1. Glen Garrod Vice-President, ADASS 17 October 2017
How to enhance digital technology in adult social care to improve patients’ care?
Glen Garrod
Vice-President, ADASS
17 October 2017

2. Background
Social care provides care support and safeguards when we are in our most vulnerable circumstances.
Social care touches the lives of millions of people – almost one fifth of the adult population of England has experience of social care
Social care relies heavily on over 6.5 million unpaid carers
Social care is a vital ‘connector’ to other public services, especially the NHS but also local housing and community services.

3. Social Care is Valued

4. Why use technology?
Can transform the lives of people with care and support.
Enables people to remain in control and therefore independent. It can in some cases complement, and in others replace, care in the home.
Cost effective solution and therefore might result in savings as an added bonus.

5. Financial context
There is still an urgent need to find a long term sustainable solution for funding adult social care – technology helps
It is recognised that as well as promoting people's independence a bi-product of technology is that it can enable budgets to go further

6. Re-designed services
Good information and advice to help people look after themselves and each other
Develops supportive relationships and resilient communities
Services to get people back on track after illness or support disabled people to be independent
Services that are personalised, of good quality, that address improved wellbeing and are better joined up around individual and carers needs

7. How will technology feature in a re-designed system?
Individuals and their carers
Engagement, reducing isolation, information, monitoring health, well being and safety, memory support etc
Families and communities
Co-ordinating activities, alerting and reassuring, prevention and communication
Frontline workers
Integrated and real time information, professional development resources, expert advice

8. ADASS assistive technology toolkit
An interactive toolkit - how assistive technology can support the areas of most concern to directors of adult social services, including detailed practice examples.
The majority of people would rather continue living independently in their home, if given the right support to do so.
Despite the growing evidence base for the success of assistive technology, in improving care for users and in delivering care more efficiently in the community, the take-up of telecare nationally is not yet achieving full scale mainstreaming.
Adult social care has not yet realised the full potential of technology enabled care. The toolkit goes some way in enabling commissioners to understand the art of the possible.

9. What is this toolkit about?
ADASS has been carrying out research into the areas of most concern to directors of adult social services and how assistive technology or technology enabled care can support these areas.
Discussions have been wide ranging covering:
funding - the role of technology in supporting efficiencies
integration – how technology is enabling integrated health, housing and care
housing – the future of digital technology and infrastructure planning
care homes - role of technology in reducing costs, improving productivity and enhancing outcomes
human stories on the positive impact on people’s lives – winning hearts and minds

10. Benefits
By introducing technology enabled care services, such as telecare, into adult social care commissioning strategies, evidence supports the following benefits:
Deliveries efficiencies
Drives quality in care - improves the quality of services to ensure that patient experience and long-term health outcomes are the best they can be
Prevention and early intervention – allows instant contact with services
Improves outcomes
Tailors care to specific needs
Supports carers - can offer reassurance to families and reduce the pressure they come under in a wide variety of ways.

11. Learning Disabilities – Gloucestershire County Council
In 2011 Gloucestershire County Council commissioned an assistive technology pilot in 3 properties to assess the benefits in promoting independence.
Achieving the ‘win-win’ of improved independence and quality of life for the people as well as making efficient use of resources.
Gloucestershire County Council worked with the technology supplier and home care provider, with tenants, staff and landlord of the properties, plus the circle of care for each tenant.
Including telecare as part of care packages has enabled many individuals with learning disabilities to become more independent and manage aspects of their daily routines without the need for support.

12. Housing & Technology Fund
Housing and technology aims to help drive sustainable housing solutions for people with learning disability.
Hopes to achieve the following outcomes:
Stimulate systemic change towards community-based solutions which promote independence and choice over housing.
Improve community housing provision helping to prevent people becoming inpatients.
Utilise adaptations to existing accommodation using new technologies and other individualised solutions to enable people to remain living independently.
Vital to share learning and best practice

13. Final thought
In some cases the people who benefit do not need anybody else involved - they are able to be the person who both controls and benefits from the technology
In other cases, the technology is backed up by other people, whether in a call centre or responding to a call
In both situations the technology is crucial, and when combined with the right human interface, that technology can transform people's lives!