It has been almost a full year since the Labour government took power, and the impacts on social care have been profound. They include the scrapping of the proposed lifetime care cost cap, pressure on workforces hit by tax and employment rises, and ever-growing demand for quality, at-home care.
While there have been positives, including an announced Plan for Change to help older adults remain independent at home for longer and improve the efficiency of hospital discharges, the challenges are significant. Real-world reform is likely to be long-delayed, given that the initial reporting phase isn't due to conclude until 2026.
Guardian Angel Carers, a nationwide and multi-award-winning home care agency, often considered a sector leader in innovation and quality standards, has shared some insights into what is happening with home care now, and what it believes may transpire over the year to come.
The Latest Data Around Demand for Home-Based Care Services
We'll start by looking at some of the statistics that reflect the pressures affecting home care providers. They also highlight the issues around gaps in service provisions through council and NHS-funded social care offerings that are in place.
While home care is predominantly perceived as a service valued by older adults and families dealing with care needs linked to mobility, dementia and frailty, one of the fastest-growing areas of demand is in adults aged from 18 to 64.
Between 2022 and 2023, we saw the level of requests for support from individuals in this age range grow by 18%, triple the pace of population growth, and record-high disability benefits applications. This shows that care services aren't only needed by older demographics but are vital to all families.
Owing largely to increased average life expectancies and preventative healthcare that helps older people live healthier independent lives, the Department of Health and Social Care has also anticipated a 57% increase in the number of individuals aged over 65 who require care, while Skills for Care estimates that the workforce needs an extra 440,000 professional care workers by 2035.
Expectations That More Families Will Continue Opting for Private Home Care Support
Demand is just part of the puzzle because there has also been a 10% drop in older adults who can access state-funded care. Data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that this is down to tightened eligibility rules and disparities in spending on adult social care compared with demographics.
We touched on the decision not to go ahead with the plans to introduce a cap on the maximum care costs any individual would have to pay in their lifetime. This, along with rigid means testing, can mean families either know they will not qualify for any financial support, or are less willing to go through an analysis of their incomes and assets before they can put the right level of care support in place.
Another meaningful aspect is that, especially in areas with limited or difficult-to-access council-led care, more and more families recognise the availability of high-quality private care services and opt to choose agencies that offer value-focused, family-feel care that is structured according to their specific needs, preferences, and budgets.
As private home care specialists, we know that every individual is different, and organise personalised care planning accordingly, on each client’s terms and without any scrutiny over their income or need to receive more care assistance than the person wants and needs.
Anticipated Challenges Linked With Rising Costs of Home Care Delivery
Announcements around steep increases in employer National Insurance Contributions and rises in the National Living Wage have already put more strain on overstretched public care providers. This means that the current position, where only one in six care professionals is employed within the public sector, is only forecast to worsen.
Although the division between public and private care providers isn’t necessarily an issue in itself, there are concerns that, with the demand we've explored and the challenges families face sourcing support, there will be even more reliance on the private sector to fill the gaps.
This isn’t a new challenge, and has been an ongoing issue for some years. Still, we expect that unless substantial further government investment is made available rapidly, and well before the current three-year timescale, there will be insufficient services available within adult social care to meet even a small proportion of national care needs.
As it stands, we have also heard issues particularly from smaller and less established home care companies who lack the capacity and economies of scale available to us as a long-standing group.
Many fear that increased regulatory compliance rules and the costs of training and retaining staff will mean they will be forced to close – or participate in a race to the bottom in terms of quality standards to be able to provide care within the limited budgets offered through local authority contracts, many of which are considered heavily underfunded.
Greater Introductions of Technological Home Care Devices and Services
On a more upbeat note, one of the big positives we've been investing in throughout the last few years is the use of advanced, care-specific technologies.
These systems have played a big part in our adaptation to deal with the many challenges by optimising the time our CareAngels spend with each individual and cutting back on inefficiencies that help us maintain the quality of care we are known for.
From digital, nonintrusive, and adaptable home monitoring systems to prevent the risk of an undetected fall to secure, cloud-connected devices that enable care professionals to log the specifics of each care visit, we've looked at ways to make communications, care records, and updates to care plans faster, more accurate, and without any risks of human error.
Examples of the benefits include reduced time filling in manual records, ensuring every care team knows exactly which meals, personal care, activities, and domiciliary tasks have been completed, sharing changes to care plans immediately with colleagues, managers, and family members, and having at-a-glance information available.
We hope that these advantages in providing better outcomes and reduced time pressures on carers are rolled out in a much bigger way across the home care space, especially given how advantageous technology can be in managing some of the many pressures we've mentioned.
Read more about Guardian Angel Carers - Guardian Angel Carers Reacts to Delayed Timescale for Governmental Improvements to Adult Social Care Budgets
About Guardian Angel Carers
Guardian Angel Carers is a leading home care provider dedicated to delivering compassionate, personalised care services. With a strong focus on independence, dignity, and quality of life, the company supports individuals in the comfort of their own homes, offering a range of services from companionship to complex care needs.
Original Source of the original story >> The Future of Home Care for Seniors
Published by: Steve OBrien