While we might hear about the latest healthcare trend in the news, the very heart of what care is all about has never changed.
What has changed is the pathway to what would previously have been treated in hospital to now being treated and managed in the community.
Homecare especially provides the necessary ‘movement’ through our healthcare system, helping to reduce bed blocking and relieve pressures on the NHS.
The key areas of development for Kare Plus in 2024 are two-fold:
- Learning disability and sensory impairment care
- Complex care
Kate Willis, Modern Matron at Kare Plus, is one of the UK’s most senior, qualified and experienced nurses.
“The core principles of care have not changed,” she said.
“For millennia we have looked after people’s personal care needs, cared for them empathetically and with compassion.
“The fundamental basics of care are no different now to what they were 2,000 years ago.”
Patient care will always be at the centre of all care delivery models and everything Kare Plus does.
Trends For Healthcare Providers
Health outcomes are greatly improved through the levels of care that can now be provided in the commmunity.
Being able to treat patients in their own homes is an essential aspect of better patient outcomes, especially following a stay in hospital or to avoid moving to a care or nursing home.
As a healthcare provider, Kare Plus works collectively with the NHS to ensure people have the ‘movement’ through our healthcare system and eliminate bed blocking as much as possible.
Even now we are in spring, winter pressures continue to be felt on beds and sometimes it can be a challenge to get funding released to allow us as a healthcare provider to take over someone’s care and bring them out of that bed and back into the community.
One of the biggest challenges for the care industry today is the cost of care versus the price of care, especially when it comes to services provided through local authority care.
Research by the Homecare Association found that £28.53 should be the minimum cost for an hour of homecare to ensure those who need it have the right choice and quality in the care they receive.
Some local authority contracts do not budget enough to cover this cost, creating healthcare challenges for homecare providers to continue providing the quality and choice clients need.
Changes In The Healthcare Industry
Over the past decade, homecare providers have worked with clients and their families to give them more control over their care.
With an aging population, as little as a decade ago that was where most community and home-based care was centred, predominantly around physical health needs.
Now there are two categories homecare predominantly provides for:
- Those living with a dementia, neurological condition or mental health
- The aging population that has a much more complex set of physical needs
Not only is recruitment changing, the people we deliver care to is also changing.
The biggest healthcare trend at the moment across the board is keeping people at home for longer and keeping people out of hospital.
“We’re all aware of the pressures on the NHS and our role is to keep people well, to keep them safe and cared for in the community setting, where we can,” explained Kate.
‘We’re here to reduce unnecessary admissions, with the trend to push more and different aspects of care into the community than ever before, such as mental health, learning disability and complex care for a medical need.”
Tanya Arms, Head of Homecare for Kare Plus, said the cinical tasks carers are required to carry out now are much higher than they used to be.
“Historically homecare used to be doing light domestic duties, a bit of cooking and looking after people whereas now, what’s expected of the carers is a lot higher than it was,” she said.
“Previously, people who have had operations stayed in hospital a lot longer than they do now.
“Because of bed blocking and the demand on the NHS, our trend shows people are discharged earlier than before meaning their needs, be that mobility, personal care etc. has increased.
“Traditionally homecare was more elderly but now its a wider range of people, whether that be those with brain injuries or MS or younger generations with long term conditions. We’re seeing more of those within the community.”
Within our healthcare systems, things that only nurses previously did, carers are now doing while nurses are now doing things that previously only doctors did.
“All of this is fully trained, developed and upskilled to do so and this does come with added pressures on services,” said Kate.
Healthcare organizations, including Kare Plus continue to adapt, support and fight for ongoing improvements to care funding and improve access to healthcare support across the country, especially in areas where economic and social determinants can make it more difficult.
Is There Enough Care Available In The UK?
People’s access to care can vary across the UK for a number of reasons, from geographical location to socio-economic factors.
There is also a generalised pattern of health data that areas closer to the coast have a higher need for homecare and less need for nursing care.
“Levels of care across the country are low and there is no denying there is a shortage of care workers, which poses a recruitment challenge,” added Kate.
Community-based staff are facing increasing costs for fuel, which has an impact when they are driving between clients, while many carers did leave the profession following the Covid 19 pandemic, having felt demoralised and exhausted from the pressure of those years.
“At Kare Plus, we work very hard to look after the staff we have, while enouraging new people into healthcare by showing it is an attractive proposition,” Kate said.
“We’re working to show people that care is a career rather than a temporary stopgap role, with plenty of diversity and opportunities to develop and progress as healthcare professionals.
“A career in care provides education and the chance to grow. It is a massively wide industry and the opportunities are phenomenal.
“Sometimes it’s a simple case about finding out what one person loves, because they’re not all the same and it’s making sure they’re respected and valued.”
Tanya added: “I don’t think a lot of people realise that with care, there is actually a career route with it and it is a rewarding role.
“It can open avenues even to do nursing and other routes in healthcare.”
How Does Kare Plus Help You Grow Within Healthcare?
Healthcare providers within the community are an essential service to support and relive pressures on the NHS.
“We are hugely conscious that our staff, our ground staff, our nurses and carers, they are our power within this industry and our role as management is to empower that,” said Kate.
“It is to educate and support so they can have this progression through their career.
“We want people to happy and healthy and progressing but also live a decent life, a decent work-balanced life within the industry.
“We want people to come into healthcare with new eyes, to bring new ideas.
“We have added many things in terms of growth from a company perspective, things like technology so we can interact with staff far more easily and in a fashion much more appropriate to 2024.
“We can use it as a cost effective tool, to minimise miles on the road where they’re unnecessary, which obviously helps in the current economic climate.
“There is huge growth from the staff’s perspective.”
Innovative technologies and a diverse array of skills and experience among our carers and nurses places Kare Plus at the forefront of community-based care in the UK.
In terms of growth for Kare Plus as healthcare staff and support agency, Kate said it is to ensure services are appropriate and that we diversify those services appropriately, not in a scattergun approach where people could become overwhelmed by so many different types of care.
“Growth has many ways of evolving but keeping the staff, who are the strength of this business, at the forefront, there is growth to be had and it’s exciting.
“We would like to see not just staff retention, with people to stay and work with us and we have some very long service staff, which is marvellous to see, but also to welcome new people into the sector. That is what we’re aiming for this year.”
With an increased focus on complex and learning disability care during 2024, Kare Plus is positioning itself at the top of healthcare organizations by getting ahead of care trends as they happen.
Tanya’s role is to support the company’s registered managers throughout the network.
“The most rewarding part of that is seeing them grow and develop,” she said.
“It’s a challenging role, being a registered manager, so being able to support them and knowing they have somebody they can go to, while empowering them to be able to do that job is just vital in the care industry.
“It’s really rewarding to be able to support those people and watch them grow and develop and be able to provide an outstanding service to the community.”
Ready To Join The Healthcare Sector With Kare Plus?
Like any business opportunity, owning a Kare Plus Franchise in 2024 will not be without challenges but it also comes with rewards.
Patient care and support puts your franchise at the centre of the community, placing healthcare professionals right where they are needed.
Playing a part in improved health, assisting people to stay home for longer and keeping as many people out of hospital as possible brings with it the knowledge you have made a real difference to someone’s life.
Healthcare is an estimated £283 billion industry in the UK and having a Kare Plus franchise offers you a route into that.
If you’d like to find out more about owning your own health organization with a Kare Plus buiness opportunity, contact our Franchise Sales team on 01952 783338 or email franchising@kareplus.co.uk.
You can also fill out our contact form here.
