This guide has been developed in collaboration with those leading care technology responses to COVID-19 in councils.
As we are finding in many aspects of our lives, in the current circumstances, technology can have a crucial role in sustaining and enhancing important activities in a way that helps keep people connected, safe and well. The challenges that have made adoption and spread of care technology within adult social care complex have not gone away, but the appetite and imperative have never been stronger.
This guide has been developed in collaboration with those leading care technology responses to COVID-19 in councils. The first part of the tool identifies key challenges; the second part, the mobilisation guide, provides a framework that councils can use to support deployment. In the coming weeks the tool will be supplemented by practical case studies from the sector. Telemedicine and telehealth are not in scope.
- Who we spoke to
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Many thanks to all the councils who took the time to speak to us, write to us and who completed our survey. We asked councils how they were deploying care technology as part of their COVID-19 response, what the external and internal issues were that they were facing and what practical things would help support them now to overcome those issues. We have had around 30 contributions from councils over the country with some clear themes emerging which have been fundamental to the design of this tool.
- How to use this tool
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- This is intended to be a practical guide for councils. It is not intended to be prescriptive or directive, but an aide and enabler to help councils make decisions quickly and mobilise interventions safely.
- It outlines common challenges councils are facing (including underlying causes and impact) and offers some potential care technology responses. Councils should be able to identify areas of priority and see practical guidance on how they might be addressed.
- We’ve split the tool into two steps: Part one is designed to support you to analyse your local themes. Part two is a mobilisation guide to deploying care technology in response to COVID-19.
- Some councils have already, in a matter of weeks, started to mobilise care technology interventions that may have otherwise taken months to plan and implement. We will continue to learn from their journeys by sharing practical examples and local learning.
- The intention is also that this guide will support councils to ask the right questions of stakeholders and providers, in order to make impactful decisions, rapidly, that will have immediate and sustainable benefits.
- This is intended to be a practical guide for councils. It is not intended to be prescriptive or directive, but an aide and enabler to help councils make decisions quickly and mobilise interventions safely.
Executive summary
Get involved
This resource will be updated regularly with practical examples of local care technology approaches. If you would like to share your own local learning or experiences with us, or provide feedback on any aspect of this tool, please contact us at [email protected].
Coronavirus: council information and support
Useful information and support for councils on novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Protecting vulnerable people during the COVID-19 outbreak
Many councils will already have made significant progress in developing systems to support and protect people who are vulnerable as a result of the COVID-19 emergency, and this note is therefore intended to assist them by providing a point of cross-reference. It will also assist the NHS, community and voluntary sector and other partner agencies to understand the role and contribution of local government in supporting vulnerable people. This guidance is correct as of 3 April 2020.