The Balance of Care Group developed the Telecare Business Case Planning Model (external link) (TBCPM) for the Department of Health in 2005. It helps councils examine how using telecare for specific client groups might affect their care strategies. This could result in significant workforce implications and impact on work with other organisations.
It enables councils to explore various scenarios to see how different ways of delivering care might affect services across the local health and social care economy.
It's free to download as an Excel workbook with PDF documentation. There is no on-going technical support but there is a comprehensive tutorial and instructions. The computer must be able to run Excel macros for the model to work.
Using the tool
The TBCPM leads the user, step-by-step, to consider key elements and effects of a potential telecare strategy.
Service users are in five groups of older people:
- Care home clients - elderly mental health
- Care home clients - non-mental health
- Frail older people - case management
- Other long-term care needs
- Other low intensity care needs
The tool enables care options to be considered for each group. It can compare current circumstances and future assumptions about local social care services and those of other local organisations including healthcare and the voluntary and independent sectors. Other groups can be easily defined locally as required.
The toolkit is pre-populated with a wide range of 'national average' data for 2005 (when the tool was developed). But the data can easily be repopulated with current local data. The council will need to earmark time for staff with a knowledge and understanding of the services to create and update model assumptions.
Contact details
Paul Forte
email: paul.forte@balanceofcare.com
tel: 07818 066653