TV licence shock as millions of over 75s will lose out
The BBC has scrapped the free TV licence for all over 75s, meaning only those who receive Pension Credit will be exempt from paying the fee from next year. There has been widespread criticism of the move to means test the concession, which was announced days after the D-Day anniversary coverage on the BBC and will affect millions when it comes into effect on June 1 2020. The licence fee, which currently costs £154.50 a year, had been free to all over-75s since 2000. Now up to 3.5million over 75s will be hit with a bill and only 900,000 households which receive Pension Credit – a benefit given to the lowest-income households – will continue to get their licence for free. The Government criticised the BBC’s move, after it reached an agreement with the broadcaster in 2015 that said the cost of providing free licences to the over 75s would be taken over by the BBC – at a cost of £745m from 2020-2022. In addition, the Tory Manifesto of 2017 stated that the free licences should continue to be given to all over 75s. Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesperson said: “We have been clear that we expected the BBC to continue this concession. We want the BBC to look again at ways of supporting older people. “As part of the long-term funding agreement, the BBC agreed to take on responsibility for this concession in 2020 and we have been clear that we expected the BBC to continue this concession. “In 2017/18, it received over £3.8 billion in licence fee income – more than the year before – and we have guaranteed the licence fee will increase with inflation until 2022. “They are also making over £1 million a year from commercial work, such as selling content abroad, which can be reinvested. “It is the BBC’s responsibility to ensure its substantial licence fee income is used in an appropriate way so that it can deliver for UK audiences.” TV licence move is “shocking” Care & Nursing editor Victoria Galligan said: “The free TV licence for over 75s was one of the few remaining perks of getting older. Many people face isolation and loneliness in their later years and the television is a companion to them – their window to the outside world. “With pensions barely covering living costs, rising food and utility bills and in-house social care adding to elderly people’s outgoings, another unforeseen charge is the last thing that the older generation needs. “To remove a benefit from the most vulnerable in our society, which has been in place for nearly 20 years, is shocking. I think many people will be left questioning whether the BBC is using the licence fee wisely and whether it should still be mandatory for people to pay the fee – even if they don’t use the BBC’s services – when there are over 70 channels available for free viewing and so many rival subscription services like Sky, Netflix and Amazon Prime on offer.” As a boycott was called for by campaigners, BBC chairman Sir David Clementi said: “This has been a very difficult decision. We’ve obviously thought about it extremely hard. We think that it’s fair to those over 75 but fair all to all our audiences for whom there was no appetite for the level of cuts that would have been necessary if those concessions had been extended to everybody. “But there are a number of people for whom this will be unwelcome news.” Sir David added that a BBC consultation had found that a large number of over 75s said they were prepared for means-testing to be brought in or to see the free TV licence abolished completely, if it meant that at-risk services – such as BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, the BBC Scotland channel, Radio 5live, and some local radio stations – would be kept. For more information on the changes, see the BBC News website.
Overcoming loneliness and improving Extra Care at Grand Union Housing Group
by Jan Davis, Dementia Project Officer (Extra Care & Dementia), Grand Union Housing Group At Grand Union, we’ve long seen the impact of loneliness and feelings of social exclusion amongst our older customers, but with new developments in digital technologies, we’ve been able to tackle this problem head-on. By adopting modern ways of care and support, we can ensure our customers continue to live happy, healthy, engaged and independent lives. Digital technology has revolutionised care and support for customers at Quince Court – our Extra Care scheme in Sandy, Bedfordshire – after replacing our analogue system with Appello’s Smart Living Solutions. They now benefit from apartment‐to‐apartment video calls, video door entry system, upgraded smoke detectors and pendants for each resident to wear in case of emergency. Extra Care, extra quickly Most significantly, we have improved speed of access to support down from minutes to seconds, with much better two‐way speech, which can be far less confusing for older people. If someone is ill or unable to leave their apartment, they can call friends or carers for a chat, helping to promote social engagement in situations where normally they might feel isolated. Central Bedfordshire Council’s care team works in partnership with our independent living advisors to give the best level of 24‐hour care and support for customers at Quince Court. If a customer calls for assistance and one of the care team is busy with another customer, the call will automatically get routed to the Appello monitoring centre after a few seconds, to reassure the customer that help is coming. If it’s an emergency, then an ambulance will be called straight away ensuring help arrives as quickly as possible. It is hard to articulate the difference this has made to the carers. Now they know that every customer is getting support, even when they are busy elsewhere and without being torn between calls for help. Carers can prioritise incoming emergency calls and the Extra Care team can now proactively monitor the calls to see when and where support calls are generated, allowing us to proactively improve the services we offer. It’s great that through using digital technologies, we are able to help combat social exclusion and with an ever-growing older population and more people developing dementia and Alzheimer’s, we can subsequently help older people to remain in their own homes, outside of formal care for longer. For more information, see guhg.co.uk
MMC: Making affordable homes for the elderly
Agile Ageing Alliance is a joining of innovators from across the building and housing sectors, as well as health, care, design & technology and finance advisors who have come together to produce a new way of retirement living. Neighbourhoods of the Future is a vision which modern methods of construction (MMC) can make a reality, providing much-needed affordable homes for the elderly as well as younger people. Here, Ian Spero – founder of Agile Ageing Alliance – answers editor Victoria Galligan’s questions on how MMC can help to solve the housing crisis. How many more affordable homes for the elderly are needed? Today, there are more than 11 million people aged 65 and over in the UK, by 2035, there will be 17 million. According to the Local Government Association, we are looking at a shortfall of more than 400,000 units of housing for older people by 2030 Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), emerging ‘smart’ technologies and big data analytics present possibilities for everyone. However, their potential impact on the way people, especially older adults, engage with the built environment is relatively unexplored. In a world where social networks are leading to a pandemic of loneliness, addressing the Ageing Society Challenge at a neighbourhood level should be a priority. Neighbourhoods are the settings where residents can socialise, realise common values, and achieve a level of social control and purpose. Why is MMC a good choice compared to traditional methods? The UK is facing an acute housing shortage. A better use of modern construction processes and materials could fix this, enabling thousands more homes to be built faster, cheaper and more efficiently; potentially transforming the quality and specificity of UK housing. Yet as things stand, our dependence on bricks and mortar defines a sector that is technologically moribund. Are there lessons to be learned from the successes of the automotive industry? Writing in the Agile Ageing Alliance’s Neighbourhoods of the Future 2019, report – commissioned by Tata Steel, Kieran Singleton Co-founder, of automotive design specialists Forge Design – expands on this theme: “Car manufacturers first recognised the benefits of platform manufacturing decades ago. To make better products more affordable, it is standard practice in the automotive world to try and maximise the amount of inter-vehicle commonality. This level of standardisation could have led to a conveyor belt of similar products and a huge reduction in user choice. But, by aspiring to great design, manufacturers have taken advantage of the platform approach to deliver exciting new concepts, embraced by the public at both ends of the price spectrum.” For our neighbourhoods of the future, the platform approach offers new opportunities for customised housing. This is particularly relevant for technologically enabled “adaptive” housing which can support independent living in later life. Matt Cooper is a leading advocate for MMC at Arup, an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists which made its name as the designer and engineer behind some of the world’s most ambitious structures. According to Matt: “The creative pioneers of the new generation of MMC not only have the opportunity to alleviate our housing shortage but to change the way housing is delivered across the social spectrum. With adaptable and agile regeneration capabilities built in by design, within the next 10-20 years, MMC may not only halt the downward spiral in our housing market, but act as the catalyst for a new social economy.” How are the units made accessible to people with mobility needs? Making our homes more accessible to people with mobility needs is a pre-requisite for an ageing population. Let’s face it, our perception of space, the elements in our environment that we find restorative or tiring, helpful or strenuous, change as we age. This happens together with changes in our bodies. New build housing and indeed retrofit homes can be made more accessible – and safer – by replacing steps with slopes/ramps, installing grabrails/handrails, trial installation of emerging new design of compact lifts, change floor coverings etc. Lighting can be improved to illuminate risk areas/install automated lighting (e.g. landings, motion/ pressure sensors when person gets out of bed). The bathroom is a top hazard area with regard to falls injury and could benefit from the use of non-slip flooring, lighting (as mentioned), taps/ other fittings as well as shower installation. Kitchen units can be lowered for easy reach from wheelchairs. Digital/ assistive technology measures have huge potential to improve lives. For some older people, it will be useful to offer an enhanced package such as the installation of sensors, alarm systems, automated use of environmental controls, the trial of new solutions, and/or innovative use of more mainstream systems such as Alexa etc. Frankly, we are still scratching the surface of what we can do by combining better design, new products and interoperable systems and enabling technologies to empower people in later life. You can read more about retrofitting in a great article by Sue Adams OBE CEO of Care & Repair England in the aforementioned Neighbourhoods of the Future report How do you envisage constructing enough units to meet this growing need? A wholesale commitment to MMC and the aims and aspirations outlined in our report could make a substantive difference at scale. We are speaking with developers and local authorities around the country who are keen to do things differently. By way of example, a pioneering independent developer Regents Regeneration is planning to build a new multigenerational neighbourhood in Coventry. The exciting thing about the Regents scheme is they intend to build a factory outside of the City where they will construct the new homes off-site. Furthermore, the idea is to work with Coventry University to evaluate the impact on residents. The university also plans to incorporate a teaching facility to address a growing skills shortage in the construction market. I will let Dr Evangelia Chrysikou, Healthcare Facilities Programme Director at UCL’s Bartlett Real Estate Institute, have the final word: “We must explain to people the benefits of inclusive societies. This needs
Implementing effective infection control
Clare Long, business account manager for care at the Professional Division of Miele, discusses effective infection control for care facilities… An infection control plan is a series of policies and procedures that every care home should have in place to ensure hygienic standards, prevent the spread of infection and keep residents, staff and visitors safe in the care environment. Even the most conscientious team can struggle to control infectious diseases if they don’t have guidelines to follow, and this is where your documented infection control plan comes in really useful. Here are some of the factors and regulations to take into account when introducing or revising your infection control plan for laundry procedures: 1. Hand hygiene This is the single most important factor for preventing the spread of infection and should underpin the rest of your policy. It’s vital for staff, visitors and residents to effectively wash and disinfect their hands to ensure they’re not transferring harmful germs or micro-organisms to other people, equipment or surfaces. Your individual policy should define the process that should be followed and when, for example after ‘hands-on’ contact with a resident. 2. Personal protection Your plan needs to define if and when staff should use personal protection. Carefully consider all the instances where personal protection measures may need to be taken and define the process. For example, an employee may need to use gloves and an apron to load soiled laundry into the washing machine. They should remove these and dispose of them safely before handling clean laundry at the end of the cycle or moving onto a different task. 3. Effective decontamination Dealing with waste and potentially infectious substances as a carer is often inevitable, but it’s vital to make sure that any soiled items are effectively decontaminated. Consider a sluice sink to remove as much residue as possible from soiled materials before entering the washing cycle. Ensure you’re equipped with quality commercial machines that are capable of handling larger loads and consistently washing to a safe standard. Once the washing cycle has finished, take care to prevent cross-contamination by ensuring clean washing does not come into contact with dirty items. 4. Regulation of infection control It’s vital to ensure industry guidelines and regulations are being met across different operations and the infection control plan is an effective way of ensuring your processes comply. The NHS infection control guidelines (HTM 01-04) define the decontamination of linen for health and social care. Your appliances should be tested and approved as being able to meet these conditions and be able to hold washing at either 10 minutes at 65⁰C or over, three minutes at 75⁰C or over or one minute at 85⁰C or over. 5. Brief staff Employees need to be thoroughly briefed and up-to-date with the correct procedures, particularly in the operational areas that might experience higher-than-usual staff turnover, like the laundry room. Ensure your infection control plan is properly communicated, easy to understand and accessible at all times. See miele.co.uk for information on cleaning products, domestic appliances and infection control.
Reducing staff turnover in the care industry
Colin Stevenson, the founder of Notable Change International recruitment and consultancy services, tells editor Victoria Galligan the need for selecting the right candidate through an effective screening process to make the much-needed changes in the care industry. Currently the care industry as a whole has an extremely high turnover of staff, especially true for the businesses employing care workers. The usual recruitment process at the moment is: advertise for the role, sift through CVs, carry out credentials and qualifications checks or a reference check, interview, possibly offer a second interview, then a job offer. If using a recruitment consultancy, employers are passed on applicants based on their CV and interview bias (if the consultancy likes someone and think they will suit the role, they will be passed to the employer). If recruiting in-house, it is the same process. If the CV, face and interview fits, a position will be offered. This is how it is in most industries – but this inefficient method is costing the care industry a fortune in both time and money. Personality traits, both internal and external, mean a picture presented in the interview process may not be a candidate’s true self. Internal traits make up who we are, while external traits are who we would like people to think we are in order to get somewhere or acquire something. As a result, many staff leave or are asked to leave their roles within a short period of time. From this we have a clear picture that something has to be done to ensure maximum time and money can be spent on service users rather than a failing recruitment process. How does this happen in the care industry? The interview process is the same, an applicant who does well in an interview shows their external traits, maybe exaggerates or even makes up traits to suit the position. What is hidden is their internal traits which will determine how they work, interact and most importantly care for the service users. The applicant sails the CV sift, sails the qualifications, sails the interview and becomes employed by the company. However, soon the employer finds the applicant is over-dominant, which can mean they are hard to manage, or has a low-patience threshold with service users – and traits such as these usually cause work-based conflict. A CV, two interviews and a qualification paper would not have recognised this. Hiring this person would have caused upset to the workplace dynamics, staff and service users, and inevitably the staff member would leave or be asked to leave as they were unsuitable for the position and the process will begin again – trying to look for a suitable staff member. Notable Change uses a profiling system for applicants, finding out their internal and external traits after the interview process to ensure the applicant will suit the role and the care home dynamics through answering a series of questions that produces a report. To make this even better, an employer can design their ideal candidate, using the model of their best member of staff or creating a profile with traits they wish their ideal candidate to have. This ‘ideal candidate profile’ will be used as a template for future candidates, to ensure complete peace of mind, close the profitability gap and most importantly allow employers to spend the time and money saved on recruitment on the service users, without hiring the ‘wrong applicant’ for the job. See notablechangeintl.com for more details.
Five ways to celebrate International Nurses Day 2019
As the world marks International Nurses Day on Florence Nightingale’s birthday this weekend (Sunday 12 May), editor Victoria Galligan takes a look at five ways that nurses around the country are celebrating… 1. The Royal College of Nursing is encouraging members to organise a get-together as part of the UK’s Biggest Nursing Party and offers a free party pack to help get planning started on your event. 2. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) commemorates International Nurses Day each year by producing and distributing resources and evidence to support nurses globally. This year’s theme is Nurses: A voice to lead – Health for All and looks at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) adopted by the UN in 2015. 3. Coventry Cathedral is hosting an event on Friday 10th May, which will see nurses (including retired nurses and students) mark the fourth annual International Nurses’ Day and International Day of the Midwife celebration. Nurses from across Warwickshire will take part in a procession through the city, and a ceremony will then be conducted at the cathedral. 4. Westminster Abbey will host a Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service which will feature a lamp given to the foundation by the family of Kathleen Dampier-Bennett, a trustee and supporter of the Foundation. The lamp has become the international symbol of nursing after Florence carried hers at night around the wards, visiting wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. The Chelsea pensioners will take part in the ceremony and a Nurses’ Roll of Honour is carried which honours those killed in conflict. 5. NHS Trusts in Cumbria are celebrating the range of nursing roles across the region and are looking at the different routes into a nursing career. System chief nurse Alison Smith said: “Every year the 12th May gives us a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of our nursing staff. There are so many different nursing roles each one making such a difference to the lives of our patients; in the community, in people’s homes, in the community hospitals and in the main hospitals, nurses are a huge part of our workforce. “Please help us celebrate our wonderful nurses and if you have a particular story about how a nurse has helped you or you would like to share your nursing story please get in touch. Personally I would like to thank all of our nursing staff for the phenomenal role you play in improving the lives of our patients.” Email your pics to communications.helpdesk@cumbria.nhs.uk Tag @carenursingmag on social media and we will share your International Nurses Day posts!
What to expect from five healthcare jobs
Within its ‘Fair Care: A workforce strategy for social care’ report, the Institute for Public Policy and Research has warned that a shortfall of almost 400,000 social care staff could be created in England alone by 2028 as a result of low pay in healthcare jobs and the effects of the UK leaving the European Union. We’ve teamed up with Acorn Stairlifts, an award-winning stairlift provider, to highlight that despite the uncertainty, there are many opportunities available for focusing your career around the care industry. Here are five healthcare job roles you could consider… 1. Care worker As a care worker, your responsibility will be to assist vulnerable people so that they can manage their daily activities and be able to live as independently as possible. You will be tasked with supporting people with their social and physical activities, as well as matters related to personal care and mobility. Entry requirements A job as a care worker can be achieved by completing a college course, an apprenticeship, volunteering opportunities or by applying directly for a role. If you take the college route, you should be looking to study a course which is relevant to the care industry — obtaining a Level 1 Certificate in Health and Social Care, for instance, or a Level 2 Diploma in Care. Both lead adult care worker advanced apprenticeships and adult care worker intermediate apprenticeships can see you securing a permanent position as a care worker. Voluntary work for an organisation which provides support to vulnerable people is another option. Should you choose to directly apply for a position as a care worker and carry out training on the job, it will be useful if you’ve already obtained some experience working with people. GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (or A* to C) in English and Maths, or equivalent qualifications, may also be requested from some employers. Essential skills To be successful as a care worker, you’ll need to be able to accept criticism, communicate verbally in an exceptional manner. and be able to work effectively while under pressure. Day-to-day duties to expect • Assisting a client with matters of personal care, including dressing, using the toilet and washing. • Assisting a client when it comes to how they pay bills, manage their budget and write letters. • Preparing food and then feeding a client, as well as giving out medication. • Taking the time to get to know a client, including their needs and interests. • Undertaking general tasks, such as housework, laundry and shopping. Expected salary According to Totaljobs, the average salary for care worker jobs is £16,622. Healthcare jobs available* Carry out a search for ‘care worker’ on Indeed at the moment and you will be able to browse through 35,226 related jobs. 2. Care home manager Become a care home manager and both the leadership and day-to-day running of a residential care home will be your responsibility. You will ensure the facility meets industry standards and you should also expect to manage budgets and contracts in place throughout the organisation. Entry requirements Going to university, completing an apprenticeship, and progressing into the role by working in the care industry are all routes which could see you becoming a care home manager. Opt for the university route and you’ll want to study either a foundation degree, a higher national diploma or a degree in an associated subject such as health and social care management to begin with. Once you’ve completed your selected university course, you’ll want to apply for a place on a graduate trainee scheme. Higher apprenticeships for children, young people and family managers are available too, if you would rather take this route. You can also start on an apprenticeship for care leadership and management, though take note that additional on-the-job training will be required once you’ve obtained this qualification. If you already have a job in the care industry, there is the option to apply for training towards a role such as a deputy manager. You should be looking to begin studying for the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services, where you’ll get six pathways to select from: 1. Management of Adult Services 2. Management of Adult Residential Services 3. Practice in Adult Services 4. Management of Children and Young People’s Services 5. Management of Children and Young People’s Residential Services 6. Practice in Children and Young People’s Services Essential skills You’ll need to be able to understand a person’s reactions, have knowledge about the subject of psychology and carry out counselling, such as active listening and how to take a non-judgmental approach. Day-to-day duties to expect • Agreeing to contracts, budgeting and fundraising opportunities. • Assisting care home residents so that they can access local services. • Carrying out tasks to ensure a facility meets all legal requirement, such as those related to aspects of health and safety. • Delivering advice, information and support to care home residents, their families and other staff members at the facility. • Encouraging care home residents to participate in activities. • Monitoring the quality of care and business performance of a care home. • Promoting the rights and duties of care home residents. • Recruiting staff members, as well as training and supervising them. • Setting out practices and policies. Expected salary According to Totaljobs, the average salary for care home manager jobs is £37,500. Healthcare jobs available* Carry out a search for ‘care home manager’ on Indeed at the moment and you will be able to browse through 18,789 related jobs. 3. Residential support worker The role of a residential support worker is to look after both the mental and physical wellbeing of children and vulnerable adults who are in care. Entry requirements Your route to becoming a residential support worker could see you attending college, completing an apprenticeship, working towards the role within the care industry or applying for the position directly. Choose to go to college and the
Improved access to shift schedules can reduce turnover among home care workers
Cristian Grossmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Beekeeper – a digital workforce management platform – on retaining home care workers through better access to shift schedules… It’s no secret that the UK care and nursing home industry typically has a higher rate of staff vacancies compared to others. A recent report showed that the vacancy rate in the adult social care sector was 6.6%, higher than the national average of 2.6%. Just as worrying, staff turnover in the adult care sector has climbed to 27.8% and has been steadily increasing since 2012. Stem the flow of high turnover among your care workers The industry must stem the flow of high turnover by investing in improving morale amongst employees and increasing retention rates of adult social care workers. One way to do this is to provide workers with earlier access to shift schedules to help them improve their work/life balance. Early access to work schedules changes lives This recent study highlighted how a fluctuating work schedule combined with last-minute shift changes can negatively impact workers. Unpredictable shift patterns create an inability to plan for needed childcare, medical appointments or socialising, as workers simply don’t have enough time to anticipate these needs. This causes employees to feel dissatisfied and stressed and less likely to stay with their job. The study also found that offering employees access to shift schedules just two weeks in advance made a huge difference in the quality of life for workers. There’s an app for that Technology can address the problem of high turnover with an internal communications platform that employees can access via an app or desktop, in which shift schedules are migrated from paper or email into an easy-to-access digital hub. The result of digitising schedules is that workers have improved access to their shifts, which prevents communication delays typical with the traditional approach to scheduling. Additionally, internal communication platforms offer home care shift workers the ability to instantly request schedule changes to management, enabling faster response times to requests and improving management’s ability to quickly find cover. This allows employees to have more control over their work schedules, which can dramatically improve overall job satisfaction. In addition to operational tools such as shift schedules, an internal communications platform like Beekeeper also offers instant access to one-on-one and group messaging, information sharing, surveys, training guides and health and safety information — all of which employees find extremely beneficial. In our experience, staff retention improves very quickly when employees have a platform that offers easy shift scheduling, access to information, and an immediate way to connect with management. It’s important to remember that your staff are your best asset and by investing in technology that makes their working life more harmonious, you will retain more talent, and build a happier, more productive workforce. For more information on improving shift pattern access for care workers, see Beekeeper
How phone applications are revolutionising the healthcare industry
Phone apps and the internet are some of our best and most favourite tools for figuring out which medical ailment affects us, says health writer Ella Hendrix. Sadly, the information we read is only as reliable as the person writing it, so be advised to take what you read online with a pinch of salt. Yet, more and more men are living longer because they are checking their symptoms online instead of ignoring their symptoms completely. The internet and mobile apps are affecting the healthcare industry in far more ways than most people realise and, in some cases, apps are saving lives. Staying in touch with the right people You may remember the first websites that offered free SMS texts if you didn’t mind giving your phone numbers up to spammers. Then, along came things like Skype and What’s App, and suddenly we have free communication that is lightning fast and more readily accessible than emails, and more disability friendly than phone calls. Such apps are nice for family members who want to stay in touch, and they are revolutionary for people who need intermittent care, from people with dementia who are having off-periods, to people with schizophrenia who need somebody to help walk them safely through an episode. Some of the best ideas are the simplest Apps that tell people when to take their pills are saving lives. These are not sophisticated apps like the ones that are used to check the oxygen content of your blood, they are organiser apps with alarms, but such apps are brilliant because they take the thought, concern, and worry out of taking pills correctly and on time. For example, for women on the pill apps are a convenience tool, for people with HIV they are saving lives. The frustration of forgetting One of the most upsetting sides of dementia that sufferers experience is the frustration it causes because they have to account for the fact they cannot trust themselves. Mobile apps are helping dementia patients ease their frustration with repetitive organising apps where reminders pop up until they are deactivated, so a sufferer of dementia is forced to undertake a task. Dementia carers at Helping Hands state that it’s “a time of utilising mobile technology for daily tasks” and their clients have found that a correctly chosen organiser app can help with various daily prompts, and enables them to regain a little independence and dignity. Do brain training and memory apps work? There are no studies that conclusively prove that such apps work, since people who invest their time in any activity are likely to get better at it – in other words, just because a person can remember a list of different shapes on an app, it doesn’t mean they will remember which items they put on their grocery list. However, there are several tactile apps that are helping people regain hand-eye coordination. There are apps that teach children how to write by having them trace letters, and similarly themed apps are proving very useful for people trying to regain full use of their hands and fingers after a stroke. Plus, many tailor-made apps will chart a sufferer’s progress so that doctors may spend less time performing manual one-on-one tests. Saving money in the healthcare industry Having a programmer create a set of customised apps is easier than ever these days, and it is helping to save money in some areas of healthcare. The combination of stock databases and the easy dissemination of information through apps has helped streamline the supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry, and it has made legally-required due-diligence check-ups far easier (e.g. missing items are more quickly identified). There are also apps that test a patients timing, reflexes, auditory, visual and presumptive responses, which means doctors, specialists and nurses do not have to invest as much one-on-one time with patients in order to check their progress. Conclusion – is technology a mixed bag? There are downsides to new technology, such as the mess the Canadian’s socialised healthcare program has suffered because technology was ineptly integrated (both eHealth and its predecessor Smart Systems), yet in the UK there is an NHS system that embraces the Internet, intranets, and apps, and the NHS is doing just fine, (though the UK is 41x smaller Canada, which probably makes a difference). The business world has also proved that a reliance on apps can somebody be foolish. For example, a number of businesses have commissioned their own apps to help run every aspect of their business, and then failed because staff members simply didn’t commit to using the apps, or staff members cheated and enter whatever data makes them look good. Simple ideas and simple apps are literally saving lives thanks to people taking their pills on time and patients being able to access carers quickly and around the clock, yet we should always temper our enthusiasm with the knowledge that time-tested methods lasted such a long time for good reason (i.e. new isn’t always better).
