Agenda item

Purpose of the report: To update the Adults and Health Select Committee on the Enabling You with Technology (Technology Enabled Care) Transformation Programme.

Witnesses:

Toni Carney – Head of Resources, Adult Social Care

Stu Cole – Independent Living Manager, Mole Valley Life (Mole Valley District Council)

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. The Head of Resources presented slides to provide context and a historical understanding of the programme (Annex 3).

2. A Member asked whether there were any additional plans to involve users and their carers in any potential future design phases or technology trials. The Head of Resources and Performance explained that the plans around cascade were to expand the use of it. There were a couple of pilots such as, putting cascade in step-down facilities. The Member asked whether there was training to help those who struggled with using technology. The Head of Resources explained that they linked in with Surrey Coalition of Disabled People, as they provided tech angels and Adult Social Care (ASC) would like to do more work in this area.

3. A Member enquired about the advantages and disadvantages of District and Borough Councils (D&Bs) outsourcing their monitoring to external agencies. The Independent Living Manager explained that the ability of Mole Valley District Council to have their own alarm receiving centre provided more opportunities with the pathway and an advantage was being able to grow their own technology. The Head of Resources added that the Council had secured agreement with all of the D&Bs who had signalled that they wanted to work with the Council using the same technology. The Member asked whether there was any resistance from any of the D&Bs. The Head of Resources shared that there was not resistance, however, hard work was required to secure agreement. Waverley Borough Council was the only Council without agreement as of yet.

4. The Chairman asked about the maintenance of the technology and whether it captured data. The Independent Living Manager explained that the two issues had been around the batteries, which had been resolved recently, and the sensors, which they had taken learnings from. Overall, the technology was reliable. There was ongoing work with cascade about how the data comes in and how it could be reported to capture the most from the technology.

5. In response to a question on privacy of the technology, the Head of Resources informed committee Members that staff explained to the users at the outset that there were no cameras or microphones in the technology. It was common for people to feel apprehensive about monitoring. There had been a couple of instances where people changed their mind and consent was crucial to the work. Occasionally, sensors had been installed as a best interest decision for that individual, but this was not the norm.

6. A Member queried whether there were any funding opportunities following March 2023. The Head of Resources explained that there was sufficient funding for the technology, and this would come out of the ASC budget for those with eligible care needs. The technology could have a positive impact on reducing costs for ASC. Regarding the responder service, ASC were putting together another bid to extend the service beyond March 2023. If no funding was secured, then the responder service would cease, however, the technology would continue. The responder service was a pilot and an evaluation still needed to be completed.

7. The Chairman queried whether there were any mechanisms in place to deal with complaints or issues of concern. The Head of Resources explained that usually these would be raised with Mole Valley District Council in the first instance. There was strong communication with ASC, therefore, if it was an issue that ASC needed to resolve they would.

8. The Chairman asked whether other counties were interested in the programme. The Head of Resources shared that they were doing a campaign on the programme in 2023. If the responder service was still in place, they would talk to residents about the service and how they could access it.

Recommendations:

1. For the Head of Resources for Adult Social Careto ensure that further and more sustainable funding is secured for the Enabling You With Technology Programme, and to provide a future informal briefing to the Adults and Health Select Committee, on any efforts to secure further Funding for the Programme in light of the timelines surrounding existing sources of funding.
2. For the Head of Resources for Adult Social Careto pursue data capture in order to analyse the implications of a variety of conditions of service users, so as to better tailor provision and gain a more detailed understanding of these conditions and the associated impacts.