It's not been a great couple of weeks if you're someone who cares for an older relative or receive care yourself. The news headlines have been full of stories about the care crisis that older people face, not just today but in 20 years' time. First there was the IPPR report warning that by 2017 the number of older people in need of care will outstrip the family members able to help, and then the shocking Panorama programme that showed the awful treatment some people receive in care homes.

I would love to say that this is sensational news reporting, but talk to anyone who cares for an older person and has had to try to sort out a package of care that fits around their needs and you quickly realise we have a problem.

We have to face facts. With the population of older people set to double over the next 25 years the demand for care will increase substantially. This means more care will need to be met by friends, family and communities. Our recent report Who Cares? reveals that more than 9 million older people could need informal care from their friends and family in 10 years' time.

Two-thirds of all health resources are already devoted to older people and it's clear that public spending will not be able to increase in line with demand. The shift in demographics means that the supply of informal carers will also reduce, as there simply aren't enough people.

The current care system is unsustainable, and reports like the Panorama programme show what can happen if we don't make care for the older population a priority. This isn't just the responsibility of older people, carers and government. This goes much deeper, and we all need to consider how we change the way we provide informal care.

The perception of giving care – often talked about as a burden – needs to change. Preparing for how to support people to live a good life means fundamentally rethinking how we care. There is a need to provide more help early on; emotional and practical support can aid people in living independently and well for longer.

And there are people developing solutions with the potential to transform care for our older population. At Nesta Impact Investments we have seen entrepreneurs developing technologies that help to both increase the supply of informal care and improve how that care is delivered, so that it is more personalised and efficient.

Casserole Club is a great example of enabling informal care from the community. It links people online who are willing to share a plate of food with neighbours less able to cook for themselves. This isn't just food delivery; it is about creating community networks, connecting people to provide support and addressing the massive problem of loneliness among our older population. The community is a relatively untapped supply of support, and platforms such as Casserole help to unlock this supply by making it easy and accessible for people to get involved. It now has more than 4,000 volunteer cooks nationwide and is growing. For those without children, it is networks like these that will prove vital.

Organisations that know all too well about the stress of caring for people are also innovating. Carers UK estimates there are 6.4 million informal carers in the UK. But care often falls to just one person and can be incredibly stressful. Informal carers often report a decline in their own wellbeing, as well as increased financial hardship and loneliness. Recognising this, Carers UK launched a new app called Jointly that allows people to communicate and co-ordinate care tasks, making it easier to share the care more effectively. But more support is needed: for these new tools to work we need to invest in them. As yet, this is a relatively underdeveloped market and we believe impact investors, like us, should be funding these innovations so that they can grow and reach more people.

Commissioners and healthcare providers need to work with social entrepreneurs to ensure the systems that are developed work and can be put in place quickly. If the system is really to change we need more evidence of the impact that these new technologies can have. And ultimately individuals and communities need to be open to new ways of building networks of care to provide that vital support.

Katie Mountain is an analyst at Nesta Impact Investments

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