The care sector is being disrupted by a new app that uses AI technology to help patients receive care based on cultural and religious understanding.
CareAlgo, which pairs carers and patients based on religious understanding, food culture, languages, grooming and holidays, launches today, enabling a more inclusive caring experience for ethnic minorities.
Care organisations will be able to sign up for CareAlgo, and care workers will set up their profiles and fill in their experiences, including skills, religious understanding, languages, and more.
The care receiver will then set up their own profile and detail their requests. After this, they can connect with the carer of their choice, then both can rate their experience and provide feedback.
CareAlgo is the creation of Maaha Suleiman, a young Black Muslim woman who spotted the gap in the market while studying for her Global Health & Social Medicine degree.
Care sector organisations are already interested in Suleiman’s offering, Kariba Amachree, Founder of Pragmatic Health Care services, has confirmed that her company will be using it: “I love how simple and sleek the design of the technology is; we’ll be using it every day in our agency.”
The new technology comes at a crucial time for the care sector and the UK population; according to the 2020 Census, 14.4% identified as belonging to an ethnic minority group, while the number of people aged 65 and over has increased by 23% in the past decade. This shows that CareAlgo could be the solution needed for an increasingly diverse and ageing population that requires inclusive care.
Suleiman said: “I am delighted to have worked with multiple care sector and charitable organisations, including a London council, Care Quality Commission, Care Innovation Hub and UnLtd to name just a few. The organisations have been key in developing our Care Matched technology, which will have a huge impact on the care sector.”
A senior member of the Care Quality Commission said: “CareAlgo is very relevant in addressing Regulation 9 and Regulation 10 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. By providing this culturally-appropriate matching technology to care organisations, CareAlgo is ensuring that vulnerable people are receiving the personalised care they’re entitled to and live out the rest of their years with dignity”
An executive-level social care commissioner said: “Person-centred and user-friendly tech solutions are increasingly important in the care sector, as are products that make it easier for people drawing on social care to find services that match the cultural, language and other characteristics that matter to them. I have been fortunate to monitor the progress of the CareAlgo solution since its early days and can say with confidence that it ticks all of those boxes.”
Maaha Suleiman was the winner of the Outstanding Technology Contribution of the Year Award at The National AME Health & Care Awards 2022.
