Telecare outcomes, lessons learned and remaining challenges in Barnet

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Telecare outcomes, lessons learned and remaining
challenges in Barnet

• Guy Dewsbury
• Telecare Coordinator
• London Borough of Barnet
• Email telecare_at_barnet.gov.uk
• Web www.barnet.gov.uk/telecare

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Telecare in Barnet

• In the past 20 months Barnet has embraced
  telecare wholeheartedly.
• A pilot project was initially completed to assess
  the feasibility of telecare.
• Telecare was then moved into the mainstream core
  services, where it is located now.

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Structure of telecare in Barnet
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Progress

• Progress in Barnet has been steady and
  methodical.
• Concentration on developing capacity and
  infrastructure to support the impending full
  telecare service.
• Developing Person-centred need based telecare
  as core service available throughout the whole
  borough.

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Further progress

• Appointment of Telecare Coordinator in April 2007
  and Support Officer January 2008.
• Telecare pilot study successfully completed
  August 2007.
• Two telecare demonstrations centres furnished,
  another in progress.

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Outcomes to date

• Initial low uptake of lifeline and other telecare
  so simplified procedures introduced.
• New links and ways of joint working developed
  with external agencies and our telecare partners.
• Bespoke person-centred telecare assessments.
• Staff Training 301 staff trained
• to date.

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Telecare installations

• The pilot concluded in August 2007 when the 60th
  person was referred for telecare.

excludes standard lifeline installs
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Telecare excluding lifeline installs
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Lifeline installations

• By of December 2007 a total of 922 lifeline
  referrals and installations had been achieved by
  Barnet homes lifeline.
• Our other partners Age Concern Barnet have
  successfully installed at total of 97 lifeline
  systems in the March 06-Dec 07 period.
• Therefore the grand total of lifeline installs
  for the period March 2006-December 2007 to 1019
  lifeline installations in the Barnet borough.

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Lifeline installs Mar 2006-Dec 2007
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Lessons Learned

• Lasting change takes longer to prepare for and is
  slower to evolve.
• Integrated working is not easy but certainly not
  impossible, and can be very beneficial.
• Training and post training support are very
  important.

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Two providers

• Having two main lifeline telecare providers
  (Chubb and Tynetec) is problematic but
  beneficial.
• Harder for people to learn all the properties for
  the different equipment.
• Ordering telecare can be confusing.
• Flexibility in providing a range of options to
  meet client need.
• Meets real needs better through individualised
  assessments and telecare planning.
• Provides client with greater choice.

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Procedural Lessons

• Telecare pathways might never be smooth and clear
  but we can manage to address most kinks, others
  we can work around.
• Recording procedures need to be robust, clear and
  easy to maintain.
• We need to develop new ways of reporting and
  reviewing cases.

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Capacity

• Additional paperwork is the enemy.
• Staff require time and support to become
  acquainted with new services.
• Capacity and infrastructure are
• crucial.

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Work Practices

• It is considered the responsibility of all
  professionals to assess people for telecare.
• Telecare is a core service.

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Conclusion

• Telecare in Barnet is evolving.
• Grouped responsibility.
• Capacity and infrastructure fundamental.
• We might be at the beginning of a journey but we
  have put telecare on the map.

Telecare_at_barnet.gov.uk