In our last blog we talked about the joint discovery that Adult Social Care and Digital by Design colleagues had undertaken for a Technology Enabled Care (TEC) project. The project was funded through NHS Digital’s Social Care Digital Innovation Fund and supported through the Local Government Association. The aim of our project was to deliver a quick, easy and effective technological solution to keep residents safe and independent at home and to increase the impact of our Technology Enabled Care service.
We are pleased to report that our bid was successful and we were one of 9 local authorities chosen to implement our solution. From November last year until April this year we again worked closely with our Digital by Design colleagues to make our solution a reality. Our colleagues in Adult Social Care’s Triage and Assessment Team and our partners within Carecall at Stockport Homes delivered the new service on the ground.
Our Solution
Our discovery led us to the Technology Enabled Living (TEL) Pathway as a solution. The pathway is a group of different services working together to provide individual, technology enabled care according to 4 levels of need. It considers every person’s physical, cognitive, social and technological requirements to provide personalised digital solutions that will work well for them.
The timescales for the delivery of the project meant that we were only able to focus on 2 specific elements of the pathway. These were the temporary/easy installations and more accurate smarter kit.
Temporary/easy installations
For the first part we developed the Fast Track process. Here front line Adult Social Care staff working on the Council’s newly formed Stockport Triage and Assessment Team (STAT) would (if suitable) install technology on their first visit to a person’s home, within a few days of the client’s phone call to the Council. This would mean quicker installation and a reduced wait for services.
More accurate smarter kit
The second part of the project was about more accurate and smarter kit with an aim of reducing the high numbers of no voice contacts and also false alarms from falls detectors that we found during the discovery phase. Here we want to use technology that consist of an extra speaker which can be placed in other areas of a person’s house and a much more reliable falls detector. Unfortunately this element of the project has been delayed due to technical issues. However we plan to deliver this part of the project over the summer and there are now 2 types of speakers coming to the market which we will be able to test to see which works better and would bring the most benefit to our residents.
The fast track trial was successfully delivered using quick and easy, plug and play equipment to ensure it was easy for staff to use. Training was given from the equipment providers; also, from the project team on the process that was designed during the discovery phase.
Evaluation
For the evaluation of the project, our Digital by Design colleagues played a key part in designing and collecting the feedback from residents and staff around how the fast track service had worked for them and how they felt about it. They also analysed the feedback from questionnaires and interviews and presented the information in a creative but clear way. The feedback was largely positive. Here are some of the key data and quotes that came out of the trial.
User feedback
91%
were highly satisfied with the STAT visit
Extremely satisfied with all the service provided
Provided extra level of care not expected
Very happy – feel reassured
Clear & efficient told us what we want to know
One gentleman’s wife said he’s a lot more able to move around now, where before he was just sitting in his chair when she was off at work.
Another service user had a fall in the week following installation. Under the old system, she wouldn’t yet have had the Carecall system fitted, so would have been unsupported at the time of the fall.
Staff Feedback
100%
Of staff would like to absorb the Fast Track process into business as usual
33 kits
Installed by STAT team so far (April 19)
3 installs per week
Outcomes
We’ve managed to implement something that works well, quite quickly, and that we can potentially roll out within the Council and with our health partners.
The fast track process has led to:
- Fewer “problem” installs
Caused by unavailability of power sockets / phone lines, etc. - Improved Perception
Of the Council and Carecall through the speed and quality of services provided - Less likelihood of refused installs
As the STAT team can install it for free on the day of visit
Please watch our project video to find out more.
Next Steps
Going forward we have a lot of work to do in terms of delivering the remainder of the TEL pathway but also expanding on what we have already delivered. With the success of the fast track trials we want to widen this out to other teams within the Council and health and we still have the extra speakers to trial in the summer.
Building on what we have learnt through working with the Digital by Design team we’d like to conduct a couple of mini discoveries around other parts of the pathway including use of environmental monitoring as a prevention tool.
Lots of exciting work to come, watch this space…
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