Better care for older people – let’s focus on the art of the possible

This week Deloitte published a new report, Better care for the frail older people: Working differently to improve care, examining the challenges of caring for increasing numbers of frail older people.

One of the issues identified in the report was “bed bouncing”, which occurs when older people are moved between long-stays in inappropriate hospital wards, below standard housing and poor residential care, resulting in declining health for patients and increased cost to the NHS.

Sadly this is nothing new but the extent to which older people are being bounced around the system is horrendous. The care of older people in this country needs a complete reboot to make it fit for purpose, and change needs to happen now.

Instead of wasting time debating the lack of funding, we need to change the conversation from doom and gloom to the art of the possible.  This includes learning from and building on examples like the Green House Project which has seen health and wellbeing outcomes improve in the US. 

And that’s exactly what we’re doing with Evermore. As featured in the report, we are going one step further than the Green House model by helping people buy their own apartment in a family-style environment. Homeowners will be supported by multi-skilled individuals who are on hand 24 hours a day to nurture their health and wellbeing while they continue to enjoy the independence and personal choice of living in their own home.

Evermore’s model will contribute to a cost reduction to the exchequer as we’ll be able to prevent hospital admissions, reduce re-admissions and tackle issues like malnutrition and dehydration caused by isolation. Most importantly it will help older people live happier for longer.

Sara McKee, Founder and Director of Market Innovation  

Follow Sara on Twitter @SaraMcKeeFRSA