Homecare ‘early deterioration’ pilot

A pilot scheme is being run to spot the early signs of poor health in elderly people in Newark and Sherwood. This ensures they get the help they need at an early stage to avoid a crisis or hospital admission.

The scheme is being run by local home care provider Fosse Healthcare in partnership with the County Council, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG, the East Midlands AHSN, Nottinghamshire Alliance Training Hub and Birdie and is being funded using Better Care funding from the County Council.

Fosse Healthcare staff have been trained to measure people’s health using a digital deterioration and escalation process and toolkit. Their training helps them to recognise what is referred to as ‘soft signs of deterioration’ such as a raised temperature, fatigue or change of habit, which may identify an underlying concern. These soft signs trigger different levels of intervention to ensure the GP or emergency services are notified before the concern becomes a risk. Birdie Care designed and built a new mobile App for home care workers to record observations digitally.

The pilot, which started in March 2021, includes 150 consenting home care recipients and 100 people in housing with care schemes. An academic partner is undertaken formal evaluation of the project.

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