Caring for Britain
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Caring for Britain Journeys through care Caring for Britain Journeys through care The stories The stories in this report show that there is much more to be done to support older adults. They also show that there is some ground‑breaking thinking, research and delivery happening right now. This report also contains the stories of real people, who have shown great courage to share how their lives have changed during their care journeys. The authors are grateful to Tony Watts, leader of EngAgeNet, for his work in writing the personal stories, based on interviews he conducted during the spring and summer of 2020 – for this reason, and decades of campaigning for older adults, the ‘last word’, of the report belongs to Tony. Legal & General Thought Leadership Commitment A vigorous national debate, about the issues that affect our customers, colleagues and shareholders, is an important part of national life. We want to stimulate the big conversations and ideas that can contribute to the progress of our society and our economy. Legal & General is delighted to support the work of Think Tanks and of academics and specialists in areas relevant to our business. As part of our commitment to encourage debate and freedom of speech we exercise no editorial control over the conclusions or recommendations made by our contributing authors. Legal & General 3 Foreword At the heart of this timely paper is the and the experience of care professionals aspiration that Tony Watts expresses: shows the power of what is happening that all older people should be able to around us all right now – people with lead rich fulfilling lives connected to vision are working for the people family and friends. The paper skilfully who matter far more than ownership intersperses the stories of individual older distinctions, the users of care. Britons who have confronted the realities There are millions of people dedicated of today’s care system, with the stories to caring, and even in today’s of individuals and organisations working circumstances, there are reasons for disruptive innovation and radical to be hopeful about the future. This improvements in the quality and quantity report is about what can be done, and of care available. is being done, today. The leaders, who The stories told by Marguerite and Ken, have written about their lives and their by Phyllis and Peter, by Brenda, by Marion organisations, are out there right now, and Jack, and by Monica are powerful contributing to the care of millions of Professor David Grayson, CBE insights into both the good and the bad people. It is right that we should all aspects of the care that older people consider how to build a better, more use today. integrated health and care system but I hope after you have read “Caring for it is also right to recognise that there Britain,” that you will share my sense of Each of the organisations in this story are people with ideas, energy and excitement and possibility. The possibility of a journey through care come from compassion who are changing the for good later lives; for extended healthy different places. Some are entrepreneurial system every day, right now. lifespans. The possibility that many more charities. Some are for-profit enterprises Britons can enjoy greater choice in later with purpose. What binds them is As a Legal & General customer, I am life. The possibility that digital technology their purpose; what they all have in delighted that L&G has taken such a and Artificial Intelligence offers for common is an absolute commitment to powerful, leadership role on making Later greater personal independence for longer empowering the people who need care, Life better for many more Britons. “Caring and for more personalised health care. their families, their carers, their medics for Britain” is one more tangible example The possibility to build a preventive and their advisers. All of these people, of this leadership. I hope that L&G will National Health Service rather than a from consultants to care professionals to now use its convening role to generate reactive National Sickness Service. financial advisers work together to create an informed conversation around how an ecosystem that helps those who need the innovations described in the paper, care to meet their goals. can help to reinforce each other and spur further innovation from public, private, Telling the stories of the energy and charity and social enterprise sectors. innovation of start-ups, the research from As Tom Lord reminds us in his essay, our universities, the insight of charity COVID19 has put added onus on healthy leaders, the advice of financial experts lifestyles. We should use this once in a generation moment, to create radical improvements in support for a good and healthy later life, where individuals When your loved one starts to change, that is a very and their families have genuine choices. disempowering moment. Being able to bring As a campaigner, I want this report to someone in, and being able to keep in touch with stimulate more positive collaboration that carer, is a way of empowering a family when it and further innovation. feels like they’re losing control.” Rachael Crook, co-founder and CEO, Lifted Caring for Britain Journeys through care £5m Positive developments Newcastle post-COVID in UK care, happening care home prototypes right now new kinds of leaders like Rachael, Max 1and Andrew the development of new and better homes for older people, discussed by John Galvin, 2Adam Hillier and Tom Lord high quality information enabling 3,000 marketplace tools to empower care users New homes being built 3 – pioneered by Andrew at Care Sourcer for retired people new roles for employers 4 that Emily outlines 8 £6m of grant funding to deploy to companies helping the new independence- healthy ageing market at-home-technology from Chris at Current Health 5 new phone apps that empower families and friends 6from Rachael at Lifted new cloud-data-processing, like Max at Birdie Care, that can spot early signs of health problems 7 coming down the tracks Legal & General 5 Building up the country’s research about the ageing demographic Inclusive Capitalism is Legal & General’s purpose and it means that we share our £20m success with our investors, customers and society. As we have 10 million Partnership with customers, all of whom are ageing and Edinburgh University 1.25 million are over 65 – our oldest annuitant is 107 years of age – we are supporting the best research into understanding the ageing society. teamwork building technology to bring the people needing care, their family, their medics, their 8 social workers and their care workers into one personal and tailored ecosystem new ways of working for carers, created using the latest of behavioural science and medical 9 research, to build new kinds of working cultures new resources to plan for funding care like £4bn 10 those Tony discusses Partnership with Oxford University Caring for Britain Journeys through care Contents p16 p18 p20 What happened when I Setting up your own Case study: first needed help? care ecosystem Phyllis and Peter Marguerite and Ken Andrew Parfery Care Sourcer Marguerite and Ken’s experiences show Andrew writes, with years of experience Phyllis and Peter explain how they what happened to them as their health running care organisations, about how changed their home to stay in it, the changed and they started to encounter families, friends, and those needing care, adaptations they made and where they the decisions involved in setting up care. can build their care ecosystem. Andrew found good help. explains how much can be achieved, right now, within the current system and how Care Sourcer, the company he co-founded, has designed a marketplace where people can match their care need with local care services. After her last fall, Marguerite was The coronavirus pandemic has I’m still fit and healthy,” she says able to return to her own home pushed awareness of the care defiantly. “He’s not going to go from hospital because the couple system to the top of the public’s into a care home. had previously invested in some priorities. For millions of people, Phyllis home adaptations such as a stair lockdown has meant lift and grab rails throughout the experiencing what it can be like house and into the garden.” to be an older person. Andrew Andrew Parfery Co-founder and CEO of Edinburgh based Care Sourcer since January 2016. Care Sourcer caresourcer.com Legal & General 7 This paper, written by real people experiencing the care system, and by a range of specialists, steps through the kind of questions and issues that people and providers face as they react to a need for care.” p22 p24 p27 Giving up work to Using your home to help Case study: provide care with your care Sandy, David, & Emily Holzhausen OBE Carers UK Max Parmentier Birdie Care Sandy’s father Emily describes how millions of people Max describes the concept of ‘ideal provide care for their friends and care’, designed to support the physical Sandy and David explain the difficulties relatives, and looks at how this can independence of an older adult – the involved with making, and getting, impact on people’s jobs. Emily shows concept is at the heart of Birdie Care, decisions to support Sandy’s father. how important it is to have a plan and the company he has been building since she looks at the way that employers can 2017. Max also explains how more help to support existing and new carers. structured data can help to understand what accelerates a person’s decline in health, identify infection flags and create a ‘very high resolution picture’ of the older adult.