Stephen Burke, Chief Executive of Counsel and Care writing in The Guardian makes a brief case for the benefit of free telecare.
2 thoughts on “Older people would benefit from free telecare (UK)”
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Stephen Burke, Chief Executive of Counsel and Care writing in The Guardian makes a brief case for the benefit of free telecare.
Comments are closed.
Agree with a lot of what Stephen says BUT the problem with “free”…
…is that despite its good intentions it prevents patients and clinicians from being driven by the value of a particular telecare service.
Instead of the current status quo in which call centres consume vast amounts of resources we need true consumerism, where the best systems prosper not as a result of their ability to win tenders but because of demand from clinicians and patients who are aware of the costs and can chose options that offer value for money.
Free is essential
For Telecare services to “take off” they must be provided free of charge. Service users simply will not buy into what will be quite expensive complete systems. Only the well-off will be able to afford the systems and they generally have other ways of ensuring that they receive the care they need.