Wiltshire Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Strategy 2023 to 2028
Our vision and aims
Why the Technology Enabled Care (TEC) strategy is so important, and how we will work together with carers over the next five years.
Our vision:
We will use technology to enable people to fulfil their potential, be actively involved and included in their communities, make informed decisions, have control over their lives, and be valued and included within society. Leaders will empower staff to be innovative and creative and to work with people to find the right technology-enabled care solutions for their lives.
This is a vision based on hope and optimism. Whilst a special educational need, disability or long-term health condition can have a significant impact on a person's life, we know that people have ambitions, hopes and dreams for their lives. Technological solutions that help people to realise these ambitions are developing quickly, and we need to keep pace with this to ensure that Wiltshire residents are benefitting.
This vision will be supported by a "TEC First" mindset, which means that the first contact people have with Wiltshire Council will include signposting people to TEC solutions, and that everyone will be assessed to establish whether TEC could benefit them as part of their care plan. This represents a shift in our thinking - historically, solutions such as pendant alarms have been installed in case of emergencies (such as falls). Increasingly, we want to use technology to prevent such crises from happening in the first place.
Our starting point is the needs, wishes and aspirations of each person. We focus on what the individual wants to achieve, and then consider how technology can support those outcomes. We will also continue to emphasise the strengths, assets, and potential of each person, using technology to support people to do more for themselves and to provide data to show that the person is becoming more independent or identify where technology can support further.
We will promote the use of technology to support people of all ages to live safely and independently in their own homes and communities. We will harness the potential of technology to enable people to take positive risks in a safe way.
To improve outcomes for people and to meet our key challenges across health, care, and housing, we will focus on four core objectives:
- we will develop a TEC offer that empowers people, supports them to manage their self-care and stay safe, and enables them to live healthy, independent lives
- we will embed a "TEC First" culture across our workforce. Staff will be enabled to use their creativity to find new solutions. We will use evidence and data to assess and evaluate what works for people
- we will work with our partners, particularly across the NHS, social care and housing. We will take a One Council approach to promoting TEC, underpinned by our core principles of prevention and early intervention
- we will use technology to enable people to fulfil their potential, be actively involved and included in their communities, make informed decisions, have control over their lives, and be valued and included within society. Leaders will empower staff to be innovative and creative and to work with people to find the right technology-enabled care solutions for their lives
These are ambitious plans, and to expand our TEC provision at this scale, Wiltshire Council will commission a provider to deliver a wellbeing technology offer that is tailored to people's needs and expectations. Supporting tools will be provided to raise awareness and confidence among the workforce and to demonstrate how innovative solutions can support people and help to deliver more effective services in an ever more challenging environment.