Social Care Innovation Programme New to Market Products

Tender description

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) and the University of Hull (UoH) have received part funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Northern Powerhouse to support a £1.5 Million project to drive innovation in the social care sector. The Social Care Innovation Programme (SCIP) employs a research-led approach, identifying the key challenges for social care providers, and the smart technologies that can be implemented to support them in reducing the challenges they face. The East Riding of Yorkshire is seeking solutions which will be new to the social care market that will meet identified needs. These identified needs are outlined in the specification, along with some possibilities of solutions, but as the solution will be new to the care market the solution may be something that is not covered. New to social care market means that the solution may be in use in another market and might need slight amendments to meet the requirements of the care sector, alternatively it might be a solution that has been partially developed but as not been finalised or taken to the market yet. Lot 43413: Lot 1. Infection control in residential care settings Good infection control has always been a fundamental element of high-quality care in care settings. However, the COVID pandemic has reinforced the importance of infection control to enhance the safety of service users and staff. We are seeking proposals for new-to-market infection control technologies that can support the provision of safe residential care. Lot 43414: Lot 2. Reducing the prevalence and impact of falls Within both residential care and domiciliary care settings, falls can have a substantial impact on the health and wellbeing of service users. There are examples of technologies being used to mitigate falls (notably through wearable or environmental falls detectors). Lot 43416: Lot 3. Enhancing communication with recipients of care The COVID pandemic has brought into sharp focus some of the challenges of maintaining communication with recipients of care in a time when face-to-face interaction can be limited. In particular, providers have had to develop new approaches to facilitating remote communication between care home residents and their family/friends, utilising platforms such as Zoom and FaceTime. For service users in their own home, limitations on face-to-face visits have exacerbated social isolation and loneliness. Lot 43417: Lot 4. Systems to optimise preparation for CQC inspections CQC inspections are a critical mechanism for ensuring the quality of social care services and enhancing the wellbeing of service users. From an organisational perspective, they also support ongoing quality enhancement and can support the competitiveness and sustainability of social care providers. There are systems available that support organisational preparation for CQC inspections, we believe that there remains a gap in the market for systems that underpin quality and evidence required. Lot 43419: Lot 6. Innovations in medication management Effective medication management is a critical element of social care, whether related to safer medication administration in care settings or promoting safe and effective administration and recording of medication by care organisation in a person’s own home.