Meet the UK’s health and social care needs with appropriate tools
In the UK, where an ageing population and the strained NHS present urgent challenges, the future of healthcare and social care must move toward scalable, tech-enabled solutions.
Relying on human-to-human interactions, whether in-person or via remote access, is not a sufficient or sustainable answer.
Changing the way one accesses a medical/social care professional does not address the crux of the issue.
There is an insufficient number of professionals to deal with the unprecedented wave of care demand.
The UK needs a paradigm shift towards self-accountability that empowers users of our social and health care sector to serve themselves.
Finding scalable tools
Yurtle espouses solutions that prioritise preventative healthcare over crisis management.
This is not about absolving the system of responsibility; it is about finding scalable tools that they can use in a world that looks entirely different demographically to what it did when these systems were conceived.
As of 2023, over 18% of the UK’s population is aged 65 or older, and this figure is expected to rise to nearly 24% by 2043.
This demographic shift places immense pressure on the NHS and social care services, which are already struggling to cope with demand.
The NHS could face a shortfall of 488,000 healthcare workers by 2030, according to the Health Foundation.
While the focus of this piece is not on explaining the nature of the shortage of professionals (largely a product of stringent immigration policies and pay exploitation of care workers), this also an area that requires immediate attention.
Remote access still requires a human on the other end, and as more people seek care this way, waiting times increase or service quality decreases.
A Care Quality Commission report highlighted that remote GP services have become overwhelmed during peak times, leading to delays and dissatisfaction among patients.
We need not look further than the collapse of Babylon Health, whose challenge unit economics impeded it from turning a profit long before the Covid-19 black swan event which overwhelmed it’s human-centred services.
Focus on prevention with apps
While a critical part of the solution, the reality is that phone and video consultations are not scalable in the way that technology-driven, self-serve solutions are.
While remote access may slightly reduce the need for in-person visits, it does not fundamentally increase the capacity of the healthcare system.
In contrast, apps and digital platforms that offer personalised, automated support can serve vast numbers of users without being limited by human bandwidth.
By focusing on prevention - providing lifestyle advice, promoting positive behavioural change (often as simple as thoughtfully designed reminders to boost medication adherence) - we benefit from fewer crisis-driven situations that require professional intervention.
For caregivers and working professionals, time is a critical factor.
Juggling caregiving responsibilities and employment leaves little time and appetite for remote access, and much less during working hours.
In this context, self-serve apps become even more essential.
These apps allow users to access support at their convenience, offering flexibility that human-to-human services cannot match.
A caregiver could receive guidance on managing a loved one’s condition, get help coordinating with family or friends for care responsibilities, or access a peer support network, all within the cadence of their existing routine of work and respite.
Adapting to a digital world
The shift towards self-service solutions reflects broader societal changes too.
Millennials and Generation Z, who are increasingly assuming caregiving responsibilities for both children and elderly relatives, have grown up in a digital-first world.
They are far more comfortable using apps and online services than making phone calls.
According to a 2019 survey by BankMyCell, 75% of millennials avoid phone calls whenever possible, preferring to handle matters through apps, text, or web services.
Similarly, a study by Zendesk found that 60% of Gen Z consumers prefer digital customer service solutions to speaking with a human representative.
It is no surprise then that usage of employee assistance programmes (EAPs) typically ranges from 3% to 6% of the workforce annually.
A report from The Guardian in 2022 indicated that even with growing awareness of mental health issues, the utilisation of EAPs in the UK remained low, at around 5%.
This preference for digital interactions is not limited to healthcare.
Wider applications
The banking, retail, and travel industries have already adapted to this trend. In banking, apps like Monzo and Revolut allow users to manage their finances entirely from their smartphones, eliminating the need for call centres or in-person consultations.
In retail, self-checkout systems and automated online shopping platforms provide faster, more convenient experiences than waiting in line or interacting with a cashier.
Granted, whilst the duty of care is singularly (and rightly) strong in health and social care, these industries have demonstrated that self-service options can deliver both efficiency and scalability.
Health and social care can and must follow suit. Embracing self-serve, tech-enabled solutions, prevention-first solutions is the answer.
In conclusion
While remote access to healthcare professionals through phone and video may seem like a stopgap solution to the NHS crisis, it does not address the deeper structural issues of workforce shortages and increasing demand.
Self-serve, tech-enabled solutions offer a more viable, scalable alternative.
These tools align with the preferences of modern consumers, particularly younger generations, and have the potential to reduce the need for crisis-driven care by focusing on prevention.
As the UK faces the challenges of an ageing population and a strained public health system, embracing these technologies will be key to building a sustainable future for healthcare and social care.
In partnership with Yurtle
Yurtle is an insurance-based employee wellness benefit helping companies to combat caregiver burnout (and the associated productivity and employee turnover losses) in the workplace.
