Making technology-enabled care real: In conversation with Steph Downey

Technology-enabled care is widely recognised as a critical part of the future of adult social care. But for many councils, the challenge is no longer whether technology has a role to play – it’s how to embed it meaningfully into everyday practice. Our TEC outlook 2026 research surveyed directors of adult social care to understand what it really takes to embed technology and make it a success. We found that leaders are ambitious to advance their use of TEC, and keen to learn from the successes of others. One step councils can take to benefit people, practitioners, and the organisation is harnessing leadership enthusiasm to build a confident workforce.

In this conversation, Steph Downey reflects on what she has learned from decades in social care leadership, and why culture, values and workforce confidence matter far more than the technology itself.

How do your values as a social care leader shape your approach to technology?

For me, I’ve always believed that people should be supported to live gloriously ordinary lives – lives that are as independent as possible, with care and support that is proportionate and least restrictive.

Technology is one of the tools that helps us do that well. It allows us to mesh in‑person support with digital and remote solutions, helping people stay safe without being intrusive. The aim is not to replace human care, but to wrap technology around people in a way that supports independence rather than limits it.

I’ve been in social care for over 30 years, and I remember when there was real anxiety about technology – fears that robots would turn up instead of care workers. That narrative has shifted. Technology is part of everyday life now, so the conversation is less about replacement and more about reliability and outcomes. The question we ask is: does this enable a better life for someone?

Workforce confidence is often cited as a barrier. What’s worked for you?

One of my biggest lessons is that stories are a key tool for changing practice.

I can show practitioners graphs and statistics about how many people technology has supported, and they’ll listen politely. But that doesn’t stick. What resonates are real stories about real people – what changed in someone’s life, how they became more independent, how their safety improved.

We’ve deliberately invested in giving colleagues time and permission to gather and share those stories. They cut through complexity and speak directly to practitioners’ values. People remember them, repeat them, and start to think differently about their own cases as a result.

How do you help practitioners engage with technology without overwhelming them?

Technology is vast and changes constantly. I don’t expect social workers or occupational therapists to keep up with products or platforms – that’s not their role.

Crucially, technology needs to be considered early – not added at the end once a traditional care package has already been designed.

You’ve created space for experimentation through dedicated teams. Why is that important?

In Gateshead, we created the Achieving Change Together (ACT) team to focus on people who’ve had long‑term care arrangements – sometimes unchanged for 10 or 20 years.

The team is protected from the urgent pressures of intake work so they can do deep, thoughtful reviews. They work alongside people, families, and providers to understand why care was originally put in place and what might be done differently now.

They’ve also taken on a leadership role for technology – testing new solutions, sharing learning across the service and building confidence in what’s possible. The results have been powerful: people moving out of institutional settings, greater independence, better quality of life, and importantly, no complaints about the way those conversations are handled.

How have providers responded to greater use of technology?

Sometimes there’s an understandable anxiety that technology will mean fewer paid hours. Our experience is that this fear doesn’t reflect reality.

By working closely with providers and being clear that this is about better outcomes – not cutting corners – we’ve been able to build trust and shared ownership of change.

What role does leadership play in sustaining this approach?

Leadership is critical, particularly when pressure builds elsewhere in the system. It takes resolve to protect teams that are delivering longer‑term transformation rather than immediate throughput.

It’s also about clarity. We worked with the TSA to develop a technology‑enabled care statement of purpose, setting out our ambition and how we’ll measure success across all age groups. That gives managers and practitioners a shared reference point when making decisions at individual case level.

Without that clarity, technology remains optional or peripheral. With it, it becomes part of the core offer.

Looking ahead, what gives you confidence about the sector’s direction?

I’m encouraged by the growing focus on collaboration – regionally and nationally. When councils work together, we move from being passive purchasers of products to active shapers of solutions.

We’re asking better questions of the market, thinking differently about innovation and procurement, and recognising that technology-enabled care is as much about system design as it is about devices.

This is a journey. We haven’t embedded everything fully yet, and I find that frustrating at times. But the green shoots are there – and they matter.