Holding up a crystal ball to elderly care

By Helen O’Meara of CI Home Care

We’ve all been exposed to recent media coverage about staff shortages in the elderly care sector, concerns about infection spread in residential settings, and so on. None of which Jersey has escaped.

But how are care industry leaders viewing the future of care? Is it all doom and gloom or is there some light on the horizon?

Happily, the latter possibility, according to many whose visions for the future of care, include:

Increased use of technology

Ranging from use of ‘behind the scenes’ scheduling software of which most clients are blissfully unaware, to electronic fall monitors and more.

‘The opportunity to improve caregiving and lives is massive,’ says Martin Jones, CEO of Home Instead in the UK. This is less about the elderly needing to use technology and more about the Carers being able to do so, which in turn requires…

‘Professionalising care giving’

Although this particular home care director sees Carers as professionals, to date this has not been a particularly widely held view. Yet during the pandemic we have relied on Carers to keep our elderly loved ones safe and we have been concerned when a lack of Carers has caused bed blocking in hospital. In Jersey, regulation - as well as desire - has prompted Carers to become increasingly qualified. This emphasis on increased skill, recognition and pay levels is what will make the care sector more attractive… but it risks causing affordability issues for the individual and the state.

Therefore, another feature on the care horizon is this:

Meaningful care planning by individuals and families

There are few positives to come out of the pandemic, but it has prompted many families to think and talk earlier and more seriously about elderly care and who is going to pay for it. Residential or at home? Should we postpone downsizing so that we can accommodate a live-in Carer? What are the cost comparisons? How much does the state contribute?

These are important questions that are increasingly, and wisely, being asked well in advance of the point of need rather than at the point of need itself.

Increased emphasis on care at home and a rise in the demand for live-in care

These are other trends. Concerns around infection and ability to visit are prompting many families to consider live-in care at a cost comparable with residential care, but in the client’s own home.

Not only is the risk of infection lower but even during periods of travel restriction, families have still been able to keep in touch, as a live-in Carer has more one-to-one time to manage Zoom and WhatsApp catch-ups. As an added bonus for Jersey, this option helps increase the number of available Carers without increasing the population size, as many live-in Carers are resident off the Island – often also adding a new and interesting perspective to an older person’s day-today life and conversations.

Whatever the future holds, the increasing need for elderly care is not going away. At a state and personal level, we are all going to have to do some future planning.

And ideally, we’ll be doing so in consultation with more than a crystal ball!