A joint commission has been launched to explore the role of technology in a reformed social care system.
Sponsored by Tunstall Healthcare, the work is being led by the Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the TEC Services Association (TSA) and they will present key recommendations to the Government at its conclusion in March.
The commission will create a powerhouse of influential figures in adult social care, health, and housing, including local authority directors of adult social services, chief executives from councils, care and housing bodies, and leaders from NHSX, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Local Government Association, and leading TEC suppliers.
Technology has a key role to play in increasing the capacity of our health and social care services and enabling flexibility in the way care is delivered
Tunstall has invested heavily in the development of a range of technology solutions that can support vulnerable people in their community, enabling early interventions to avoid the need for more-complex care.
Gordon Sutherland, chief executive at Tunstall Healthcare, said: “Technology has a key role to play in increasing the capacity of our health and social care services and enabling flexibility in the way care is delivered.
“This will make care more proactive and predictive, and help to address future challenges.
“Technology is an enabler and to avoid the devastating effects seen during COVID-19 we must create more resilience within the system.
“Services need to understand the benefits of technology and must investigate how we can meet surges in demand and protect the population.
“I’m looking forward to contributing to the report for the Government with partners on the commission by sharing knowledge and expertise to ensure changes are made now to safeguard the future.
“We’ll be considering how care and support services and new technology can be combined to provide more-preventive, responsive support to people and meet future needs and expectations, alongside shaping the debate on the role technology plays in delivering care and supporting integration at a personal, place, and system level.”
Services need to understand the benefits of technology and must investigate how we can meet surges in demand and protect the population
ADASS and TSA have a shared ambition to create a roadmap for improving social care through better access to and commissioning of digital solutions, and for the widespread normalisation of technology within health and social care services.
The commission will consider the barriers and enablers to greater technology adoption, and look at ways to galvanise social care commissioners and policy makers to use technology more readily and rapidly in order to solve common challenges around care, health, and housing.
The aim of the report is to present a series of clear, tangible recommendations to central and local government on how to scale up and mainstream the use of everyday devices, data insights and specialist technology to extend people’s healthy lifespans and enrich their lives.
The report will launch at TSA’s International Technology Enabled Care Conference on 23 March 2021.