In a recent episode of the Create Your Kindspace Podcast, Darren Crombie, the visionary founder of Bridgit Care, shared his inspiring journey from aspiring to a career in criminal law to revolutionising the support system for unpaid carers through technology. With a background that spans over two decades in the tech industry, Darren's transition into healthcare tech has paved the way for meaningful innovation aimed at supporting the unsung heroes of healthcare – unpaid carers.
Darren's journey into the tech world was as unexpected as it was accidental. Originally studying sociology with an eye on criminal law, Darren's path took a turn when he joined a consultancy firm, marking the beginning of his two-decade-long career in technology. "I just started my life, really, in tech, like, 20 odd years ago," Darren recalls. Despite his initial disinterest in technology, his work in management consultancy and later involvement with the NHS exposed him to the transformative potential of technology in clinical care.
This exposure led Darren to identify a significant gap in support for unpaid carers. "And it was actually through that story, that kind of technology, into clinical, to then seeing a gap in family carer support, that the kind of idea for Bridgit care came around," he explains. With over six million people in the UK acting as unpaid carers, Darren saw an opportunity to make a substantial difference by applying technology innovatively to aid their efforts.
The idea for Bridgit Care was born out of Darren's realisation that while the NHS had a rigorous process for integrating technology, there was a stark lack of innovation aimed at supporting unpaid carers. "What we couldn't really see, what I couldn't see, was any real innovation to help family carers," Darren notes. He was moved by the potential to leverage technology not just in traditional healthcare settings but in empowering the vast community of family carers who play a crucial role in the healthcare system.
Darren highlights the economic and emotional value of the work done by family carers, emphasising the staggering £162 billion worth of care provided annually by unpaid carers in England and Wales alone. This realisation fuelled his mission to develop Bridgit Care as a tool to support these individuals, making a significant impact on the healthcare ecosystem by enhancing the quality and effectiveness of care provided at home.
Darren's journey with Bridgit Care is deeply rooted in personal experience, a common thread among many of those involved in the social enterprise's technology initiatives.
Darren shares a touching anecdote about his own role as a carer for his grandfather, Dougie, highlighting the everyday realities and unexpected challenges that come with caring for loved ones. "And actually, I had a role there for Doug, Dougie, as we called him... One day, I went round to his house, and he actually climbed up on the roof and got stuck at 82," Darren recalls, emphasising the unpredictability and necessity of support in caregiving roles.
This personal connection to caregiving not only inspired the foundation of Bridgit Care but also deeply influences the approach and solutions developed by the team, ensuring they remain grounded in the real-world challenges faced by carers.
Understanding the complexities of caregiving roles is central to Bridgit Care's mission. Darren and his team have engaged directly with carers, fostering environments where stories and experiences can be shared openly. "We joined just a cuppa session... and every week we just met with people and chatted and had a cuppa, learned about their stories," Darren describes. These interactions in Hull's Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre provided invaluable insights into the needs and challenges of carers, shaping the resources and support Bridgit Care offers. This hands-on approach underscores the importance of listening to and learning from those in caregiving roles, ensuring that the solutions provided are both relevant and impactful.
The conversation with Darren also sheds light on the critical issue of carer burnout, a growing concern as unpaid carers continue to shoulder significant responsibilities without adequate support. Darren introduces the "care star" model, which emphasises the importance of balancing the caregiving role with personal wellbeing, education, employment, and time out for oneself. "The challenge is that actually there's just not a lot there for you... The impact of that is just burnout," Darren points out, highlighting the dire need for systemic support to prevent carers from reaching a breaking point.
Bridgit Care's approach to supporting carers is multifaceted, focusing on identification, self-help, and connection to services. Darren outlines the process, from utilising technology to identify carers who may not recognise themselves as such, to offering personalised resources through a self-help portal. "So, when we look at the number of carers that are out there, 85% to 90% of them in a region aren't known," Darren notes, highlighting the challenge of reaching and supporting these individuals. The platform's ability to tailor resources to the specific needs of each carer, whether they're dealing with dementia, mental health, or balancing work and care, demonstrates a thoughtful and user-centric approach to support.
Bridgit Care innovatively uses technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), to personalise and enhance the support offered to carers. Darren shares insights into the experimental projects underway, including the use of WhatsApp and AI to create more dynamic and responsive support mechanisms. "Everybody's kind of worried, concerned, like freaking out about what AI means to our society, but what does it mean to me as an individual?" Darren poses, acknowledging the mixed feelings surrounding AI. By harnessing the power of AI, Bridgit Care is able to provide tailored advice and support, moving from a one-size-fits-all approach to one that adjusts to the unique circumstances and needs of each carer.
The application of AI in Bridgit Care's operations marks a significant shift in how content is created and delivered to carers. Initially relying on a manual process for developing support modules, the introduction of generative AI technologies like Chat GPT has revolutionised this process, enabling the creation of personalised advice based on specific user inputs and predefined knowledge bases. The shift towards using WhatsApp for communication reflects a deep understanding of carers' preferences and behaviours, significantly increasing engagement and action rates.
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of Bridgit Care's approach is the development of AI personas that offer direct support to carers through WhatsApp. These personas, such as a care coach or dementia coach, provide carers with immediate access to advice and information tailored to their current needs and challenges.
“We built a care coach, we built a dementia coach, a technology enabled care coach. And these are all different personas that you go into WhatsApp, you just ask a question, we then link you to that persona that's going to provide support and then you get to ask questions. What's the local dementia service to me? Give me some tips on dementia. I'm really struggling today, I'm really down. What advice can you provide to me? And we built that framework into the system so that personas can give advice to carers based on what specific challenges they've got in their life at that moment.”
This initiative represents a ground breaking use of technology to make support more accessible and responsive, demonstrating the potential of AI to transform the caregiving experience by offering practical, personalised assistance at the touch of a button.
Darren’s vision for Bridgit Care goes beyond merely facilitating conversations. He aims to evolve chat interfaces into actionable agents that can significantly impact users' lives. This ambition reflects a broader trend in technology to create tools that are not just informative but truly instrumental. "It's like right now where chat is...we're trying to build that framework of actions that allow it to actually do stuff for you," Darren explains. This approach signifies a leap from static chatbots to dynamic, AI-driven agents capable of facilitating real change for carers and those they support.
In the realm of social care, the introduction of AI and technology solutions often stirs apprehension about the potential redundancy of human roles. However, Darren notes that professionals in stretched social care settings have generally been receptive to Bridgit Care's innovations, recognising their potential to alleviate overwhelming workloads and improve service delivery. The example of the falls risk assessment tool illustrates how AI can augment rather than replace professional expertise, offering immediate, low-cost interventions that empower carers and streamline occupational therapists' work.
“Over Christmas we launched a new feature that it basically provides a falls risk assessment. So, you can just go into WhatsApp, take a few pictures around the property. So maybe the staircase, the front room, the doorway, and it will then just use something called Vision AI API, something OpenAI provide with Microsoft. And then it figures out like, okay, there's some risks here, you've got sharp corners on your kitchen tops, you've got an issue with your stairway. And then it provides a set of low-cost options. You can do maybe a few products on Amazon, maybe some just like moving the rug grippers and stuff like that around in the property. And that basically is what an OT does when they go around to property. But that might take eight weeks to get an OT there, whereas you can do it yourself in three or four minutes now on WhatsApp.”
Looking ahead, Darren is excited about the possibilities that generative AI and other emerging technologies hold for expanding Bridgit Care's impact across various sectors.
Darren's entrepreneurial journey, marked by shifts from hardware to software and an openness to experimentation, offers valuable insights into the nature of innovation. The transition from a focus on physical products to AI-driven services highlights the necessity of pivoting in response to technological advancements. He shares a glimpse into the varied and dynamic nature of an entrepreneur's daily life, from personal responsibilities to strategic business tasks. His description of balancing sales, marketing, development, and content creation tasks within a single day reflects the multifaceted role of an entrepreneur. This balance between professional demands and personal life, while challenging, is essential for sustaining motivation and creativity.
When discussing the concept of creating kind spaces, Darren touches on the personal sacrifices and challenges inherent in the entrepreneurial journey. His transition from a corporate role to leading a social enterprise signals the trade-offs between financial reward and personal fulfilment. Darren's engagement in activities like wild camping and marathon training reveals the importance of finding personal outlets for relaxation and reflection, offering a reminder of the value of self-care and connection with nature in maintaining wellbeing.
Darren's story captures the essence of entrepreneurship: the relentless pursuit of innovation, the capacity to adapt to change, and the personal growth that comes from navigating the complexities of building and scaling a venture. By sharing his experiences, Darren offers inspiration and practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, highlighting the importance of resilience, adaptability, and finding balance amidst the demands of innovation and business development.
Darren’s story from starting in tech to creating Bridgit Care shows what being an entrepreneur is all about: coming up with new ideas, being ready to change, and really wanting to help people. Through Bridgit Care, Darren has filled a big need for support for family carers and shown how technology can make caregiving better. Darren's journey is a great example for anyone thinking about starting their own business. It shows that with hard work, the willingness to adapt, and taking care of yourself along the way, you can make a big difference in the world.
To dive deeper into Darren Crombie's story and learn more about his work with Bridgit Care, check out these resources:
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