Using assistive technology to help deliver care

The Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG) in collaboration with NHS partners, plan to introduce a person-centred Assistive Technology Enabled Care (ATEC) service in the borough. The service aims to increase people’s wellbeing, independence, and confidence, whilst also providing support for carers and loved ones.

As part of these plans, we ran a public consultation to gather residents' thoughts. The feedback we received will help shape the project and its outcomes. This is in addition to extensive engagement with local people over the last 18 months.

The consultation took place from 12 March to 12 April 2024, and was promoted on social media, resident bulletins, printed publications, website, and posters. Participation was through an online survey and in-person drop-in sessions. We received a total of 13 responses, 12 of which were online and 1 in person. 

Feedback

The general feedback from our consultations indicates that local people are very supportive of the proposed service. 

Themes from resident consultations

We analysed responses from residents and identified 6 themes. These are requirements we’ll keep in mind when designing the service for our residents.

These identified themes are:

• supporting inclusion and reducing isolation
• personalised service
• support and training
• technology types, usability, and maintenance
• cost
• data protection and privacy

Supporting inclusion and reducing isolation

People wanted to know how our ATEC service plans could overcome digital exclusion. We’ve undertaken lots of planning and research to understand what barriers people might face in this area, and local people have informed us of our findings that digital exclusion mirrors exclusion in general.

We’ve therefore designed into our plans several steps to mitigate these risks and ensure that the service promotes digital inclusion. Care technology, when designed well, reduces barriers to accessing care. It can blend with face-to-face care, boost independence and enrich quality of life. It can also boost safety, well-being, and people’s connections to loved ones, interests, and services.

Our ambition is to utilise technology to transform the lives of our residents for the better. We aim to offer this service to as many residents as possible. We're addressing barriers like cost, internet access, and skills to ensure everyone can benefit. We’ll ensure that measures are in place to tackle barriers and ensure people can access the programme.

Broadband accessibility was highlighted as a potential barrier during consultation with residents. We currently use several devices that work with SIM cards and do not solely rely on broadband connections. Therefore, we see this as one of the several potential solutions we’re exploring to reduce barriers to this programme.

Personalised service

People asked us to ensure the service is designed with residents to meet their differing needs. Residents are at the heart of the ATEC project, and we have therefore co-designed the service with our local community and staff at every stage.

This user-led process takes into consideration the variety of capabilities and circumstances that people have, meaning that everyone’s experience will be personalised to their needs. Therefore, we plan to provide technology that is easy to operate and accessible to varying user capabilities for people, especially those with no experience using technology.

Support and training for the eligible residents will also be provided throughout. Choosing to use care technology will be subject to a conversation with health and social care staff when going through the process of care planning. Consent and capacity guidelines and processes will remain the same as they would for any package of care.

Support and training

Resident responses suggested that they may be apprehensive about using technology, especially technology they may not have used before. Our co-design sessions showed that residents do not just want to be given a device and left to manage it on their own without support. We’ve accounted for this in our process of setting up and reviewing the technology provision.

Depending on resident’s skills and confidence, we will tailor our support and training to the individual’s abilities to ensure they are confident in using these digital devices for their health and social care needs.

We hope to do this by using in-situ training, demonstration opportunities, regular check-ins and reminder information packs that will be available in various formats and languages.

Technology types, usability, and maintenance

Our residents were also curious to know more about the types of devices that will be offered. The program will use various technologies, including falls identification devices and video calling for social care.It will also include tools for healthcare needs, like monitoring vital signs. 

In all circumstances, the choice of technology offered will depend on the individual’s needs, so each person will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

We anticipate that our technology provider will be responsible for the delivery, installation, repair, and maintenance of the ATEC devices. Regular maintenance checks will be carried out to ensure the devices are kept in good working condition.

Policies regarding the timescale for repairs and maintenance are due to be agreed upon. These processes will be rapid and as efficient as possible so that there is minimal disruption for the user. We also have the ability to be in contact with people to ensure they are happy with the technology and their experience.

Cost

A few people asked about affordability and how cost might limit accessibility of the programme and risk excluding people. We are considering potential coasts and intend to make this service available to all eligible residents as part of 'Our Greenwich'. Information surrounding potential costs of the service will be shared with the public as soon as possible.

Data protection and privacy

People wanted to understand the data and privacy implications. The monitoring of data and insights gathered from ATEC devices will unlock an innovative and well-informed approach to care and will enable safe and efficient responses.

The use of this technology means that data protection and privacy are major priorities for both the council and residents. Therefore, the service will be assessed to ensure it is compliant with the Data Protection Act 2018 and data collected will be handled in a secure and sensitive way.

A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) will be carried out to outline where the data is held and how it is protected. This will help to identify and minimise potential risks.

Conclusion

The public consultation has been extremely useful in providing feedback about current plans and what residents are concerned about with the ATEC project. As we finalise decisions and gather further information, we’ll keep residents and staff up to date with the progress.

There are and will continue to be future opportunities for residents to have a voice in the design of this service. We welcome any feedback that will help us shape the project to meet the needs of our local community.