The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the TEC Services Association (TSA) are joining forces to launch a Commission that will explore the role of technology in a reformed social care system.
The two national care bodies ADASS and the TSA have joined forces to launch the Commission which will make recommendations to government, the health, care, and housing sectors, and the technology enabled care (TEC) industry on the role of digital technology in a reformed adult social care system.
The Commission will explore how better access to technology could improve joint working between health, social care, and housing, and offer more preventative, responsive support, shaped around the individual.
Alyson Scurfield, CEO of TSA, said: “Over the last few months, technology enabled care has been a lifeline, improving people’s quality of life during very difficult times and supporting individuals to self-manage their own health.
“We want to build on this normalisation of technology and create a roadmap for improving social care through more innovative and informed commissioning of digital solutions. We hope that this Commission also gives the technology industry impetus to invest their resources in developing solutions that are unwaveringly focused on improving outcomes for individuals.”
Technology enabled care
The Commission will bring together influential figures from 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, and the Local Government Association. The voice of service users will be represented by Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) and a number of leading technology suppliers will also join the Commission.
It will be chaired by internationally renowned Spanish health care leader, Rafael Bengoa who is Co-Director of The Institute for Health & Strategy in Bilbao, Spain, and will hear evidence on effective models of technology enabled care via UK and international best practice case studies.
In March 2021, the Commission will launch its final report, which will include a series of practical 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 lifespans and enrich their lives.
Iain MacBeath, Strategic Director of Health and Wellbeing at City of Bradford Metropolitan District and ADASS Honorary Treasurer, said: “We set up this Commission because of a recognition by directors of adult social services that more needs to be done to integrate technology with social care.
“We bolt it on the side of services but rarely commission anything integrated or innovative and this just can’t continue. Over the next 25 years, the number of 85-year-olds will double, and all people will expect technology to play a crucial role in supporting individuals. This Commission will encourage local authority leaders to procure social care services in a different way so they lead the process and technology manufacturers can respond and invest appropriately.”
Bengoa said: “In many countries, COVID-19 has exposed a disconnected and inefficient social care system. This, combined with a rapidly growing older population, calls for a significant change in the way social care services are planned and commissioned. Digital health and social care have filled the gaps during the pandemic and the Commission seeks to pull together this knowledge to make it easier and quicker to adopt, spread and scale innovations with the aim of creating a more preventative UK social care system.”
