TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Make the Move Online
Lyn Duncan tells us how caring for her injured mother inspired her to launch her online business cloudBuy to keep people who need social care services on the move.
The Care Act, which came into force in April, puts far greater emphasis on preventative services that help maintain people’s health. This creates a market opportunity for care providers to deliver support at an earlier stage.
Issues around transport and mobility often mark the start of a negative spiral that leads to a dependence on social care. Such issues can cause social isolation and a significantly diminished quality of life, which in turn leads to further health complications. If we can help individuals and their families to deal with these problems before they escalate then both the individual and the service provider win.
There are many great transport and mobility service providers who can step in and provide that little bit of assistance. However, it is not always easy to find out what is available locally, particularly if you are attempting to arrange care for an elderly relative from a distance. I know this from experience after temporarily looking after my own mother when she developed a relatively routine back problem. You see, my mother is one of the 85% of those who are assessed as having genuine care needs but do not qualify for council funding. It was therefore down to us as the family to find solutions for ourselves.
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While sitting in my kitchen in Berkshire it was a matter of just a few clicks for me to have groceries delivered to my mother’s door in Aberdeen via online shopping sites. Yet it proved impossible to find an appropriately qualified physiotherapist and source some independent feedback online. Almost none of the care providers in her area had a website, let alone the ability for me to actually purchase services from them over the internet.
Eventually, I virtually “kidnapped” her from her home to bring her to stay with me and arranged an appointment with a provider in my local area. However, this caused her a lot of disruption, removed her independence and meant she spent her period of recovery a long way from her close circle of friends. A number of businesses also lost out on my custom as I simply didn’t know where to turn.
The reality is that a huge proportion of us now live a significant distance from our parents and the internet is the first place we will go to research solutions or access sources of support to keep them on the move. Therefore any business or charity that lacks an online presence is severely limiting its audience and minimising its chances of being found.
It was at this point that I came up with the idea for a national social care marketplace which could better
connect care providers with potential service users for the mutual benefit of all parties. An “Amazon for social care” if you will, that makes it as easy to browse for essential care items as it is for books, shoes or DVDs. If social care users have better access to approved services, they can remain healthier for longer and reduce the pressures on state-funded social care.
I’m therefore delighted that my company cloudBuy is working with local authorities such as Hertfordshire and Staffordshire to deliver such marketplaces. As well as with Northamptonshire County Council and Grassroots on an ambitious initiative called breeze-e, that is expected to roll-out across the UK. We’ve also just announced another social care e-marketplace with Salvere that will initially serve Lancashire.
Private, public and voluntary sector organisations which provide support services can request a care marketplace listing and then pay a small transaction fee on each successful sale. The council supported marketplaces are open to a wide range of suppliers that help people remain healthy and independent in their own homes. This includes everything from nursing care to gardening services, from taxis to meals on wheels. So whatever social care solutions you offer, I encourage you to get involved.
www.breeze-e.com - 27 -
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