What does the future of social care look like?

Considering the economic, societal and technological implications for the future of social care 

In recent years, some of the most significant advances in care outcomes have been driven by the adoption of digital technology. Currently, with the support of government funding, the quality of care records and best practices in other processes such as medication management are advancing due to digital technology. But now, after this initial transformation, the care industry is looking at the next steps. So, what does the future of social care look like? 

Over the past decade, there has considerable transformation in the social care sector from three main viewpoints – technology, regulations, and expectations, each of which influencing the other to ultimately move towards higher quality of life for those living and working in care. Just as technology in the care sector, such as the advent of digital social care records and electronic medication management systems, have raised the bar of what outstanding care could and should look like, this has in turn has raised expectations of care standards, and thus has influenced the regulatory requirements of care homes in order to achieve good and outstanding ratings.  

But this doesn’t mean that once digital solutions have been implemented, everything remains the same – the care industry is always moving and evolving to reflect and accommodate changing social, political and economic factors. The technologies that are making the difference in care today will evolve and improve, new technologies will come into play too, and generally societal and economic shifts will take place, all working together to influence the future of social care. 

So, how does this influence the future of social care? From a technological point of view, the initial transition from paper-based care management processes to digital care management solutions functioned as a means of trying to find ways to digitise tasks that would take several hours or even days on paper and free up staff time. The emphasis was and is still now on creating greater efficiencies and improving safety around care management and operations to improve quality of life for those living in care. But as time goes on, the focus has been less on moving from paper to digital and now is more about finding ways to further improve digital solutions to create an even greater holistic means of managing care. This means expanding into more areas of overall care and improving integrations between individual software to further reduce wasted time and effort and create greater efficiencies and analytical opportunities. This recognition that one of the next steps for digital technology in the future of social care is integration was one of the big talking points from our first ever Customer Engagement Conference. 

For example, a care home that started off with a digital social care record system, like Person Centred Software’s mCare, might now be looking at ways to improve medication management, like implementing ATLAS eMAR, or looking at ways to improve staffing and dependency with DepenSys. 

But this shift in focus for digital technology has gone hand in hand with changing expectations of care. As far as improving standards of care, what was once seen as transformative is now being seen more and more as the minimum requirement for good and outstanding care. In other words, good standards of clinical care are now seen as a given, and the focus has shifted to what else can be done to improve the experience of care. This is why wellbeing has become such a focus in recent years. Going beyond the provision of clinical care (though this will always be a foundational aspect of social care) has meant a greater amount of attention given to the experience of residents. It’s about the recognition that their basic needs being met isn’t good enough – what about their happiness, their quality of life, their meaningful experiences? These are the types of questions also being asked now. 

But embracing digital technology in a way that the care sector has for the last few years also brings up questions on how the technology can be used. As more and more elements of the sector are digitised, one big question for the future is how the human touch can be maintained when technologies, such as AI, are being used more and more to assist in tasks like developing care plans. 

There seems to be a consensus that we have only just scratched the surface when it comes to technology being used in the future of social care. Melissa Jeffery of Caring Homes Group said just this when we spoke to her recently on the subject of the future of technology in care. “I really feel that there is so much more that we could do. I’d like to think that when I am older and if I need the services of a care home, I'd like there to be software that really benefits me and is suited to my needs,” she said.  

She shares the view of some in the care industry that the future of AI in care is suited to operating in an assistive function – rather than remove the human touch, it can help carers marshal the information they need to provide an even greater quality of person-centred, individualised care. She continued: “So in that scenario, say for example if I’m having a distressed moment, the assistive AI could then tell the person caring for me that I like a coffee, black, no sugar, and suggests offering me my favourite coffee. Or it could tell the person that when I’m distressed, there are certain items that help me to calm down, like my favourite radio station or TV show. The technology could take that knowledge and present it to the carer.” This is a future where, rather than diminish it, technology like AI can actually enhance the human element of care provision. 

Want to hear more from Caring Homes? Click here to read their thoughts on what outstanding care looks like. 

This also suggests a future where the technologies already available, for example the Who I Am feature in Person Centred Software’s digital care planning system, mCare, is tailored in such a way that it means care providers can gain even quicker access to pertinent information so they can provide truly individualised care that is always centred around the happiness, dignity and quality of life of those living in care.  

Whatever the future of social care looks like as it pertains to digital technology, the fact is that in the next few decades, the social care sector will be shouldering the responsibility of the care of a lot more people, given the fact that people are generally living much longer and developing more complex care needs. At Person Centred Software’s Customer Engagement Conference, which took place on September 18th 2024, it was pointed out by one of the panellists that certain changes in demography in the coming decades will mean that more people will be growing older without children, and will be growing older alone, and this means it’s likely that a more robust social care system will be required to meet the challenges that these changes will bring if we are to ensure that those living in care continue to live lives of meaning, dignity and fulfilment.  

How technology is used to meet these challenges will play a significant role, but perhaps even greater will be the systemic changes required to meet the coming needs of an aging population. This lies in the hands of policymakers, who up until now have not given the social care sector the support required to function as it needs to. 

CEO of Care England, Professor Martin Green, made this point in a discussion about the future of social care at the Customer Engagement Conference. Speaking frankly, Prof. Martin Green said, “We are now on the eighth prime minister since Tony Blair, and it took the new government three weeks ditch their commitment to providing long-term care reform, as well as make cuts to the training and development fund. So, I think if evidence was needed that we’re not going to get much more out of this government than we got out of the previous seven, then this is it. And it also tells me that the future of care must lie in our own hands, and we’ve got to look and the developments we can make to ensure sustainable care for the future.  

He continued: “There are certain things, however, that we need the government to do. For example, regulations need to be improved, but we also need the government to set some very clear messages about the importance of care and also how care fits into and can interface with the NHS and how it can be part of a national infrastructure. So, if the government is not going to deliver tangible things, what they can do is deliver the vision for where care sits, and we must then be ready to fill in the gaps and deliver that vision.” 

Another member of the panel discussing the future of social care was Dr Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care, who, in firm agreement, added: “At the moment, we do not have a sense of purpose, vision and direction in the future for social care. The people in this room must be foremost in the shaping of that future, but we can’t do it alone. It’s everybody’s business to get care right and that journey might have to be without the support of the government of the day who come and go.”  

“Discussions of the future of care often happen in quite abstract and intangible ways,” added the other member of the panel, Finn Turner-Berry, who is Policy, Research & Projects Officer at the National Care Forum. He continued: “But the future of care happens now and is happening now, so approaches when it comes to prevention and long-term planning are how we dictate the future of care.” 

If solutions to the issues within the care industry have to come from within, then this just speaks to the importance of embracing technology to improve the quality of life for everyone involved in care, whether it’s the people living in care or the those working in the sector. But why is this? Why are people suggesting that, quite frankly, the government of the day cannot be relied on to enact meaningful structural changes in the care sector? The answer is complex but mostly comes down to a few significant factors. 

The most important and overarching of these factors, it could be argued, is that, historically, there has tended to be a disproportionate split between the attention and resources given to the NHS and the social care sector, (speaking at the conference, Prof. Martin Green suggested that the NHS is more akin to a National Hospital Service, rather than the National Health Service). For example, according to the King’s Fund, the 2022/23 budget for the NHS was £181.7 billion, with the vast majority of this (94.6%) being spent on day-to-day items such as staff salaries and medicines. Compare that with the total expenditure for adult social care, which for 2022/23 was just £28.4 billion, which equates to just 15% to the expenditure for the NHS. More still, there is no national government budget for adult social care in England. Instead, publicly funded social care is mostly financed through local government revenue. It seems astounding that there is no national budget for such a fundamental and universal service, but this is the reality. 

This highlights the schism of attention and prioritisation that exists between the two pillars of health care in this country; governments in recent years have deflected calls for more robust and grassroots-style reforms to the social care sector by offering one-off injections of money that do next to nothing to even address the spending gaps that exist now, let alone address the structural issues that cause the deficiencies in the first place. Moreover, many of the loudest calls for reform for the social care sector tend to come from parties who will never have the chance to enact those plans. And, as Martin Green suggested, the government of the day rarely keep the promises of reform that they initially pledge.  

But while there still needs to be a systemic review and rebuild of the social care system, that doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons to be optimistic for the future of social care. In the absence of serious and sustained national government support, the care sector has and continues to look to itself to evolve and transform the quality of care it can offer to the most vulnerable members of society.  

With digital solutions, like those available with Person Centred Software, that are constantly evolving and changing to meet the needs of care homes – to be a long-term partner rather than just a provider – there exists now a quality of care and quality of life that would not have been possible even as little as a decade ago. Now, person-centred care isn’t just a goal, it’s a prerequisite. 

So, as we look to the future of social care, it’s clear to see that the future is one where digital technology can have a transformative impact on everyone involved. Here at Person Centred Software, we are doing our most to ensure that this vision for the future, where the quality of care and the experience of care for those using it is never compromised, is one that we can achieve together as a sector.  

For more information about our products and our mission, why not book a consultation here and speak with one of our experts, and we’ll talk you through how our Connected Care Platform can transform your care provision today and in the future, whatever that might bring.