The Innovate UK funding supports a research-led software development project that extends the capability of CareLineLive to provide dynamic care planning of patients in their homes. With the Care Quality Commission (CQC) pushing for digitalisation of the sector, the project will result in more efficient data capture of a patient’s physical and mental welfare.

This will ultimately improve patient care in a market that is traditionally fragmented and uses paper-based or legacy systems. Insights and predictions from data will also enable greater person-centred care.

CareLineLive‘s mission is to keep individuals needing care at home and improve the level of care that they receive. With recent research by Age UK revealing that the number of over 75s is set to double in the UK and 30% of elderly patients needing care will not get a bed in a care home, CareLineLive founder and MD Josh Hough is championing homecare by delivering much needed innovation to the sector. With increased demand during COVID-19, the activity and notes of carers using CareLineLive’s real time app gives families visibility of home appointments and details of the care given to their loved ones.

For agency owners and managers, CareLineLive provides an innovative, easy to use, cloud-based home care management system. Its customers have seen increased efficiencies and value, with improvement in cash flow and increased revenues of up to 50%.

Josh Hough commented: “As a UK health tech scaleup, we were delighted to receive this funding to deliver further improvements in homecare innovation. COVID-19 has both highlighted the urgent need for a more connected experience in the domiciliary care sector, as well as driven the rise in demand for the elderly to stay in their homes. We have purpose-built the CareLineLive solution to complete the circle of care, giving homecare staff a platform to easily track and record their patients’ care, families the insight into their loved ones’ care, and patients the peace of mind that their care is being monitored seamlessly. The next step will be increased data insights enabling more proactive interventions. This will ultimately help to integrate person-centred care between all care providers in the future.”

CareLineLive enables easy and quick rostering, real time care visit monitoring, and integrates payroll and invoicing, even saving a carer’s time by including mileage calculations. The Innovate UK funding will build on the foundation of the existing home care management system and will use data to provide an early warning system that delivers effective, efficient and compassionate care within service users’ homes, alleviating pressures on the NHS. CareLineLive’s increased data insights will be developed and added to the system by June 2021.

Jane Townson, CEO at UKHCA (United Kingdom Homecare Association), commented: “If technological solutions were integrated across social care and health, citizens could experience seamless services which are safer and tailored to individuals. Harnessing the power of ‘big data’ will enable better prediction of, and response to, people’s changing needs. The government must incentivise innovation in the care sector, by establishing a fund to develop and implement the best technology, so the UK becomes a global leader.”