Transforming home care through innovation and collaboration

Delta Wellbeing’s CONNECT and Blue Army services are transforming home care, reducing hospital admissions and driving innovation through partnership working, according to the latest research carried out by Accelerate Healthcare Technology Centre (HTC) Swansea University Medical School .

With the number of people aged 65 and over in England and Wales exceeding 11 million in 2021 and set to rise by 16% in Wales by 2030, the demand for health and social care is increasing and many older and vulnerable adults are experiencing delays in getting the care they need.

Delta Wellbeing is tackling this issue across South West Wales by providing personalised support and Technology Enabled Care through its CONNECT service and hospital-based Blue Army teams. These services are helping people to leave hospital sooner and reducing the chances of being readmitted by providing strong community-based care.

The company has been working with the Healthcare Technology Centre (HTC) to review these services, with a particular focus on the work of the Blue Army and CONNECT’s response team which help support people with non-injurious falls.

The study looked at service effectiveness, identifying barriers to innovation and recommending actions for improvement and scalability. Assisted by the research team, Delta Wellbeing’s aim was to improve workforce deployment strategies, streamline services and strengthen its role within the healthcare sector.

An Accelerated Knowledge Transfer to Innovate (AKT2I) grant was secured to create a clear project plan before starting the evaluation process.

HTC’s research team carried out an in-depth review of Delta Wellbeing’s care models, analysing response time data and other key performance indicators to assess service impact. Additionally, 17 healthcare and social care professionals, including staff from Hywel Dda University Health Board and Delta Wellbeing, shared their experiences in interviews. These conversations, held both in-person and online, provided valuable insights into the success that had been achieved as well as the challenges within the sector, such as improving information gaps between healthcare providers and social care teams, making hospital discharges smoother, and reducing readmissions.

A detailed report was provided to Delta Wellbeing, outlining key findings and feedback from stakeholders. Swansea University also created a data-led framework that Delta Wellbeing can use to refine its services, allocate resources more effectively and position itself for expansion across Wales.

Delta Wellbeing’s Response Service Manager Sarah Vaughan said: “The collaboration between Swansea University and Delta Wellbeing has been a positive opportunity, successfully fostering knowledge transfer. This project has encouraged further learning and highlighted the need for future collaboration. It has demonstrated the effectiveness of teamwork and shared commitment in achieving common goals.”

HTC bring partners from industry, academia and the NHS together within the life sciences and healthcare setting to drive research and innovation to develop, evaluate and deploy new technologies. It is part of the National Network for Innovation in Sport & Health, dynamic community dedicated to advancing innovation in sport, health and wellbeing, which is funded by Swansea Bay City Deal.

This partnership demonstrates how working together can drive innovation, improve healthcare delivery and ensure vulnerable people receive the high-quality support they need.