Health and care must take advantage of tech, says parliamentary report

An independent review of health and care services in Wales has found that the country is in dire need of a system change, including better uptake and use of technologies.

The report sets out a “quadruple aim” for the health service to improve health and wellbeing by focusing on prevention, improve quality of care, improve capability and engagement among staff, and increase the value achieved from funding.

“We believe there is a revolution occurring due to the digitisation, accessibility and analysis of information about people’s health and care which will fundamentally change the relationship between professionals providing care and users,” the report said. “Building on its commitment in legislation to involve people, Wales must respond to this ‘customer/user revolution’ very actively or risk lagging behind other nations.”

The report said the review should investigate to what extent the needs of the population “are currently being met, and new digitally enabled opportunities, particularly for remote areas; how health and care organisations are currently providing public access to integrated information regarding advice, support and care, including to support choices; and how new apps that help promote independence are identified, assessed, implemented and scaled up”.

Simon Hayler of GHM Care says: “The UK underwent a similar review back in 2014 and since then many new technologies have been adopted. There is still a long way to go though. Our integrated nurse call, WiFi for care homes and smart technology for care homes are just a few of the ways that care homes are improving the level of care and the experience of both the care home resident and the staff caring for them.”