Those of you who follow me on Twitter @shirleyayres will be aware that I ask lots of questions about the cost, outcomes and impact of publicly funded projects in the social sector. I am a strong believer that social media has an important role in promoting openness, transparency and accountability so I have decided to highlight examples of engagement (or not) via social media.
Submitting Freedom of Information (FoI) requests is a costly business both for the individual or organisation making the request and for the organisation responding. Could we make the process simpler and more cost effective by encouraging all organisations to make information about budgets, expenditure, outcomes and impact easily accessible on their websites and via social media? I would like to see all publicly funded organisations be more proactive in asking the public what information would help understanding of both the costs and value of projects, pilots, reports, research and toolkits.
For today an encouraging example of the responsiveness of the Health and Social Care Information Centre and a top tip for all organisations setting up a new Twitter account!
Not just me worrying about the cost of @hscic rebrand. Especially like the first comment re Norwegian Blue livery https://t.co/xrkboiliHf.
I received a prompt response via Direct Message and @hscic are happy for me to share the information they have provided.
“You asked about the cost of rebranding. We’re happy to be open. A budget of £90,000 was allocated for direct estate, ICT and branding costs associated with the name change. Spending is being strictly limited to core and purely functional activity. An internal project team has taken a practical, considered view on what needs to change to make the new name work, and a Steering Group, led by Sir Nick Partridge, one of HSCIC’s non-executive directors, has provided scrutiny and governance of the project plans, including the budget. I hope this helps!”
On a separate note if you are setting up a new Twitter account as part of a rebranding exercise it is worth taking note of the following!
This ought to be interesting. The appearance of an egghead for a digital account is noted https://t.co/FVPdfZ2jLA
This is the start of a series I will be writing about how social media is changing the way publicly funded organisations in the social sector communicate, interact and engage with the public.
I have lots more examples which I will be following up and please feel free to share your own examples of the good, the bad and the ugly!
It is time to take long term care out of the shadows and promote a public debate about the care and support we aspire to in later life rather than accepting the current institutional models which offer so little choice and control for older citizens. The publication of Key to Care@PaulBurstow supported by @LGiUis a timely reminder of the challenges confronting the care sector and I welcome the mention of the need for service design and investing in technology.
I am one of the much maligned baby boomers being blamed by politicians and the media for not being responsible in planning for later life. The obvious question is what exactly I should be planning for – being warehoused in an institution which may strip me of my dignity, pride and independence?
A blueprint for the redesign of long term care does not yet exist and we lack an overarching vision about how we want our care and support in later life to be provided beyond the institutional model. What are the levers of influence when social care is so complex and fragmented?
I believe our biggest challenge is bringing together all the sectors with an interest in improving the quality of later life for older citizens. As an example this includes: NHS health and care sectors, care providers, housing associations, emergency services, the wider social sector, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Kings Fund and many other think tanks, Care Quality Commission, Telecare providers, Independent Age, International Longevity Centre , Age UK, CarersUK, Design Council, Innovate UK, Nesta, Big Lottery and Nominet Trust who fund social technology projects, Centre for Ageing, universities, technology innovators, different Government Depts: Health, Communities and Local Government, Work and Pensions, Cabinet Office, Business, Innovation & Skills, Innovation Labs and Impact Labs across the UK. (I should add that this is only a small sample of the organisations involved in this area!)
I wonder if all of these bodies have ever sat down together to explore more effective collaborations and how to avoid duplication of effort and resources in basically tackling the same problems?
An honourable mention for how technologies from other sectors and industries could help address the seemingly intractable problems about supporting citizens in later life.
There seems to be a gulf between thinking and doing as organisations are unable to turn ideas into actions. Is this because there are so many stakeholders with their own perspectives and priorities sometimes struggling to survive in a competitive funding environment? .
Last week I launched my Long Term Care Revolution Provocation Paper commissioned by Innovate UK to provide an independent perspective about the challenges of developing radically different models of care which will meet the needs and aspirations of older citizens in later life.
With many thanks to Paul Taylor for developing the presentation
@shirleyayres excellent summary of what needs to be done. . What I learnt: How fragmented the world of long term care is. Thanks for sharing
— Vishal Gulati (I back scientists) (@VishalGulati_) December 10, 2014
If long term care is not fit for purpose how can we revolutionise the system or do we accept that the system is not the best but it is slowly changing and we need to give it time?
The “Ageing” sector is a complex multi million pound industry involving hundreds of organisations and millions of potential beneficiaries. From the @BigLotteryFund £82 million Ageing Better investment to the £50 million being spent creating the new Centre for Ageing Better why has there been so much reluctance to embrace new models of care for older citizens? There are a proliferation of partnerships and alliances exploring this agenda and how to embed social innovation in long term care. It is unclear how they are collaborating to provide a UK overview. Critical messages get lost in the plethora of reports and which often appear to be covering similar areas of concern such as isolation, loneliness. digital participation and the value of older citizens.
The reality is that person centred care will translate from words into everyday reality when we focus on the older citizen and are able to answer the simple questions “what will improve the quality of your life?” and “what care would you like to support you to live a fulfilling life?”
Our ageing population represent a victory for better nutrition, better housing, and the welfare state. People in later life offer wisdom, experience, perspective and a wide range of skill sets and capacities. Why are we not utilising the wealth of knowledge and experience of older people to develop and deliver community services that meet their needs?
We need a cultural mindshift which challenges the idea of older citizens being “objects of charity” rather than active consumers
How do we change the narrative and think about a future where people look forward to later life with a wide range of choices to live a fulfilling life which is not dependent on health, locality or relationships?
Strangely people aged sixty plus are not one homogeneous group, we are as varied as individuals in any other sector of the population and our different life experiences inform our perspectives as consumers. Older people may have similar needs physically but these do not erase life experiences, preferences and orientations. Older people is not an identity but a statistical category
The budget deficit in health and care seems to have become a race to cut costs and shift responsibilities and places little value on the quality of life of the citizen requiring long term care. Organisations with a focus on systems and processes are still negotiating block contracts for care services. Services are not being tailored to meet the personal needs, hopes and aspirations of older citizens. There appears to be a focus on medicalising later life care which ignores the health risks associated with loneliness and social exclusion amongst older citizens.
Our society has advanced in all aspects of life socially, medically, economically, technologically, environmentally. These advances have substantially redefined how we live our lives on a daily basis, how we travel (space, air, sea and land), how we communicate, how we work, how we manage our finances, how and what we buy, how we experience leisure and entertainment, and how we educate ourselves. Yet the institutional principles which form the basis of long term care provision remains completely unaffected by such changes and have failed to develop in-step with these advances.
How do we make organisations culturally ready for moving from institutional thinking to person centred care which recognises how the adoption of digital technology can enhance the care and support available within communities? Digital does not have to mean no human contact. What it can do is free up the time for more face to face contact.
A gentle reminder that baby boomers expectations and aspirations have been shaped by:
1953 Francis Crick and James Watson discovering the structure of DNA.
1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his historic “I Have a Dream” speech
1993 work on the Human Genome Project started
1969 Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to set foot on the moon
1971 Launch of the Open University
1973 Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon is released
1998 Google founded
1998 Launch of Apple iMac
2001 Launch of Wikipedia and the first Apple iPod..
2004 Facebook is founded
2006 Twitter was created
A serious question has to be asked about why the NHS and Social Care sectors who currently commission the majority of long term care have been so slow to develop a culture which promotes innovation. Market shaping exercises seem to assume the ‘status quo’ will continue indefinitely which is confirmed by the number of care providers now building new and larger care homes.
It is worth mentioning that my @nominettrustProvocation Paper published in 2013 highlighted how online innovations can enhance social care. Disappointingly I have seen very little mention of this in the Better Care Fund plans and the Care Act implementation. Frankly I am astounded at the disconnect between what policy makers and care providers think is required in later life and how I see my my future which includes:
Mobility is often a challenge for older citizens. Apart from decent and affordable public transport how could driverless cars keep people connected with their family, friends and the community?
Living choice for older citizens are influenced by standards, regulations, the design of new housing and lifetime homes. What are the options for retrofitting of existing housing stock; shared lives and co-housing. How can we support inclusive communities and neighbourhoods through urban design and planning?Where is the thinking across social care, health and housing about the importance of smart technology enabled homes
There are tough and uncomfortable questions to be discussed to inform the debate about how we can all look forward to a future without fear of being abandoned to a market where vital care and support is determined by our income and locality rather than our needs and personal preferences. We have to address the potential shortfall in both formal and informal carers in the future with more people living on their own who do not have families to support them.
I want a clear vision for the future which offers a coordinated system with many different life choices for citizens in later life. This is not just the responsibility of one sector it needs to engage each and every one of us at local, national and UK wide levels in a public debate about our hopes and aspirations for care in later life.
A substantial number of reports, research and articles informed the development of the Provocation Paper and I will be providing a follow up post which details the background reading.
The new Radio 4 series The Invisible Age is looking at the issue of sixty plus age groups encompassing several generations and how we as a society regard older citizens. The recent You and Yours programme asked the question ‘do people treat you differently once you’re over 60’. I was invited to discuss with Winifred Robinson our attitudes to ageing, whether people are ignoring ageing issues and why we need a long term care revolution.
The most powerful need we humans have is to be connected and to remain connected. Social media provides unrivalled opportunities for all of us to contribute to the long term care debate. I would love you to add thoughts, comments and share your dreams about the choices you would like in later life!
Today I am giving a presentation at the Vibrance staff conference which is celebrating 25 years of supporting people who are disabled to lead their lives as they wish and to challenge barriers that prevent individual choice and fulfilment. You can follow the event on Twitter #becomingvibrance@Vibrance2013
It is always interesting developing a presentation for an unknown audience some of whom may be very confident using social media and others yet to be convinced that it has any value in their day to day lives. There is just so much to share and a post can only provide a snapshot of my thoughts and all the resources available online.
I love discussing the role and impact of digital with front line staff and people who use care services. For me the #Socialnomics 2014 video by Erik Qualman answers a frequently question asked about why people should take social media seriously.
The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55-64 year old age bracket. 189 million users of Facebook are only using mobile devices and 25% of smartphone owners aged 18–44 say they can’t recall the last time their smartphone was not next to them.
Digital technology has already changed our lives drastically in the last 10 years, from the way we shop, the way we communicate, the way we find information and even the way we find love. Social networks provide some of the most powerful tools available today for building a sense of belonging, support and sharing. Technology is redefining how care and support is provided in a digitally connected society and the new @LinkMeUp_UK website is a great example of this
However one of our biggest challenges is the need a major cultural shift which recognises the role of technology in shaping services which are focused around an individual’s needs and aspirations.
Information is freely shared through social media. For example Netbuddy encourages the swapping practical tips and information on all aspects of supporting people with learning disabilities @netbuddytoptips
Enabled by Design is a community of people who are passionate about well-designed, everyday products that challenge the one-size-fits-all approach to assistive equipment. Enabled by Design encourages people to share their views and experiences of assistive equipment and post information, reviews and comments. @enabledby
Gig Buddies links music fans who have a learning disability with other music lovers. @gigbuddies I really like their social media policy written impressively in less than 140 characters. “Stay Up Late actively embraces social media, staff are asked to engage, experiment, be relevant and take responsibility.”
Care and support in the 21st century requires much more connected thinking across care services, health, housing, education and employment. Technology and social media can help make this happen.
The true value of digital technology really lies in solving a problem, or otherwise helping to improve the quality of our lives. One of the simplest needs is the ability to stay in touch with family and friends. Digital technology opens up options and enables that contact to be much more immediate. Introducing people to the concept of emails, picture sharing, social networking, and online video calls, such as Skype has many benefits.
This is especially important when families are widely dispersed and require a simple and easy way of keeping in touch and staying connected – whether they are living at home, in residential care, are in hospital or in different parts
of the world. Feeling connected and having supportive social relationships has a strong link to health and longevity. Encouraging wellbeing is an important social challenge facing society as a whole.
There is considerable debate about the role of digital technology in social care. Understandably there are concerns that the use of technology somehow depersonalises what is often a very personal service. I fully accept that technology is not a magic bullet to address all of the complex problems we are confronting as a society. Digital technology cannot and should not replace human contact, kindness, empathy and understanding. But it does allow people to connect in different ways, quickly and easily. Digital technology and social networks provide some of the most powerful tools available today for building a sense of belonging, support and sharing.
There are lots of resources online to help you use social media. The Twitter Help centre provides useful guidance and Mashable have produced the Twitter Guide Book.
Useful tips to guide you in developing your own personal social media policy have been produced by Paul Taylor @paulbromford.
Social media is an increasingly crowded space – some simple tools ( at least for me they are as a non techie!) to help you manage your online presence
Service users and carers rightly expect more autonomy and choice in how services are provided. Digital leadership, motivating staff and creating a culture where people are empowered to do things differently are crucial elements of good engagement.
As Professor Stephen Hawking said, when accepting his AbilityNet ‘Excellence in Accessibility Award’ at the Technology4Good awards September 2012: “Technology is a vital part of human existence. They show us that the right tools in the right hands can help everyone, regardless of our frailties, to achieve our true potential and advance as a civilisation.”
The way forward?
The digital revolution is about people, social networks and connections not the technology
Get the basics right – make it easy for people to connect with you.
Value and respond to feedback, complaints and suggestions to improve your services
An idea does not care who has it – share generously your knowledge, passions and links to resources you have found useful, enjoyed reading or even just made you smile.
I hopeyou will be excited as me by the potential offered through social media to create communities of interest, make new connections, share information and resources and let people know about your work. I look forward to welcoming you to this wonderful and connected world!
Nurtures innovative approaches to care and support and encourages collaboration and partnership to avoid unnecessary duplication.
Is an independent and authoritative voice which promotes investment in new models of care, supporting innovation, technology solutions and economic growth
Provides a range of services including the Care in a Digital Age programme, Critical Friend Reviews and support with developing Digital Engagement strategies
Published the first Click Guide to Digital Technology for Adult Care because there is a real gap in the market for connecting digital technology with the people and organizations who purchase care and support services. The Guide is now being updated to include another 100 resources.
“Social media is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate. All the time online conversations are happening about you, your brand and your organisation. It’s not a choice whether you DO social media, the choice is how well you do it” Erik Qualman author of socialnomics
Social networking has the potential to put the “social” back into social work and social care. It is encouraging to note how many care organisations are now using social media to communicate and debate with an increasingly diverse group of people interested in improving care services. We need public support to show politicians that there is widespread support for properly funding the services which millions of people rely on daily. Social media has a powerful role in offering a different narrative about the impact of social work and care services.
Twitter is a rich source of instantly updated information and it is how I stay updated on an incredibly wide variety of topics. What makes a care tweeter valuable? Generously sharing knowledge, passions and links to useful resources and blogs. Listening, challenging, informing and making a difference. However having a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn profile and rarely updating shows a real lack of interest in being social. I will leave you to judge how social our care tweeters are!
If you are an organisation funded to engage with the public you need a strategy for responding to questions and comments online. A top tip for care organisations make it easy for people to find you on your website by promoting your social media presence!
I was recently asked by @sarahlay for recommendations about care organisations to follow on Twitter. This should be a simple request but…. it does require an understanding of the complicated and fragmented nature of the care sector. Care services are provided by a diverse range of providers including local authorities, health, housing, charities, social enterprises and the private sector. This is a very brief guide (in alphabetical order) to some of the major players in social work and social care who are using Twitter.
Liz Kendall Shadow Minister for Care and Older People @leicesterliz
Jon Rouse Director General for Social care, Local Government and Care Partnerships Department of Health @RouseJonDGDH
LSE Evidence in Practice is a project to find effective methods of knowledge exchange between social care practitioners and researchers to increase research impact on practice issues @LSE_SCEIP
National Skills Academy for Social Care @NSASocialCare
To understand the complexity of the NHS I recommend this alternative guide to the new NHS in England animation produced by the Kings Fund. I think we would all benefit from the King Fund producing a similar animation for the care sector!
Richard Humphries is Assistant Director of Policy at the King’s Fund with interests in social care, local government, the NHS, housing and care issues @RichardatKF
@Ermintrude2 thoughtful, analytical and challenging with a special interest in older adults, dementia, mental health and mental capacity
@clarkmike editor of the TelecareLin monthly newsletter which provides extensive coverage of digital technology and innovations for #connectedcare in the UK and internationally http://bit.ly/1efdjBu
Gary Holden Professor at New York University Silver School of Social Work who edits the excellent international research digest for social work and social care. Information for Practice@Info4Practice
This post is a starting point for signposting people to organisations responsible for informing and shaping the debates about care and I make no claims that it is a comprehensive list. Do let me know if I have missed any care organisations or Tweeters who you feel should definitely be added! You may also find it helpful to look at my many Twitter lists @shirleyayres
Mark Brown (@markoneinfour), Shirley Ayres (@shirleyayres) and Paul Taylor (@paulbromford) will be discussing “what can social media do to make social good better?” on the 29th April in Central London. You can book a ticket for the event here
The new Care Bill places responsibilities on local authorities to develop services that are more personalised ensuring that adults and carers get better care and support that works for them. People struggle to find information and support which suits their individual circumstances. When I was asked by Gary Beckwith to comment on his new website I was impressed by the simple functionality, user experience and design.
As Paul Taylor commented:
@shirleyayres @AutismSQ really simple and easy to navigate. Why can’t all service searches be so straightforward?
I’ve worked in services supporting people on the autism spectrum for the last 20 years. When I left my role as an Advisor for Autism Accreditation I wanted to find out ‘what mattered most’ to the autism community and in doing so I started to develop the Autism Service Quality website. The idea has grown beyond a simple gathering of information, into creating a website that promotes and communicates an autism community ‘Voice’. The website is designed to assist people with autism to make informed choices about the services which will enable them to live independent and fulfilling lives. I have also been working with a local charity called Autism Bedfordshire who have provided lots of feedback as the website has developed.
In defining service quality, we suggest that it is “the amount of confidence a customer or consumer has in a service meeting their requirements”.
There are an estimated 700,000 people with autism in the UK. If we include parents, carers and supporting professionals as part of the autism community, then the number of people affected by autism rises considerably. If you’re not on the autism spectrum yourself, you probably know someone that is.
Awareness of autism is greater than ever and increasingly services are making adjustments which recognise that people have different needs. For example relaxed performancesare specifically designed to welcome people with a learning disability, Down’s Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Condition or sensory and communication disorders. There is a relaxed attitude to noise and movement and some small changes made to the light and sound effects
I believe in social engagement; where service providers are open and transparent in their dealings with consumers. When eBay introduced its feedback system back in the mid 1990’s it revolutionised the relationship between ‘Buyers’ and ‘Sellers’. Feedback of this kind promoted empowerment and confidence in Buyers when making choices from who to buy from, and boosted Seller success:
“As of November 13, 2008, Jack Sheng was the first eBay seller to receive a Feedback score of one million. He currently has a score of over two million. It took Sheng eight years to earn a Feedback score of one million, but it only took him 18 months thereafter to reach two million.”
Is it time for more complex service encounters to receive the same level of scrutiny – particularly for a section of society with social and communication difficulties? Autism Service Quality has been designed to ask one question “What Matters Most?” when using any type of service.
The website was launched in December 2013 and we are now asking a range of service providers in the UK to register and share their profile page with the autism community to learn “What Matters Most”. Services can learn a lot from the rich and diverse autism community.
If you provide a service in the following areas we would like to invite you to test the website:
Social Work Teams
Healthcare departments and GPs
Schools and Adult Education
Housing and accommodation services
Training providers
Employers and employment support
Service brokers
Therapeutic and wellbeing services
Cafés, cinemas, leisure centres, theatres, mobile hairdressers and music tutors!
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 19,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
One of the important issues identified ahead of Connected Care Camp is that people struggle to find information, advice and support about care services both online and offline.
Certainly the web is much more complex than it was a few years ago and the Care “marketplace” is an increasingly crowded space that many find difficult to negotiate.
One of the Breakout sessions at #psicare discussed this problem and attempted to come up with some solutions.
Our initial look at the problem revealed the following:
There’s no a lack of information – Searching “advice for carers” gives about 16,400,000 results search results. But identifying trusted sources is an issue.
Many people only look for information once they are at a point of crisis – which confuses the issue further as people frantically search for an immediate solution.
People have difficulty identifying what a great care service looks like. There’s a need to share lessons from care successes and failures. In England the Care Quality Commission have an important role in sharing information.
So here are five possible solutions we came up with:
Make space for difficult conversations
The group accepted that making social care “sexy” is a challenge. We live is a society obsessed with denying the effects of ageing. We keep hearing 50 is the new 30, 70 the new 50.
Although we agreed the need for a huge culture shift on attitudes towards ageing – we also accepted we had to be realistic around the outcomes of a 60-minute workshop!
Suggested Solution: A campaign of awareness for public and professionals to start having proactive conversations around longer-term care needs. The starting point to be establishing much better communication between health, housing and care. Housing in particular was thought to have a key role.
If every professional was equipped with the right skills, technology and space to have a conversation – imagine how we could help people seeking care at the point of crisis?
Establish a principle of “The 5 Things I need to know”
In a free market the emergence of a “Tripadvisor” of Care might be wishful thinking.
But how about we establish the Top 5 things everyone should know to look for when they are looking at options? Available across care and related sectors including health and housing – this would also better support multi disciplinary specialists to give advice.
If it’s difficult to know what “good” really looks like let’s give people 5 things they should look for before anything else.
Map and connect locally available resources
The group felt that vital community hubs are underutilised as a way of enabling access to care information. There are scores of interest groups, informal community networks and clubs available in most localities that often exist under the radar of local authorities. Often run by volunteers they are the hidden networks where people seek informal advice and support from trusted advisors.
How can it be in 2013 that nobody can articulate how many of these actually exist? Surely technology – especially location based apps – can help us unlock this resource to help in the sharing of information and even to identify informal and potential carers.
Enable people in residential care to access digital tools
It remains a problem that many residential homes still do not have access to the most basic technology. Additionally most hospitals do not have publicly available WiFi – this is another barrier to stop people seeking out advice and support.
How can we expect and encourage people in residential care to suggest how their care can be improved when they are all too often excluded from the internet?
In a world where funding can go to all sorts of projects which struggle to articulate meaningful outcomes making digital technology available to the most socially excluded must be a priority.
Establish a more consistently understood and coherent way of care users engaging with services before, during and whilst receiving care services.
The group thought we were missing valuable insights from care givers and those receiving care about how they thought access to information and support could be improved.
It was felt there is no consistency for users in understanding when care services should be reviewed or appraised for instance
Linking to the “5 things you need to know about care” the group pondered how digital technology could help people comment on the service they receive and raise awareness of resources such as Patient Opinion, Care Opinion, NHS Choices and Your Care Home. Perhaps a personalised digital care plan – complete with alerts for family and friends could be used to connect services in one place and sharing updates to innovations like Mindings
The simple answer for me is yes whilst I accept that digital technology is not a “magic bullet” I do believe it is important that we explore the potential of technology to create more personal support and care.
As Professor Stephen Hawking said, when accepting his AbilityNet ‘Excellence in Accessibility Award’ at the Technology4Good awards: “Technology is a vital part of human existence. They show us that the right tools in the right hands can help everyone, regardless of our frailties, to achieve our true potential and advance as a civilisation.”
The posts I have written for Nominet Trust exploring the issues:
Connected Care Camp on the 7th December is bringing together front line staff, managers, people who use health and care services as well as carers to explore how we can improve the wider care sector including housing.
Connected Care Camp is part of the Public Service Launchpad a new programme to help passionate people who work either paid or unpaid in all kinds of public services – whether in local government, housing associations, health services, the third sector, social enterprises or elsewhere to develop ideas to solve the problems that they encounter every day. Ideas can involve small changes or radical redesign of services.
Not everyone can attend this one-off event in person but you can join in on Twitter using the hashtag #psicare.
We know what many of the problems are, many are making headlines on a daily basis so we are looking for solutions that work and that can scale. We need a clearer vision of what works and who could benefit so that we can optimise the skills and resources we currently have. This includes decommissioning services that are not effective.
In a fragmented health and care system we need to be clear about who has responsibilities for action, how organisations and communities can be more effective and how health, care and housing can be better co-ordinated around people who could benefit.
To help us organise the day and better engage the wider community via social media we would welcome your responses to our survey.
“The role for many public service organisations is to actively mainstream the innovation that is already out there. There are loads of innovators and entrepreneurs who just need a route to market. Some of them may already be employed by you.” Paul Taylor Innovation Coach Bromford speaking on the Disruptive Social Care podcast May 2013
Public Service Launchpad is a newprogramme to help passionate people who work either paid or unpaid in all kinds of public services – whether in local government, housing associations, health services, the third sector, social enterprises or elsewhere to develop ideas to solve the problems that they encounter every day. Ideas can involve small changes or radical redesign of services.
As part of the scholarship programme and to encourage wider participation across care the Connected Care Camp has been organised on Saturday 7th December from 10.00 – 4.30 in London.
We want to encourage front line staff, managers and people who use care services to come along and share experiences, wisdom and ideas about how we can improve care services.
Here are some of the problems we know about in the care sector
How can health and care services support people who are lonely and isolated – there’s a million of them
People struggle to find information, guidance and advice – how can we improve the systems?
How can we support more connected communities?
Are there any alternatives to the 15 minute care visits?
How could doctors, nurses, social workers and support staff better coordinate care planning and visits?
How can we support people with disabilities to live more independent and fulfilling lives?
Why don’t all hospitals and care homes have wi-fi and internet access?
How can we support staff, people who use care services, carers and volunteers to improve their digital skills and feel more confident using technology?
Why don’t care homes have video links to GPs and hospital doctors to avoid unnecessary visits and disruption?
How can digital technologies can give people more control of their care and support and make person centred care a reality?
How can technology help develop the local care market place?
How can digital technology help to support carers & care networks?
How can technology help to reduce unplanned or readmissions to hospitals and ensure effective discharges?
There are particular challenges for people living in rural areas to access services & products . How can technology help us to address the rural premium?
Do you have any great ideas about how we can fix these and the many challenges confronting the care sector?
Do use #psicare to join in the Twitter discussions before and during the day.
Connected Care Camp Programme
9.30 – 10.00 Registration
10.00 – 10.15 Welcome
10.15 – 10.45 Introductions
10.45 – 11.15 What could community care and support look like in the 21st Century? A wish list (small group discussion)
11.15 – 11.30 Break
11.30 – 12.00 Feedback and Discussion
12.00 – 1.00 What do we need to start doing, what do we need to stop doing and what do we need to carry on doing?
1.00 – 1.45 Lunch
1.45 – 2.45 Choice of themed sessions exploring opportunities for innovation
Community Connections
Health and Wellbeing
Digital Inclusion
Residential Care and Housing with Support
Social Media workshop to develop confidence and share expertise about the use and potential of digital tools
2.45 – 3.45 Themed sessions repeated
3.45 – 4.15 Panel debate “Next Steps”
4.15 – 4.30 Closing Remarks
By the end of the day you will:
Have made at least 10 new contacts who are involved in the care, health, housing and voluntary sectors
Shared emerging and good practice
Discussed and received feedback on your ideas
Learned about at least 20 current innovations across the care sector
It should be noted that the care sector is a complex and fragmented market and the adoption of new ideas is not easy and present many challenges.
Today I am giving a presentation at the 
The new Care Bill places responsibilities on local authorities to develop services that are more personalised ensuring that adults and carers get better care and support that works for them. People struggle to find information and support which suits their individual circumstances. When I was asked by Gary Beckwith to comment on his new website I was impressed by the simple functionality, user experience and design.
bonklesoul
Ermy
shirleyayres
Connecting Social Care and Social Media 