Using Automated Telephony to Engage with Unpaid Carers to better support, assess & measure outcomes
Our most recent webinar focused on unpaid carers and how councils can use automated telephony to support the 13m+ carers in the UK, with everything from information signposting, proportionate reviews, social prescribing, as well as keeping in regular contact to ensure they are managing to live the life they want.
With the DHSC’s Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF) currently being allocated, there is a clear focus on unpaid carers and some budget to help address the sizeable challenge. The Health Foundation reports that only 8% of carers approach their council for help, and on the flipside we know councils struggle to identify unpaid carers. So shining this light on carers – who save the UK economy £132 billion each year – is much needed.
The benefits of engaging with carers better are significant, from helping them to be more involved with the wider community, being supported to continue in education and employment, knowing their rights and what benefits they might be entitled to, having training on equipment they may use, as well as being heard in the conversations about care packages for the person they care for – and much more.
Indeed in the pilot local authority CQC assessment reports, there are a number of examples of how engaging with carers regularly can really make a difference. From being able to save time when they have the right equipment to support their caring activities, to really positive feedback from being able to access community groups and activities, giving them respite from their caring role.
Councils, health and care organisations on the webinar were asked about the number of carers they had identified in their areas, and the level of engagement they had with them. The majority of councils confirmed they had identified between 11-30% of the carers in their area, and 90% of respondents said they were regularly engaging with 5-30% of their known carers. We know work is ongoing across councils to be able to better identify and engage with carers using a range of methods from traditional advertising to social media, working with community and voluntary groups as well as GPs, hospitals and health partners. Building on proven work with a range of councils whereby we script automated calls to go out to adult social care service users en masse, the session moved on to how these calls are generated and the evidence the call response data can give ASC teams.
The automated telephony approach – which we call Contact&Connect – has been proven to benefit a variety of ASC services, and the carer focus builds on this evidence, allowing councils to prioritise resources and responses to those most in need.
The Contact&Connect approach is very simple; by generating personalised, automated calls – in this case – to carers and asking them a standard set of questions, we are able to engage with 50+% and bring in key information which, when analysed, supports both the carer and the person they care for. Based on answers to questions the system can proactively send out links to relevant information and advice, videos on how to use certain pieces of equipment, details of local support groups and more.
From a savings perspective, the calls can support a proportionate approach to carer assessments and reviews. By scheduling calls directly after a carer assessment and prior to a review, we can ask very specific questions around being supported & heard, social isolation, being safe & able, being involved in care package decisions and more. The answers to these core questions then allows a council to triage people into a social worker led review or a more proportionate approach. Financial savings already identified in the ASC service user space are significant, and would directly translate to carer assessments and reviews. The approach is fully within the proportionate assessment guidance published by the Chief Social Worker.
With scripts drafted and a business process to effectively manage all the required follow up outlined, the session worked through the range of benefits the Contact&Connect approach can deliver and compared them to council carer strategies.
As we move forward into the new financial year and with the ARF monies currently being distributed, we are excited to work with councils to deploy Contact&Connect to support carers and start to properly evaluate the impact the calls – and resulting carer focused support – will have on unpaid carers, on who the wider health and care system so clearly relies.
If you would like to receive a recording of the webinar or set up a dedicated session to discuss this further, please do get in touch.
