digital communications and technology

Social care commissioners should listen carefully to people who use social care services. They will point out that a life-enhancing piece of technology is not a luxury add-on, but essential to obtaining a higher quality of life.

Saying “robots in care” can conjure up negative images which presents an uphill struggle for user acceptance. But talking to people about a device that can help them transfer a loved one into bed without risking straining their back has the opposite effect - people are almost begging for solutions that will help them: “I needed that on Tuesday when Mum fell, where can I get it from?”.

One benefit of working with the care technology (TEC) services in two-dozen local authorities, is that I get to see what works and what doesn’t.

The Care Act reinforced Local Authorities’ responsibilities to monitor the quality of independent care businesses, however the fragility of the care market is one of the things keeping Directors awake at night. ADASS’ own budget survey identified the increase in Care Providers closing down and handing back contracts. When a Provider fails, the knock-on effects to people who use care and support services, Care Workers and Council’s own staff are devastating. So how can today's innovative technology help mitigate risks by identifying potential provider failure?

In my discussions with DASSs about the role of care technology in their Strengths Based transformation programmes, the subject of robots comes up more and more often. In particular, we’ve talked about the cobot, or collaborative robot. One memorable example of a cobot is in the film Aliens. Sigourney Weaver’s character Ripley is desperately trying to protect a child from the attentions of the alien. She climbs inside a giant cobot in the loading bay of the spacecraft and shouts “Get away from her ….” before proceeding to give the interloper a damn good thrashing...

Ali Rogan, Chair of the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friendly Technology task and finish group and external affairs advisor to Tunstall, blogs about a series of new information sheets...

Care technology (telecare) services can play a key role in reducing the cost of care, particularly when aligned to preventive or strengths based approaches. As care technology experts we help local authorities to understand the quality of their existing telecare service, providing objective assessments of the potential to deliver significant financial benefits alongside better outcomes for service users.We see the same mistakes being made by local authorities in their approach to care technology; here are the top five...

Whilst there will always be a need for higher intensive care packages and care homes, new methods of care delivery closer to home need to be properly supported by commissioners to ensure people receive the support they need and prevent them from moving up the care pyramid...

This blog by Ali Rogan, External Affairs Director, Tunstall Healthcare, describes the latest ADASS toolkit for carers “Guide to supporting carers through technology enabled care services”

Blackburn with Darwen Borough is experiencing significant changes in the population structure over the coming 20 years with increasing complexity of care needs impacted by deprivation and the number of people over 90 almost doubling, writes Steve Tingle. Financially the picture isn’t any brighter. We’ve done some work across Pennine Lancashire and the combined gap across health and social care in the next five years is in the tens of millions… 

How do we get better at-home based support and prevention? How far should local government go in terms of its role and responsibility of prevention in the community? How proactive is it prepared to be, to support those who are lonely and isolated, or those where there may be some concerns? Linda Sanders poses the questions, and tries out some answers…

As a small unitary authority in the Northwest with high levels of deprivation, Blackburn with Darwen face multiple challenges in supporting vulnerable people in leading independent lives. From 2008 onwards they have turned to innovative solutions using assisted living technology (ALT) to manage rapidly growing and changing care needs. Sally McIvor tells us how it’s done..

Tuesday 8 July 2014