The Hampshire Care Association (HCA), the body representing care providers in the county, organised a care experts’ summit to discuss how technology can be used to provide better outcomes for service users.
Held at The Winchester Hotel, the private roundtable, Using Digital Care to Provide Better Outcomes for Service Users, was chaired by Mark Allen, Head of Strategic Commissioning at Hampshire County Council and was attended by key care sector figures who over the morning shared best practice advice on using digital care effectively and the challenges of adopting technology in the care sector, based on their extensive subject knowledge.
Throughout the event a number of important points were raised such as the role of technology given an aging population, the challenges in implementing technology across care homes including cost, healthtech more widely, and the impact that technology could have on making administration more accurate and streamlined. The points raised, under the Chatham House Rule, will form the basis of a follow up note on the use technology in care, which will be circulated to all members of the HCA.
Attendees included: Mark Allen, Head of Strategic Commissioning at Hampshire County Council and event chair; Samir Patel, Chairman of HCA; Councillor Warwick Payne, Cabinet Member for Housing and Adult Care, Southampton City Council; Jayne Connery, Director of Care Campaign for the Vulnerable – Care Campaign Advocacy Service; Keith Strahan, Principal Implementation and Business Change Manager at the NHS Digital Social Care Programme; Jonathan Papworth, Director of Person Centred Software; Andrew Geach, Proprietor of Shedfield Lodge Care Home and Robin Hall, Administration Manager of Home of Comfort Nursing Home.
Samir Patel, Chairman of HCA, commented: 
“Thank you to everyone who attended what was a highly illuminating event. It was very interesting to hear everyone’s experiences of using digital care to improve the lives of some of society’s most vulnerable people. In a difficult funding climate, it is more important than ever that we embrace new methods of delivering the best care. We will circulate the findings to all members and look forward to seeing technology used more widely across Hampshire in care settings as a result.”
Mark Allen, Head of Strategic Commissioning at Hampshire County Council and event Chair, said:
“As the use of technology becomes more and more ubiquitous in our everyday lives it is increasingly important that both commissioners and providers of services for our most vulnerable citizens understand what role this technology has and can have in this sector. Adopting the use of Technology Enabled Care and other consumer technologies presents real challenges but also very significant opportunities. This roundtable event highlighted all of these aspects and demonstrated that there is a clear willingness and desire within Hampshire to understand and embrace new forms of service delivery to improve individuals’ lives and the working environment of our dedicated staff.”
Jonathan Papworth, Co-Founder and Director of Person Centred Software, said:
“It is always interesting to hear different sides of any debate, and HCA had put together a good representation of the different aspect of technology being used to improve social care, highlighting the obstacles as well as the opportunities. A number of studies have confirmed that appropriate use of technology will reduce falls; reduce UTI’s; reduce the onset of dementia; improve mobility; and give more contact time between carers and those being cared for and the CQC have recently modified their Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE’s) to include questions about how technology is being used, and this shows that the positive benefits available using modern technology are instrumental in being rated for outstanding care.”
Andrew Geach – Proprietor of Shedfield Lodge Residential Care Home, said:
“The event was very interesting giving different angles of the use of technology and not using technology in the care setting. Much was learnt during the event and I hope that from this we can spread the knowledge to care homes so that we can all move forward with the times and provide a better outcome with care and make the lives of the carer easier, giving them more time with the Service Users.”
Keith Strahan, NHS Digital, commented:
“It was a pleasure to attend and present about the digital opportunities that exist to support care and improve secure information sharing. It was a privilege to hear about some of the great work that that already exists in Hampshire and how it can be developed and built on”.
