Agenda item

Further to the proposed draft recommendations published as part of the agenda, revised recommendations with minor amendments were tabled for the Committee’s consideration.

Members agreed the below recommendations for the major review on Assisted Living Technology (ALT):

1.    That Cabinet welcomes the findings and recommendations from their review into the Council’s offer of Assisted Living Technology (ALT) to residents.

2.    That Cabinet:

Tailoring to residents’ changing needs

1.    Commends the work undertaken through the Telecareline Service to support over 70’s residents live more independent lives.

2.    That, in developing and reviewing social care packages for individual residents, officers implement a checklist in 2022 that takes into account both the current ALT offer but also allows for future refinements should the need arise and as technology develops.

3.    That officers develop a narrative to support communications to tackle misconceptions about Assisted Living Technology and engender confidence in its usage on the part of service users and families; and that also identifies how barriers and costs to the take up to Assisted Living Technology may be managed.

4.    Welcomes the feedback received as part of the Committee’s review and recommends that the Council continues to listen to the views of service users families and carers, rather than during periodic reviews of the service, as a means of increasing confidence in residents and improving the ALT offer.

5.    That officers conduct a training needs analysis in 2022 to identify relevant staff that may need to gain a greater understanding of ALT and how it works for users, including use of the Virtual Reality headsets and other appropriate training.

Looking to the future

6.    Reviews its approach to Assisted Living Technology alongside the wider London Borough of Hillingdon’s digital strategy and digital connectivity strategy, seeking out the future benefits to service users that full fibre, the “internet of things” and digital inclusion can offer.

7.    That officers work with providers of ALT technologies to take a consistent approach in moving systems online to improve the effectiveness of service monitoring and delivery ‘in sync' with health and social care partners.

8.    Agrees to continued liaison with Brunel University and other sources of research and development to ensure the ongoing evolution of the Assisted Living Technology strategy continues to be informed by emerging good practice. 

9.    Notes that ALT can be an important preventative tool to a wider range of vulnerable residents, not only those in older years or with dementia.

10.Therefore, supports the principal that an ALT offer should be a consideration at all relevant major resident contact points with the Council, including universal services (not solely social care) and asks officers to prepare an implementation plan for this during 2022, for consideration by the Cabinet Member.

11.Recognises that ALT sits within a wide spectrum of services provided by LBH and partners. It forms an integral part of the broader support which is grounded in providing individual, personal-centred care, clearly tailored to the needs and preferences of the individual service user. ALT is an option to enhance rather than directly replace existing services, improving efficiencies in the delivery of resident outcomes.

It was explained that a draft report would be presented for the Committee’s consideration at the February 2022 meeting.

RESOLVED: That the recommendations were agreed and a final report be presented to Members at the next meeting.