New report from FarrPoint, commissioned by Department of Health and Social Care, highlights the impact that the Analogue switch-off will have on the telecare sector in England.
The Digital Shift and its Impact on the Telecare Sector in England report is now live and available to download below
The Department of Health and Social Care who commissioned the report have also produced a Telecare Stakeholder Action Plan linked to its recommendations. It is available at (this will open in a new window)www.gov.uk/publications
The transition from analogue to digital telephone lines in the UK is taking place in a phased way up to the end of 2025. This ‘digital shift’ is relevant to social care as there is a risk that technology enabled care (TEC) and telecare devices that rely on analogue telephone lines for connection, communication and power back-up, may no longer work, or work reliably, following the digital shift.
There are an estimated 1.8 million people across the UK who rely on TEC and telecare, who could be at risk if their analogue telecare systems are not adapted or upgraded in time meaning their alarm calls may fail to connect to their monitoring centre. To mitigate risks, adequate planning is required by all organisations involved in the delivery and supply of TEC and telecare services, whether funded through health or social care budgets or privately funded.
To understand the impact of the digital shift on technology enabled care and telecare services, Department of Health and Social care commissioned FarrPoint to complete this study to:
The study collected information from a range of stakeholders using online questionnaires and telephone interviews to understand the awareness of, and readiness for, the digital shift. Stakeholders engaged included:
For more information download the report or get in touch with us to find out more about our technology enabled care and digital shift consultancy services.
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