Looking After the People Who Look After Others

When we talk about improving health and social care, our focus is often on the people receiving support. Yet one of the most important investments we can make is in the health and wellbeing of the workforce delivering that care every day.

Care workers are the eyes, ears, and advocates of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. They provide physical support, emotional reassurance, and continuity of care for residents who rely on them. They are often the first to notice when someone is becoming unwell, losing confidence, or experiencing a change in their physical or mental wellbeing.

However, caring is physically demanding work.

Every day, care staff undertake manual handling activities, support people with mobility challenges, move equipment, and work within environments that were often never designed for the complexity of modern care delivery. While equipment and adaptations have improved significantly over recent years, there are still compromises. Many care homes operate within older buildings where space is limited, equipment storage is challenging, and staff must constantly adapt to meet the needs of the people they support.

These challenges come at a cost.

Musculoskeletal disorders remain one of the leading causes of sickness absence across health and social care. Back pain, joint problems, mobility limitations, and repetitive strain injuries can develop gradually over time. By the point an individual seeks support or requires time away from work, compensatory movement patterns and physical deterioration may already have been present for months.

The impact extends far beyond the individual member of staff. Sickness absence places additional pressure on colleagues, increases reliance on agency staffing, affects continuity of care, and can ultimately influence the quality of support experienced by residents and patients.

This is why conversations with partners such as Gaitsmart are so important. Together, we are exploring how workforce movement health can become a core component of occupational health and workforce wellbeing strategies. Rather than responding when an injury occurs, we have an opportunity to identify risks earlier, support staff proactively, and help them remain healthy and active in work.

This is where GaitSmart offers a different perspective.

Using wearable motion sensors, GaitSmart provides an objective assessment of how an individual moves. In just a few minutes, the system measures factors such as gait speed, stride duration, joint movement, balance, and symmetry between the left and right sides of the body. The assessment can identify subtle movement changes that may not be visible through observation alone, helping to highlight emerging musculoskeletal issues before they become significant problems.

The evidence is compelling. Evaluations within NHS settings have demonstrated that individuals receiving GaitSmart-informed interventions showed measurable improvements in mobility, function, and confidence. Participants reported improvements in their movement and wellbeing, while clinicians benefited from objective information that supported more targeted interventions and personalised care planning.

For social care providers, the opportunity is significant.

Imagine incorporating movement health assessments into workforce wellbeing programmes, occupational health reviews, or return-to-work pathways. Staff could gain a better understanding of their own physical health and movement patterns, managers could identify workforce risks earlier, and organisations could take preventative action before issues develop into long-term sickness absence.

Importantly, this is not about screening people out of work.

It is about keeping people healthy in work.

The same preventative philosophy that underpins Connected Care, identifying deterioration early, supporting proactive interventions, and enabling better conversations, can also be applied to the workforce itself. If we can use technology to support the health and wellbeing of residents, why would we not use similar approaches to support the people delivering that care?

A healthier workforce is more resilient, more confident, and better equipped to provide high-quality care. Reduced sickness absence, lower agency costs, improved staff retention, and enhanced workforce wellbeing all contribute to stronger, more sustainable care services.

At These Hands Academy, we believe that workforce wellbeing and quality of care are inseparable. If we want people receiving care to thrive, we must also create the conditions for the people delivering that care to thrive.

Looking after the people who look after others is not an optional extra. It is fundamental to building a sustainable, compassionate, and resilient health and social care system for the future.

Healthy staff. Stronger teams. Better care.