FarrPoint’s client, TEC Cymru, are the programme responsible for supporting the shift to technology enabled care in Wales. They wanted to conduct an in-depth analysis of the telecare landscape in Wales to aid future improvements and appointed FarrPoint to complete this study.
Telecare services offer remote care for citizens, typically elderly people and those who are physically less able, providing reassurance via various assistive technologies. These services can change lives, allowing individuals to maintain their independence for longer.
(this will open in a new window)TEC Cymru commissioned FarrPoint to gather information and report at a national level on existing telecare services and how they are delivered.
Technology advances mean individuals can be supported in every stage of life. Telecare is an extremely positive way in which we can support the most vulnerable in society, allowing them to continue to live independent lives, often from the comfort of their own home. The digital switchover will be a hurdle for many of the telecare providers across Wales, but it is one that they absolutely must overcome. As a result, more residents will be able to benefit from these types of services, providing the support and peace of mind to allow them to live independently in their own homes.
After the timescales and deliverables of the study were confirmed, the FarrPoint team completed a discovery exercise to gather information to better understand telecare services at a national level, highlighting best practices, service offerings and variations, and existing data availability.
The information was collected using a two-stage process: Initially, questionnaires were sent to all Welsh Councils to obtain details on the scope and nature of their current telecare services and plans for future developments.
Once the information from the questionnaires was collated, a series of stakeholder workshops and interviews were completed to obtain further details. FarrPoint analysed the data to provide a Wales-wide view of the current telecare landscape. This allowed FarrPoint to make informed recommendations for TEC Cymru’s roadmap to develop their telecare programme.
(this will open in a new window)The report produced by FarrPoint summarised the existing Welsh telecare offering, showing that telecare is offered across Wales and is currently delivering care and support to a large number of service users using well-established technology, processes and resource. However, there was significant variation in the telecare service offering in terms of take-up, scope and delivery arrangements which means that it is difficult to compare services directly.
This report provides the first analysis into the current state of the sector in Wales and will be crucial to reshaping services with the citizen in mind. It also highlights the disparity between the access, cost and type of services that citizens have depending upon where they live. FarrPoint has previously done similar work in Scotland and England, which brought a valuable perspective on the rollout of digital telecare from across the UK. TEC has the potential to help huge numbers of people continue to live independently, and we’re committed to improving services across Wales, helping as many people as possible access the care they need.
FarrPoint approached the project from a technological, service user, operational, and social-economic perspective. This provided vital insight for TEC Cymru, meaning they now have a clear understanding of the telecare landscape in Wales. For TEC Cymru to develop the Telecare services, the roadmap provided several potential roles that they could adopt.
These roles were focused around the three main areas:
This roadmap allowed TEC Cymru to identify which opportunities and roles they would like to take forward and where best to invest their efforts. The programme is now in the initial stages of being implemented.
If you are interested in hearing more about this project or learning about our Technology Enabled Care services, please get in touch or visit the services page.
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