Innovation in housing and care from within the third sector

"By integrating services around what matters most, we can enable people to live life to the fullest from the comfort of home."

Health and social care integration encourages people to work together more closely across sectors and ensures everyone has access to the highest quality of health and care when they need it most. By providing a high-quality network of support around each resident’s home environment, third sector organisation Bield Housing and Care is exemplary in championing integration, which involves collaborative working, building strong and trusting relationships, and promoting innovative working to ensure everyone can live well at home.

As one of Scotland’s leading providers of housing and care services for older adults, the charity use new and innovative technology to intervene early and prevent illnesses from happening, whilst coordinating a network of support around every home to put people at the centre. Gary Baillie, Head of Bield Response 24 (BR24) and Assistive Technology Development, says that this approach is making a significant difference to the lives of many.

“Our integrated approach has delivered significant value with 70% of Bield residents living independently until the end of life thanks to the tailored blend of housing, care, and community support services”, Gary says. “Through early interventions and preventative steps enabled by multi-agency coordination, we have reduced unnecessary hospital admissions, as well as boosting social resilience through our community hubs and local activities.”

The organisation work in partnership with the NHS, local councils, and community groups to develop tailored care plans for every person within their housing developments. This is enhanced by their award-winning BR24 alarm service, which ensures greater safety and security for residents with disabilities and long-term conditions by providing them with direct contact to their operators, as well as Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), to support them when they are in need.

“We recently received three prestigious awards for our work to digitally connect communities”, Gary says. “As a result, we’re leading innovative efforts to enhance technology use in housing and care, whilst being the only Scottish provider involved in this UK-wide initiative.”

Bield undertake research to gain a better understanding of their resident’s digital literacy skills, before going on to identify the barriers to digital inclusion among their staff and residents. They launched the ‘Bield Tech Hub’ in Linlithgow, which is an interactive space where residents can provide feedback about newly implemented digital tools that support independent living. This involves championing co-production and co-design approaches to ensure decision making is shared and collaborative working is at the heart of their work.

“We co-design solutions with people by working alongside tenants using a co-production approach to shape a new digital design brief and strategy promoting technology-enabled care”, Gary adds. “The champions of our ‘Technology for our Aging Population: Panel for Innovation’ project, Alice and Peter, both work with project managers to test applications and provide feedback, as well as acting as advocates within their communities.”

Moving forward, Bield Housing and Care aims to build on the success of their housing and care support networks by placing a greater emphasis on preventative measures across all of the organisation’s work, whilst advocating for a more integrated approach across all sectors to ensure a truly holistic offering of care and support at home.

“At its core, Bield highlights the vital role that the third sector plays in connecting communities”, Gary says. “By integrating fragmented services around what matters most, we can enable people to live life to the fullest right from the comfort of home.”

You can learn more about Bield Housing and Care on their website: https://www.bield.co.uk