Reinventing the future of homecare
Developing a solution to the care crisis – an alternative model using a concept known as self-managing wellbeing support teams. Building a complete operating system needed for a network of self-managing teams to support people in later life to thrive at home.
About the project
The UK has a large, growing, and unmet, demand for quality care. Over 3.5 million older adults in the UK need support to enjoy the later life they want, rather than manage the later life they fear. By 2040 the number needing support will rise to 5.9 million.
Every developed country is struggling with how to support their growing aging population. The current “time-and-task” model of delivering care at home is broken. It leaves those being supported feeling like items on a tick list, not human beings; employees are driven away from what should be a fulfilling, meaningful career. 44% of home care workers leave their jobs every year; vacancies are at 10% and increasing. Yet paid care jobs will have to increase 36% by 2035 to align with our growing aging population. 9 out of 10 of older adults would prefer to be supported at home – and that was before coronavirus arrived.
We have the solution to the care crisis – an alternative model using a concept known as self-managing teams. Teams of around 10 Wellbeing Support Workers work together in a semi-autonomous unit, managing their own schedules and making the day-to-day decisions on how to provide the best support. They are supported by Coaches, working within a framework to guide them, and with intensive training. We are creating sought-after careers with purpose and meaning, paid above the living wage.
Over the last 15 months we have built four self-managing teams of Wellbeing Support Workers. They have supported older adults to live well in their own homes. We are proud of being rated 9/10 by those we support and their families, and we had zero staff turnover in our first year of operations.
This project, jointly funded by Northstar Ventures and Innovate UK, takes our proven concept to the next level. Over this two year project we are building the whole operating system needed for a network of self-managing teams to support people in later life to thrive at home. We will develop digital tools, research the best way to measure outcomes relevant to each person we support; developing new teams in the Thames Valley and in the North East. Our ambition is for self-managing teams, with the power and responsibility to personalise and optimise support for each client, to transform the lives of those both giving and receiving care across the country, and around the world