The Future Of Assisted Technology In Residential Care

"We don't even have autofill on forms!" Michael jokes, but there is a serious message here: significant opportunities exist to use tech to improve council services. Local authorities are way behind the curve, Michael notes, when compared to private or commercial outfits when it comes to technology.?

Michael Law is the Business Development Manager at Hammersmith & Fulham Council . From this standpoint, he sees both health and adult social care. Both departments work together: it's typical for a resident to move between health and social care as their health improves or deteriorates. The movement of information about residents is critical to the success of support. Too often, this is done by email, not by APIs.?

Even the development of organisation-critical APIs is subject to 'API taxes'; that is, excess charges to connect one service to another. Every single change is expensive. Therefore, not only do the connections get delayed, but residents get worse value for money.

Michael notes that councils tend to be stuck in long-term contracts with big suppliers. Even the development of organisation-critical APIs is subject to 'API taxes'; that is, excess charges to connect one service to another. Every single change is expensive. Therefore, not only do the connections get delayed, but residents get worse value for money. In the future, Michael would do away with barriers in connecting critical services and encourage open APIs between suppliers (subject, of course, to information security compliance).?

As we dive deeper into the 2020s, how the council communicates with its residents will also change. They want to formulate one front door, with one resident account, fixing the fragmented multiple logins across multiple services that (as we know) are all too common with council services. This could mean that the residents own their data, too, under their single account (with a unified source of information).?

Michael commented that assistive technology would become more than monitoring. It will become a comprehensive and all-encompassing solution to support people at any stage. Prediction technology, and the installation of movement devices, will lead this change. And the world of proactive (predictive) support will become massive while simultaneously becoming less intrusive (being passive). The technology could then support people with social isolation and loneliness, too. LBHF's Minder Project (in partnership with Imperial College London) is spearheading this transformation.?

Michael commented that assistive technology would become more than monitoring. It will become a comprehensive and all-encompassing solution to support people at any stage.

Dr austen el-osta , Director of the Self-Care Academic Research Unit (SCARU) in the School of Public Health, who leads the project, said:

"Loneliness is one of society's entrenched problems and has a significant impact on mental health, life expectancy and quality of life. … As loneliness and isolation can affect people of all ages and from all different walks of life, it is important for us to gain insights from as diverse a range of people as possible. We hope that members of the community will help us to capture a snapshot of the issue to better inform interventions and the future direction of research into an important area of study that is often overlooked."

You can read more about the service here for those who are interested.

Mobile apps will become commonplace to support vulnerable people, says Michael. This change will be enabled by a unified front door and a single resident record system. While digital exclusion is relevant today, a digitally native generation will be using their phone to access council services in health and adult social care in a couple of decades. Family members will also be using mobile services to support their most vulnerable. Virtual day centres, and virtual support networks that have limited efficacy today because of digital skills gaps, will become the norm. It'll be a digital-first world, and mobile apps will be a part of the environment.?