Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council
Keeping people safe with care technology
When three UK local authorities became one, the new Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council needed to redesign the care technology service that helps thousands of people live safely and independently in their own homes.
Our experts have worked with the council to redesign the service, expanding both the range of technologies it can offer, and the groups of people who can benefit. This has ensured everyone across the new council can access the same range of services while enabling care to be delivered in a way that’s tailored to individual needs – putting the new council on the road to saving up to £3.3m in avoided costs over the next five years.
Upgrading services and saving costs
When three councils reorganised to become Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council (BCP Council), it also signalled reorganisation for key services.
As part of its social care service, the new council wanted to explore a wider range of care technology to help people live safely and independently in their own homes. But the care technology service was run differently across two of the former authorities. Varying referral processes, technologies, and incident responses meant the service people could access depended on where they lived.
We needed a consistent care technology service across the whole area we serve. That would give everyone equitable access to the same offering and help us run as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. We also wanted more innovative technologies. PA’s experience of working with many local authorities to solve care technology challenges made them the obvious partner to support us in designing the service and choosing the best way to deliver it.”
Finding the best way to deliver technology’s benefits
Care technologies help carers or relatives respond quickly to accidents like trips and falls. This can make the difference between someone receiving help at home or having to go to hospital. Care technology can also mean people depend less on daily visits from care staff and avoid having to go into residential care. “The result is better quality of life for people and less pressure on both healthcare and social care budgets,” said PA Care Technology expert Laura Cue.
For over 13 years, we’ve been at the forefront of transforming social care in the UK through the Argenti care technology partnership – our pioneering model that provides round-the-clock advanced support to those who need it most.
Our care technology specialists first reviewed options for BCP Council’s future service. These included procuring an outsourced provider. Olly Peppiatt, Care Technology expert and PA’s project lead explained: “We supported the council to consider all options, including outsourcing, but everyone agreed the skills and experience of the existing team would deliver the best outcomes for the community. By bringing the teams together and harmonising services, we enabled consistency across the new council.”
We also agreed that the service’s specialist staff should decide on the best technologies for each user by fully assessing each person’s needs, rather than care practitioners continuing to make these choices alone. Collaboration was key to this process, working closely with BCP colleagues to understand and harness the experiences of those from each of the different legacy services.
“A holistic assessment of people’s day-to-day needs gives us a fuller picture of their lives and how technology can fit in, whether it’s in the home or beyond,” Peppiatt continued.
Designing a service around emerging technologies
Working with BCP’s team, we designed the service to be able to draw on a growing range of technologies. Beyond introducing GPS devices for when people are out and about, and motion sensors in the home, which help signal when people break their routines in ways that could cause concern, we established a clear evaluation process to enable BCP to assess new solutions on an ongoing basis. These technologies also make the service more relevant for younger adults with disabilities, mental health issues, or conditions like epilepsy, who could also benefit, but to now had not been able to do so.
To track the benefits of the new service, our data science experts supported BCP’s data team in designing the algorithm behind a model that lets the council monitor the avoided costs of other support people would need if there was no care technology.
We also worked with the council to train staff in assessing people’s needs, choosing the right technologies, and delivering the service. That included running events and developing content for intranet, newsletters, and case studies to build practitioners’ knowledge. It was the speed of this that built momentum as we delivered training to more than 200 care professionals in six weeks.
Reaping benefits for service users and the council
We estimate the service will save the council up to £3.3m over five years, based on applying our experience with other councils to the specific circumstances in the BCP Council area.
Lead for PA’s local government work, David Rees concluded, “With the next tranche of local government reorganisation gathering pace, councils have a chance not just to reorganise their care technology services but transform them. We were pleased to work with BCP to blaze a trail in this area.”
We couldn’t have got to where we have without PA. Their experience of advising councils and delivering care technology services was essential in finding the best way forward and building a service that adds a new dimension to our social care offering. Their team were also great to work with and very supportive.”
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