A wheelchair user as a child, Josh Hough felt frustrated with the slow moving care sector. He vowed to modernise how home care was run and has also created a dinosaur called Clive.
“Home care and technology isn’t an easy mix,” says Josh Hough, founder and CEO of homecare software company CareLineLive.
“Some working in home care literally describe themselves as ‘digital dinosaurs’. However, the truth is, with just a little bit of training most can use our software really well.”
The business has over 700 home care clients in seven countries, produces revenues of over £4m and has over 50 staff with over 25,000 carers using CareLineLive each week.
The company has recently created ‘Clive’ – short for CareLineLive – a dinosaur mascot which is proving popular at industry events.
“Everyone at trade shows wants to take Clive home. At the recent Care Show in Birmingham, visitors literally crossed the floor to get one. When we told them his name is ‘Clive’, it made them laugh.
Hough’s determination to make home care more efficient is drawn from personal experience. Born with the rare muscle weakening condition Minicore Myopathy, he spent much of his early life in a wheelchair. He was often exasperated by the inefficiencies of the healthcare system.
“I was visited by countless nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals,” he remembers. “Every time I met someone new, I had to go through the same routine – answering the same questions, explaining my condition. It was very repetitive and boring.
“Meanwhile, they were filling out paperwork or leafing through thick folders of information. It wasn’t very efficient and, even as a young child, I was thinking: ‘this could be done better’.”
By 18, Hough was running his own IT company. He later decided to create an app for homecare companies.
“We created an app that joins up everything in a home care business, from patient notes and visits to invoicing and staff rotas. Family members can access it so they know what’s going on.
“But also, critical healthcare professionals like paramedics can access it, too. Because, if they are attending an emergency, they really need to know whether or not someone has had their medication that day.
“While many home care providers are very much on board with technology, we are also there for those that think of themselves as digital dinosaurs. We hand hold their transition and even front line carers find our technology easy to use.”
The sector looks set to grow across the world. In the UK the NHS is under pressure to discharge patients as soon as possible and without additional funds for social care, considerable efficiencies can be made through clever utilisation of technology. Hough says home care has never been more important.
“Populations across the world are aging and so hospitals are under pressure. Inevitably this means home care will turn into a frontline for health. We need to get really serious about training and tools for people providing these services.”
