Hi, I’m Emily. I’ve been a qualified social worker for just over seven years and am currently employed in one of the locality teams supporting adults.
When I began my career, the only technology available to help people was your traditional tele care – your pendant buttons, doors sensors and some door alarms. Over the last few years, I’ve seen a huge shift into more creative, innovative technologies that really enable person-centred support and promote greater independence.
Technology is such a big part of our everyday lives and, for our younger people in particular, there are real opportunities to promote independence through greater use of technology, helping them flourish in their home and the wider community rather than needing live-in or daily care support.
I think technology is something we need to embed more into our every-day practice – it can be very simple to use across all age groups and now offers effective support for a wide range of needs.
As part of the Care Act, the focus of social care has shifted towards adopting a preventative approach. If we can prevent someone coming into a hospital, rather than just treating them once they are there and need ongoing support as a result of that admission, that can have a really positive impact on not only their health and quality of life, but also local authority and NHS budgets.
For example, using technology to remind people to take their medication could reduce the need for home visits – maybe from four times to two times a day – empowering service users to live more independently, reducing preventable admission and freeing up resources for other tasks, without removing the personal touch.
As a social worker, when I was training, we didn’t really cover technology enabled care but I think it is something we do need to start embedding more into our practice. We have such a wide range of technology available now that we really need to start thinking technology first, rather than seeing it as something of an afterthought.
I use tech on a daily basis to get through life, and the fact that we can now use tech to support someone, for example, with a learning disability to get out into the community and build their confidence, is an exciting step forward.
Older adults can sometimes be more hesitant to adopt new technologies but it can be made very simple to use. I’ve seen examples where people use tech to switch on lights, to open blinds, to call for help, or to monitor their own health. Just having the reassurance that support is only a press of a button away is invaluable for both citizens and their families alike, helping them build confidence and retain autonomy over their lives.
For me, making a success of technology enabled care is about bringing us as professionals, the person and their family and support networks together to develop the right package for each individual. Technology can’t do everything, and it is not there to spy on people or their families, but get it right and it can enable people to live independently for longer, promoting choice and control over their day-to-day lives. I think that’s a fantastic opportunity!
