The Digital Social Care Programmes and Scottish Care partner, Nicola Cooper, provides a vital link into Social Work Scotland's digital programme.
Their current focus is on:
Care Technologist Test of Change
Key Objectives:
- To explore the opportunities digital will have on the Care at Home workforce via the introduction of Care Technologist (CT) roles.
- To explore how this role relates to existing roles and how it fits within a wider wraparound approach.
- To explore ways of sharing information/data, that includes tech support where appropriate, and to ensure that the wider care team can provide meaningful and personalised support.
Care Technologists use technology to increase independence for people at home.
The Care Technologist role was conceived in A creative future for care at home, a collaboration between Scottish Care and the Innovation School at the Glasgow School of Art, 2017-18, which sought to explore current trends and challenges, transforming them into areas of opportunity. Working with current and future users and providers of services we reimagined the way in which care at home could change in the future and the roles and skills associated with this.
A Test of Change (ToC) in Aberdeen City in 2020-1 enabled us to trial how the role might impact on people drawing on care and support in the community. A second stage ToC in 2022-3 extended the scope and scale of the trial so that we could understand how the conditions for success might vary in across our 3 pathfinder sites – Aberdeen, East Ayrshire and Glasgow, and the potential for the role in Care Home settings.
Service users were able to benefit from technology as part of a rights-based model of relational care and support. The role supported digital inclusion and enabled greater choice and flexibility for service users as a result of their care and support being assessed and delivered differently.
Crucially, the providers we worked with were open to doing things differently and interested in technology. An underlying issue around capacity had limited digital transformation to date, and costs had been a barrier. All expressed the need for support to acquire knowledge of what is available and potential use cases.
Over sixty Care at Home service users were supported across the three organisations. Twenty Care Homes were supported across three localities, extending the reach to around six hundred residents.
One service saw a 40% increase in interest and support for technology from the start of the ToC demonstrating the growing levels of technology acceptance and adoption.
An unintended consequence was the opportunity for technology to support growing mental health needs in the community, as well as reducing loneliness and isolation.
The Care Technologists were hosted by local homecare providers who, as a result of the ToC, have increased their use of technology to enhance how they deliver care and support, and are supporting staff to undertake skills-based training to accelerate digital inclusion and technology use in homecare.
Our vision is that no matter where you are in Scotland you have access to a skilled practitioner who can help you to benefit from technology as part of a rights-based model of relational care and support. In the next 5 years roles like the Care Technologist will be essential to a viable health and social care ecosystem, and in meeting the expectations of citizens.
Explorative work with the National Robotarium
Key Objectives:
To explore the collaborative opportunities with the National Robotarium, trialling Maah and Bricko robots in care homes.
Over the past 24 months, Scottish Care has explored collaborative and human rights-based approaches to the development of robotics and AI, supporting academic research, hackathons, co-design and testing within care settings, with lived experience and care professionals.
The use of robotics in care is largely untested in Scotland and out of reach for most but is accepted and growing in countries like Japan. Social robots such as Pepper and Paro Seal at approximately 36k and 6k respectively are prohibitively expensive to adopt at scale, however simple devices priced around £130, such as the Companion Pet Dogs and Cats are popular and hint at the potential for more 'intelligent' companion robots, using sensors and AI to interact with the user.
The opportunity for robotics to enhance and augment care and support and promote wellbeing, is significant and is the focus of research and development by the National Robotarium, Heriot Watt University Edinburgh.
Two robots of particular interest are Bricko and Maah. Bricko performs as a helper robot, with a flat surface to transport cups and other items to support hydration and nutrition etc. Maah is a new breed of social robot, capable of learning and expressing meaningful emotions, with cognitive architecture and soft robotics that blend with the environment. Maah is almost 100% Scottish in its design and manufacture. The ‘skin’ has been developed in collaboration with Galashiels Textile College and is made through an innovative 3D knitting technique, which means each Maah has the potential to be designed to individual preferences. One application for Maah is for people living with dementia in care homes. The team behind Maah are looking at sustainable manufacturing techniques that could bring the price point down to an affordable amount, and/or subscription model, which could democratise access to robots used in care and enable adoption at scale.
Maah is a finalist for Scottish Edge 2023 funding.
Latest News
Test of Change
Tuesday 21 November 2023 at 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Registration- Coming Soon
Scottish Care and TEC Housing will speak to their joint Test of Change that investigates the use of preventative analytics to achieve high level confidence when determining a required level of care. We will introduce you to the care technologist role and share how we are utilising their skills and expertise within a housing context. We will also share details and demo the Lilli platform. This session would be of interest to housing health and social care colleagues interested in using data to inform how services are delivered.
Speakers:
- Stephanie Elliot, TECH LEAD
- Nicola Cooper, Technology and digital innovation lead
- Cheryl Stevenson, Care technologist
Do you want to keep the previous info in?
Human Rights and Ethics
Key Objectives:
- To explore the collaboration opportunities with:
- Professor Lorna McGregor, Professor of International Human Rights Law, Director of the Human Rights Centre and PI and Director of the ESRC Human Rights, Big Data and Technology (HRBDT) project at the University of Essex.
- Neil Crowther, independent consultant and co-convener of Social Care Future, London. An independent expert on equality, human rights and social change
Latest Update:
In June 2022 Lorna McGregor and Neil Crowther published "A Digital Cage is Still a Cage How can new and emerging digital technologies advance, rather than put at risk, the human rights of older people who draw on social care?". We intend to collaborate on issues arising in the report, which will also provide a link into international work in this area and support the rights-based agenda in the area of digital tech and the human rights of older people.
Exploring and simulating data sharing in the care home context (Dumfries and Galloway)
Key Objectives:
To build an understanding of meaningful data sharing in the care home context (involving multiple stakeholders e.g. staff, residents, family and other professionals) to identify a test scenario to develop a prototype simulation (e.g., simulating the sharing of data from the care home care planning software through the DHI health data exchange or Personal Data Store infrastructures).
Latest Update:
A number of workshops have taken place to bring key stakeholders together to focus on "What if..?" scenarios looking at what is possible and in scope. Three journeys were discussed and a third workshop took place to gain a deeper understanding on the admission to Care Home from Care at Home journey, and how this can be used in the data simulation.
Care Technologist Programme
Key Objectives:
- To explore the opportunities digital will have on the Care at Home workforce via the introduction of Care Technologist (CT) roles.
- To explore how this role relates to existing roles and how it fits within a wider wraparound approach.
- To explore ways of sharing information/data, that includes tech support where appropriate, and to ensure that the wider care team can provide meaningful and personalised support.
Latest Update:
- The Care Technologist Team have been in post for 12 months and have been visiting service users putting tech in place.
- Ongoing collaboration and close working with partnership organisations.
- 12 care homes are now working with the programme, and learning is being shared across the UK, with a number of presentations taking place at various events throughout May - July.
- The Care Technologist Team were the winners of The Alliances 'Strictly Come Digital' event held on 21st March 2023
- The team have published a blog on technologies for living with dementia
- Latest blog on technologies for living with dementia https://scottishcare.org/technologies-for-living-with-dementia/
- Lived experience Ep 4: Peter – technology to support independent living, Care Tech & ALLIANCE: https://youtu.be/w-Y5kJKqiIE
- The Care Tech team are also working with colleagues in Scottish Federation of Housing Association on the trial of Lilli proactive care system
Explorative work with the National Robotarium
Key Objectives:
To explore the collaborative opportunities with the National Robotarium, trialling Maah and Bricko robots in care homes.
Latest Update:
- Trialling Maah across a couple of care homes throughout February - April 2023, which has been well received and further visits planned.
- Engage in co-design between the National Robotarium team and partners, as well as having support from the Care Technologist Lead.