2024 annual review shows how home care can improve quality of life and prevent hospital admissions
Tuesday, 30th April 2024
Our annual review provides an insight into our service and helps us understand how we can keep improving.
Every year we undertake a review of our home care service to help us understand how it is performing and where we can improve. This includes reviewing the health and well-being outcomes experienced by our clients and undertaking anonymous feedback surveys with clients, their families, and staff.
The backdrop to this year’s annual review is a health system facing unprecedented challenges including ambulance delays, overwhelmed A&E departments, stretched GP practices, and lengthy social care backlogs. Hospital admissions amongst older people are increasing and many of these could be avoided with the right care in place. More than 13,000 people are stuck in hospital beds who are medically fit to go home, and almost half a million people are waiting for care to start or their care needs to be assessed. It’s now critical that care is moved away from hospitals and other institutional settings, with a much greater emphasis put on prevention and enabling people to live more independent lives at home.
At Carefound Home Care we provide hourly home care and live-in care services that enable older people to remain at home with the support of an expert carer when they need it. We use leading technology, and our care is highly personalised, locally managed and focussed on improving our clients’ health and well-being outcomes. This includes our carers using a soft signs approach to manage deterioration and facilitate early intervention, alongside proactive strategies for falls prevention, medication management and supporting specialist conditions. Our carers are also employed by us, well-trained, and supported 24/7, and we work in partnership with local health teams. This annual review helps evidence how our service is making a difference across the regions we cover.
Highlights from our client health outcomes
We are proud of the positive outcomes our home care service delivered for our clients during 2023. This included a 10% reduction in hospital admissions when compared to the previous year, meaning that our clients were 22% less likely to be admitted to hospital than people living in a care home.
Our falls prevention strategy has resulted in a 27% reduction in falls since it was introduced in 2021, and 95% of our clients were prescribed antibiotics within 48 hours of a UTI or chest infection being identified using our soft sign checks.
We also achieved a 20% reduction in medication incidents experienced by our clients over the last 12 months, and 65% of our clients who passed away were supported to do so in the comfort of their own home, rather than having to move into a clinical setting.
Falls
27%
fewer falls experienced by our clients following introduction of our falls prevention strategy
Our falls prevention strategy was designed with the NHS in 2021 and has resulted in a 27% reduction in falls amongst our clients since its introduction. Our proactive approach involves all of our clients having a regular multifactorial falls risk assessment with risks and interventions included in their care plan. We also provide help and advice on how to avoid falls or regain confidence following a fall, in partnership with occupational therapists and other health professionals. Our teams undertake monthly falls huddles to ensure falls risks are being appropriately managed and clients most at risk of falling are identified. Our carers are also supported and trained in how to reduce and prevent falls.
Infections
95%
of our clients are prescribed antibiotics within 48 hours of an infection being identified using our soft sign checks
Our carers are trained in how to prevent and treat infections including urinary tract infections (UTIs) and chest infections. This includes carrying out soft sign checks at every care visit using our care management app to ensure any signs of deterioration are identified, so that action can be taken to prevent serious illness. As a result, 95% of our clients were prescribed antibiotics within 48 hours of an infection being identified during 2023, helping avoid unnecessary transfers to hospital.
Medication
20%
reduction in medication incidents experienced by our clients over the last 12 months
Our medication management policy has been developed with an independent pharmacist and ensures that our carers are trained and confident in how to administer and manage medications. This includes completing comprehensive medication training and competency checks at least annually. Our teams also use our electronic eMAR system, which gives us real-time updates and helps us to ensure medicines are administered as prescribed. This approach has enabled us to reduce the number of medication errors experienced by our clients by 20% during 2023 when compared to the previous year.
Hospital admissions
22%
less likely to be admitted to hospital than people living in a care home
Hospital admissions amongst our clients fell by 10% during 2023 when compared with the previous year, meaning that people receiving care from Carefound Home Care were 22% less likely to be admitted to hospital than people living in residential care homes. Furthermore, only 7% of clients experienced a readmission within 28 days. This shows how our clients benefit from a proactive, highly personalised approach to home care, delivered by a team of trained and supported carers in partnership with local health teams.
End of life care
65%
of our clients who passed away were supported to do so in the comfort of their own home
According to Age UK, between 50%-70% of people would prefer to die at home, however only 19% of deaths in people aged 75 years+ actually happen at home. We believe that everybody should have the right to expect that they have a dignified and pain-free death, in their own familiar surroundings, with people they know and trust nearby. Our end-of-life care policy ensures that our clients have a personalised end-of-life care plan in place where required, developed in partnership with local community health and palliative care practitioners. We also offer specialist training and aftercare support to our carers, ensuring their professional confidence and emotional well-being when providing end-of-life care. This meant that 65% (almost two-thirds) of our clients who passed away in 2023 were supported to do so in the comfort of their own home, rather than in a clinical setting.
Feedback from our client surveys
Feedback from clients and their families was excellent. 98% of clients were satisfied with their care, 100% said the service improved their quality of life, and 99% would recommend Carefound Home Care.
Our personalised approach shone through with 95% of clients agreeing that their carer was well matched to their needs, 98% saying their carer arrived on time, and 100% saying their carer spent enough time on their care.
97% of clients also said their local care management team is helpful, recognising the extensive local support our teams provide.
98%
satisfied with my care service
100%
the service has improved my quality of life
99%
likely to recommend Carefound Home Care
100%
I feel comfortable and safe with my carers
95%
my carers are well matched to my needs
98%
my carers are punctual
100%
my carers spend enough time on the things most important to me
97%
my local care management team is helpful
Feedback from our staff surveys
We aim to offer the best support and opportunities to our staff and to instill a culture where people feel empowered to provide outstanding care and live by our PLATO values – Personalised, Local, Accountable, Together, Outstanding.
Feedback from staff demonstrated this. 95% are satisfied with their job, 97% said they are proud to work for Carefound Home Care, and 95% understand why we’re different from other care companies.
97% of staff said they are well supported and 95% said they felt well trained to perform to a high level. 91% also said they were supported to go on and achieve their objectives at Carefound Home Care.
100% of staff said they were given enough time to care for their clients, and 93% said they were recognised for doing a good job.
95%
satisfied with my job
97%
proud to work for Carefound Home Care
95%
understand why we’re different from other care companies
97%
well supported in my job
95%
feel well trained to perform safely and to a high level
91%
supported to achieve my objectives
100%
given enough time to deliver care
93%
receive recognition when I do a good job
Comment from our Managing Director, Oliver Stirk
“We’re very proud to share the results of our annual review which demonstrate how home care can improve people’s quality of life and reduce the likelihood of people being admitted to hospital.”
“It’s also great to see such positive feedback from our clients and carers, which is thanks to the incredible work of everybody across our local teams.”
“The NHS is facing unprecedented challenges and there are increasing numbers of older people being left without support. We need to move care away from hospitals and other institutional settings, and put a much greater emphasis on prevention and enabling people to live more independent lives at home.”
“I hope that sharing our findings helps highlight how a highly personalised, locally managed home care service, backed by leading technology, can make a difference.”
You can learn more about how Carefound Home Care could help you or a loved one, or apply to join our team, by visiting www.carefound.co.uk or calling 0330 223 6240.
Notes:
- Health system challenges sourced from The Times Health Commission Report, 2024 and Age UK The State of Health and Care of Older People in England Report, 2023.
- Falls health outcomes data based on number of falls incidents reported per 1,000 care hours provided, compared during 2022 and 2023.
- Infection health outcomes data based on number of clients prescribed antibiotics within 48 hours of a UTI or chest infection incident reported during 2023.
- Medication health outcomes data based on number of medication incidents reported per 1,000 care hours provided, compared during 2022 and 2023.
- Hospital admissions health outcomes data based on number of hospital admission incidents reported per client, compared during 2022 and 2023. Comparison with residential care homes based on 0.60 admissions per client per year vs. 0.77 emergency hospital admissions per resident per year in residential care homes identified in The Health Foundation. Emergency admissions to hospital from care homes: how often and what for?, 2019. Hospital readmission health outcomes data based on number of clients with reported hospital readmissions within 28 days of discharge during 2023.
- End of life health outcomes data based on number of clients who passed away during 2023. Age UK data sourced from Age UK End of Life Care Policy Position Paper, 2019.
- Survey data based on results from 2023 client and staff satisfaction surveys.
