CareTeam – Adult Support Digital Platform
CareTeam is a research project and partnership between Southampton City Council, the University of Southampton and Nquiringminds. It is partly funded by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.
CareTeam has developed an adult support digital platform that comprises a mobile app and household and personal sensing technologies. This platform wants to support independent living and help carers support their loved ones more efficiently and effectively. CareTeam aims to help adults who currently receive home care to remain independent, comfortable and active, living in their own homes without feeling isolated and unmotivated.
Adult Social Care and unpaid carers in the UK
Over the period 2016-2017, local councils in the UK have received around 1.8 million of new requests for support (1). The Gross Current Expenditure of Local Authorities on Adult Social Care in the UK for the same period, reached £17.5 billion with the majority of funds spent in long term care (77.6% or £13.6 billion) (1). The cost of care for people aged 65 and over is around £7 billion with 25.5% (~£4.5 billion) spent on physical support (1). At the same time the unpaid carers were supported with £166 million and an additional £196 million was spent for assistive equipment and technology (1).