimised over time.

Other inequalities can cause communities to become disenfranchised with service providers, for example problems can arise because of travel, logistics and even linguistic challenges. Most recently, we saw an example of this as some communities were excluded from pandemic communications especially digital communications, including the messaging around measures put in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The establishment and progression of ICSs will enable the alignment of technology-based health and social care services and improve health outcomes for every community across the UK.

As service providers and the workforce become increasingly invested in, and understanding of, the role of technology in supporting and empowering vulnerable people, we’ll see a reduction in health inequalities and upgraded services that are better able to meet the demands of our growing and ageing population.

Tunstall Healthcare launches tech hub in Manchester

By Integrated Care Journal

Global pioneering health and care technology firm Tunstall Healthcare has officially opened its new hub in St Peter’s Square, Manchester.

Tunstall Healthcare, which is celebrating its 65th year, is currently recruiting for a range of hybrid working positions that will be based in the new hub in St Peter’s Square, Manchester. Quality and testing, software development and business analysis roles are available to complement the existing tech teams based in Yorkshire, Sweden, Germany and Spain.

As well as mid-senior tech roles, there will be opportunities for graduates and apprentices to join the firm as part of Tunstall’s drive to mentor and train the very best talent in tech, in addition to positions that will offer support to those who wish to retrain or who have been out of work.

Emil Peters, Tunstall Group CEO at Tunstall, said: “This is undoubtedly a huge and exciting milestone for Tunstall as we open our latest UK office space, in the renowned business and technology hub of Manchester. Our new base is the perfect location to serve our customers across the country and in the north west, as well as attracting new talent to the Tunstall brand.

“A career at Tunstall gives candidates the opportunity to make a real difference in the health and care sector by realising the potential of technology to empower people to have more choice over how they live their lives. Our Manchester base will help us to attract some of the brightest talent in the sector to help us drive our exciting technology roadmap forward, and I’m looking forward to welcoming new colleagues to the business.”

Established in 1957, Tunstall has grown substantially and evolved from an equipment provider to a software solution and technology company that provides telecare and telehealth managed services. In this time, it has almost doubled the number of users supported by its systems, while increasing its geographic footprint across Europe.

Gary Steen, Chief Operating Officer at Tunstall UK, added: “At Tunstall, we put our people first and invest in their professional development. By expanding our base across the North, we will be able to continue our success as a business while forging ahead as the market leader in our sector.

“New technology solutions are vital if we are to support our ageing population effectively. Innovation and development in the health and care sector will allow us to continue moving towards a proactive and preventative model of care provision which improves the quality of people’s lives and enables valuable resource to be targeted where and when they are needed most.”

Tunstall Group works with health, care and housing providers around the world and supports more than five million people through technology. Its technology and service offerings allow its customers to deploy new models of community-based health and care delivery that are more integrated, personalised and proactive.

To find out more about Tunstall, please visit www.tunstall.co.uk.

Devolution & health outcomes: Getting a seat at the table

By Gavin Bashar

Gavin Bashar, UK&I Managing Director at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses the importance of ensuring all key stakeholders, including citizens, get a seat at the table to link up care and ensure access to technology.

As a nation we are living longer and we have the information we need to make healthier and better-informed choices. However, having the right information is only the beginning. The next stage, which integrated care systems (ICSs) and their empowered integrated care boards (ICBs), will provide significant direction on, is using this information in the right way to meet the aims and objectives of our health and social care services.

As ICBs establish themselves, we will begin to see citizens and service providers become more engaged across the board and the beginning of the distribution of the £150m of additional funding to drive greater adoption of technology and digitisation across the health and care landscape. This in turn will create a more connected and intelligent world that enables a collaborative approach to the delivery of efficient, proactive and integrated health and social care services.

Engaging with citizens

If citizens are to have a seat at the table, with health and social care services centred around them, we must engage effectively and actively listen to their concerns and needs. Relationships should be based on partnership, flexibility and a commitment to citizen success, rather than one-off transactional interactions. A sustainable future for the long-term funding of essential services must be a priority if we are to realise a positive vision which puts people at the heart of delivery.

Before ICBs, many public commissioning and procurement processes were hampered by fragmented funding, a shortage of high-quality evidence-based services and a lack of involvement of the appropriate citizens’ voices in decision making. These challenges of course made it extremely difficult for professionals and care providers to fully engage with citizens and deliver effective care that would effectively prevent more complex requirements.

Engaging with citizens can help to ensure that valuable solutions involving technology are appropriate, accessible, practically useful and as such, less likely to be abandoned.

As services become more efficient and citizen outcomes are improved, it will become easier to deliver cost efficiencies. Improved condition management and medication compliance through greater engagement for example has a clear impact on decreasing GP visits, clinicians are able to target patients that need support, and early intervention can prevent future, often high cost, care requirements.

By engaging closely with citizens and their communities with the help of ICSs, it is possible to create an environment in which they have the freedom to live life to the full in a place of their choice, with the people and things that they love, doing the things that matter most, through care and support that is inclusive, accessible and innovative.

Collaboration to drive links

To drive links between social care, primary care and wider community services it’s important to consider the crucial role of collaboration. ICSs will help with the integration of services and drive collaboration between service providers. A large majority of the population have both health and social care needs, and it makes sense for a collaborative approach to become the norm as this will contribute to an improvement in health outcomes and cost savings.

Collaborative services will be the first step to start reducing the silos that currently exist between health, housing and social care and encourage care provision that is tailored to the individual who needs it. Through collaboration we’ll be able to deliver joined up care so that people accessing health and social care services can experience them as seamlessly as possible.

However, local authorities and health and social care providers continue to grapple with workforce shortages, case backlogs and an increase in the complexity and level of need of the population. This hampers the ability to drive forward with collaborative working as we are too focused on meeting these short-term challenges to have the time to consider longer term approaches.

ICBs have a number of aims, with one being to deliver transformation in order to improve how our systems operate. By focusing on this, they’ll be able to encourage collaboration between partners and professionals, with a strong focus and determination on delivering person-centred care and support.

Providing universal access to technology and software support

The integration of technology and its increased use have long been seen as a key part of transforming health and social care. However, the system has been slow to adopt innovations and tends to view technology as a way of managing people’s care. This is partly due to the growing number of solutions that are available, which make selecting, commissioning and implementing a complex task.

With the ICBs now holding statutory powers, we are at a pivotal time that will shape our services and the use and deployment of technology for decades to come. The ability to transition to a system that can provide universal access to new technologies that manage, analyse and harvest actionable intelligence will be crucial to the success of the health and care industry in the future.

Using technology to support people is relatively low cost, meaning citizens can stay at home for longer with an increased quality of life. Digital solutions can also empower staff to work more efficiently, reduce bureaucracy and enable them to spot changes in people’s behaviour.

Integration and investment in technology will enable the reconfiguration and integration of services. It’s essential that service providers and the service users are involved in the digital transformation if they are to innovate, embrace technology successfully, and deliver new approaches which create benefits for citizens.

By working closely with ICBs, technology providers will be able to citizens, their communities and the workforce to invest in value-generating digital solutions that improve lives and drive the prospects of businesses.

Moving forward

Through collaboration and investment in the right services and solutions, such as digital technology enabled care solutions, it will be possible to improve citizen experience and support improved quality and reliability of services, which are tailored to meet the specific needs of individuals. With the engagement of ICBs, there is the potential to move towards a system where it is standard practice to use technology to manage long-term health conditions and deliver efficient and personalised care.

A digital transformation will create a predictive environment that highlights behaviour changes and forecasts the need for extra support. It will join up stakeholders and provide a better opportunity for planning, giving a clearer picture of those with vulnerable needs.

I hope that ICBs will provide a new kind of leadership that can deliver change and tighten up governance, while at the same time improving the working lives and motivation of employees and the health and wellbeing of our population. The healthier the population becomes, and the more they learn about the benefits of technology within health and social care provision, the more able we’ll be to engage with citizens, give them a seat at the table and link up care.

This is a sponsored article.

For more information, please visit www.tunstall.co.uk.

Redefining place-based care: facilitating system change

By Graham Brown

Graham Brown, UK&I Marketing Director at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses what the future holds in regards to service transformation and place-based care, and how technology can facilitate access to care and reduce health inequalities.

In order to redefine care and achieve preventative services that reduce health inequalities, it’s important to approach healthcare services both holistically and through targeted resolutions to specific areas of care provision.

By starting with place-based care and the role of technology, it is possible to approach issues around prevention and proactivity and the tailoring of care to individual people and communities. This in turn will help care providers to combat health inequalities and improve access to health, social care and housing.

Defining place-based care

Place-based care presents multiple opportunities, as well as some intrinsic challenges. In order to capitalise on the opportunities that are presented, we must first define ‘the place’ and what this means to the people both providing and receiving health and social care services.

When defining place-based care it’s important to consider the different demographic regions across the UK. There are disparities in the health and wellness of communities with different population characteristics, with affluent areas tending to be more well and living longer than those in poorer areas. Any attempts to tackle these inequalities must therefore be able to target different demographics, by taking into account disparities in access to technology, health and wellbeing, and life expectancy.

The local nature of ICSs will mean that the professionals involved are better placed to understand the needs of different populations and the communities in which they are based. This will then enable better collaborations so that place-based care can be defined, which will in turn support more tailored care that plays a key role in reducing health disparities between communities.

The majority of the population moves between different places, such as the workplace and home, on a daily basis, and this impacts our ability to deliver place-based services across a range of sectors. However, this presents significant challenges when it comes to health and care delivery. Consideration of how to adapt where and when care is provided to each individual that needs it is very important if services are to become proactive and preventative.

A key question is how to ensure that the right objectives, targets and outcomes to manage this are in place. For place-based care to integrate technology and be truly effective, it has to be mobile.

Person-centred and community care

Achieving personalised care will support the transition beyond a holistic approach to one where it is possible to deliver place-based care that targets specific areas, particularly those that require transformation.

Only by making person-centred care a reality can healthcare services be transformed to become flexible and have a place-based approach at their core. To look after a population as a whole in the right places, we need to look after individuals first, particularly through individualised health and care records.

Timings and the evolution of service provision will need to flex for different areas, and the skillset of the workforce will have to change accordingly. By bringing equilibrium to the living standards and available opportunities of our population, we will see an immediate and sustained benefit on health and wellbeing and a reduction in the need for severe elective activities.

Funding streams and ICSs

Changes in funding streams could precipitate a real system change that removes the silos that are currently placing barriers on delivering the most effective services with their own outcomes. However, it is first necessary to take a step back and define these outcomes, to keep the population healthy and deliver real change.

Considering single accountability and each step of an individual’s care journey will empower Tunstall to support ICSs in their role. For example, providing winter funding to social care services first, rather than straight to the acute trust, could have the potential to cut the numerous problems and pressures that the colder weather places on healthcare services and reduce the number of people requiring hospitalisation and other complex care services.

This will be further supported by real collaboration and integration across the system, with a particular focus on enabling data sharing. If issues and demand are addressed earlier, budgets and funding streams can be allocated to the specific areas that need them, and professionals will have peace of mind that there will be fewer significant hospitalisations of vulnerable people.

Falls protection is a particular point that places significant pressures on the health and care spectrum. For example, unaddressed fall hazards in the home are estimated to cost the NHS in England £435 million.1 If the right funding streams, people and technology are put in place, we can build on preventative and proactive approaches to reduce the number of people experiencing falls and the complex and often severe elective activities that can occur. This will in turn lead to a significant pressure being removed from the system.

The impact of technology

Technology can have a significant impact on the citizen, particularly with the advancement of wearable technology. The ongoing progress that’s been made around data privacy is likely to continue, particularly as the next generation grows up in a digital-first landscape. This will lead to citizens being more comfortable with health and care technology and their data being fed directly into their health and care records.

Technology can provide a longitudinal profile of an individual instantaneously, which is particularly important for personalised care provision, and for making citizens feel more in control and responsible for their own health, wellbeing and care. The more that technology is integrated into care provision, the more empowered the population will become.

However, technology can also initially make people feel less empowered which has contributed to the uptake challenge. Providing education to citizens and care providers can help them to understand how and why they should use technology, which is ultimately to help people live freely and independently in a place of their choice.

Facilitating system change

Tunstall can facilitate system change by integrating technology into our services and considering big data, trends analysis and early indicators. Preventative services will develop effectively when individuals are willing and open to engage with technology and allow the right people to have access to their data. If this engagement is not driven forward, it’ll be more challenging to generate system change and the generational improvement that is needed.

The need to address short term pressures is one of the fundamental challenges within our services. Immediate pressures can become overwhelming and all-=encompassing, which then make it challenging to get to the root causes and tackle them in a systemic way. This is where technology can help, by increasing the bandwidth of the people who can make these changes happen. By giving them access to the right information in the right way they will have the ability to make the right changes at a place based and population level.

As a leading provider of technology, Tunstall is working closely with ICSs to understand the challenges that are faced by our health and care services and how these can be solved collectively. Technology leaders should be focused on breaking down barriers between organisations to help ICSs have the desired impact. Communication through the system, partnerships and problem solving will drive a central vision that ensures shared outcomes.

For more information, please visit www.tunstall.co.uk.

This article was kindly sponsored by Tunstall Healthcare.

How Tunstall Healthcare is investing in the leaders of the future

By Tunstall Healthcare

Global market leading health and care technology company, Tunstall Healthcare is investing in the next generation of health, housing and social care professionals with the launch of a new range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accredited courses.

Part of ‘Tunstall Academy’, the online courses have been developed by Training Accreditation Programme (TAP) and CIPD accredited trainers. The courses aim to strengthen the knowledge and expertise of professionals in a range of areas related to health and care technology. The first courses available focus on telehealth and a range of other courses relate to the remote management of specific long term conditions including COPD, heart failure and diabetes. A Telecare Assessor course will be available soon, which will be followed by a number of other telecare-focused courses.

Gavin Bashar, UK Managing Director at Tunstall Healthcare, commented: “The role of technology in adult social care has been radically reshaped over the past couple of years, leading to 63% of directors in adult social care reporting that their local authorities are implementing positive investment strategies in digital and technology.

“We must therefore work to upskill staff members in these sectors to improve care service delivery, facilitate collaboration, and build a bigger and better workforce post-Covid. Our specialist training team works closely with participants to help them get the most out of technology for their own organisations and the people they support, and ensure they are ready to make the most of a more digital future as we transition to a fully digital communications network.”

CPD courses enable professionals to stay up to date with current and best practice in their chosen field, enhancing their skills and effectiveness in the workplace. Tunstall also offers a number of non-CPD accredited courses which can be delivered online or in person, designed to upskill people working in monitoring centres and group living environments as well as those delivering telecare and telehealth services.

All courses are designed for a range of learners, from beginners to advanced professionals, and can also be configured to develop skill sets for particular job roles, as well as achieving broader personal and organisational objectives, such as meeting TEC Services Association standards and enhancing customer experiences.

Andy Hart, Head of Technical Delivery and Support at Tunstall Healthcare, added: “People are the greatest asset of any organisation, and at Tunstall we have a responsibility to drive change across the sector as a whole. We are committed to educating and upskilling the next generation of professionals in the use of telecare and telehealth technology to modernise our health, housing and social care systems.

“Technology enabled care solutions (TECS) support individuals to live independently for longer and alleviate pressures on care and health services. It’s crucial that professionals are aware of the benefits of technology within service provision so that it can be deployed effectively, and education plays a key role in achieving this.”

Tunstall Academy brings together a range of initiatives designed to raise awareness of the value and potential of technology across the health, housing, and social care landscape, and to increase the benefits to users, carers, professionals and providers.

To find out more about the training services available, please visit www.tunstall.co.uk/training-services.

Why is technology underrepresented in the training of health, housing and care professionals?

By Tunstall Healthcare

Andy Hart, Head of Delivery and Technical Support at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses why educating health, housing and social care professionals is vital to meet the needs of our growing and ageing population.

People today are living much longer. It’s recently been reported that the UK’s population hit a record with over-65s overtaking under-15s, and by 2030 it is estimated that 1 in 6 people globally will be aged 60 years or over.

But living longer does not necessarily mean living more healthily. Long-term health conditions are more prevalent in older people, with approximately 15 million people in the UK requiring health and social care services for chronic illnesses.

Andy Hart, Head of Delivery and Technical Support at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses why educating health, housing and social care professionals in the benefits and appropriate use of technology is crucial if we are to improve service provision, and why technology continues to be underrepresented in training.

Why technology is underrepresented

The urgent need to invest in preventative services and early interventions to reduce pressures on our services is being increasingly recognised. In fact, almost two thirds (63 per cent) of directors of adult social care recently indicated that their local authorities were taking positive investment strategies in digital and technology.

However, large-scale change involving health and care technology is complex and presents many challenges for the stakeholders involved. Key barriers to successful digital evolution include the budget constraints and the cost of implementing new systems, organisational attitudes towards risk, and the relationships that exist between health, housing and social care services.

Most of these barriers can be mitigated through greater training and the education of professionals. Greater education will help to build partnerships, maximise the use of data, drive cultural change and bring staff on the digital journey, whilst supporting them in their roles.

Investing in education

People are the greatest asset of any organisation and, like any other asset, they need investment and maintenance. The next generation of health, housing and care leaders require support if they are to continue to develop themselves, and therefore their teams and services.

The education of professionals within these sectors is crucial in enabling a cultural shift so that staff understand the value and use of technology, and how it can support them in effective caregiving, as well as improving the quality of life of the people being cared for.

With the right education staff should reap a number of benefits, including becoming more aware of the features of telecare devices, developing confidence in assessing and referring end users to the right solutions, and understanding the positive impact of telecare on working practices.

As the Occupational Therapy programme lead at the University of Lincoln, Carol Duff is significantly involved in the education of Occupational Therapists. She commented: “It’s very important that we give our students the opportunity to gain practical confidence in the use of digital solutions in a safe setting that are essential to support their practice in health and social care.

“Technological solutions may mean our patients are able to remain safely at home for longer and avoid or delay moving into hospital or into care. It is essential that our occupational therapists of the future can confidently and creatively explore digital solutions that may also reduce pressure on the system and release time to care.”

A digital future

With the impending changes to our telecoms network, digital is fast becoming the industry standard to ensure the safety of health and social care services, staff and end users.

New kinds of leadership will be needed to deliver change and evolve governance, while at the same time improving the working lives and motivation of employees. Cementing a cultural shift towards technology driven, outcomes-led approaches is required to achieve this, and in turn, this needs early engagement from professionals and an understanding that technology is designed to provide support, rather than to replace.

By harnessing the benefits of training and education, we can raise awareness of the value and potential of technology across the healthcare landscape, and provide enhanced support to users, carers, professionals and providers.

For more information on educating the future generation of health, housing and social care professionals, please visit www.tunstall.co.uk/training-services.