Supportive social networks
People facing chronic illness, aging or disability issues require increasing health and social care. But more often than not, today’s health and social care systems are dependent upon the freely given time, support and care of a dedicated network of friends, family and neighbours.
The shift to network-centric care is already being seen in the United States. Now one of the leading facilitators of this technology-enabled movement is launching in the UK too.
Private care communities
Tyze Personal Networks is launching a localised version of its Tyze private online networks for the UK market. The company plans to make it easy for Britons to create dedicated social networks for their loved ones, so that they can benefit from the secure personal support networks that are already contributing to improved health and social outcomes for individuals and carers in North America.
Tyze is essentially an online tool – a private community centred around one person – that helps the individual, their families, neighbours and professional carers to work together in an efficient and effective way that benefits everyone.
By delivering secure, personal networks that not only coordinate care but also involve carers in an individual’s everyday life, Tyze aims to contribute to improved health and social outcomes for people vulnerable to isolation and loneliness, to the wellbeing of caregivers, and to significant time and money savings for formal care providers too.
Aside from the devastating personal impact that isolation and loneliness have on both individuals and their carers, they also add significant costs to health and social care systems. However, it is known that social networks can help to alleviate these significant challenges. Research shows that people heal more quickly, become ill less often, have better academic and employment outcomes and use health care services more efficiently when they have a supportive social network.
This new project will create the foundation for the creation of a sustainable social business in the UK. With localised technology and a trained team on-the-ground, Tyze will be able to scale quickly by working with organisational partners and individual clients who purchase personal netoworks as a way to improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care.
With funding from Nominet Trust and other supporters, Tyze will be able to host up to 2,500 carer networks in the UK, with each network able to support up to 25 friends, family members and carers – giving more than 60,000 Britons an easy way to provide support and assistance to their loved ones.
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