Technology Enabled Care in Adult Social Care: Royal Borough of Kingston

In this case study, South-West London Integrated Care System (SWL ICS) Digital Pioneer Fellow Sarah Spence, Strategic Digital Commissioner in the Adult Social Care Department at Royal Borough of Kingston, shares how she is helping to deliver a new Technology Enabled Care (TEC) service across both operations and commissioning in adult social care to drive improved outcomes for residents.

Project Summary

A limited technology offer meant care packages were missing opportunities to ensure individuals had better choices and control, enabling people to live longer, fuller lives in their homes. To address this, the Royal Borough of Kingston has commissioned a strategic partner to co-design and deliver a new Technology Enabled Care (TEC) service to people known to adult social care. TEC uses technology to help monitor and manage individuals at risk to live longer, healthier and more independent lifestyles.

Project Objectives

Historically, TEC has been utilised reactively within adult social care, primarily for individuals already known to the service, with a limited understanding of the broader benefits that a new era of TEC could provide.

To explore these potential benefits, a proof of concept was conducted, involving selected social work practitioners from the service. These practitioners were given access to a wide range of TEC, along with the necessary training and support. The objectives of this initiative were to:

• Make TEC the first consideration when designing an individual’s care package
• Shift the focus from prescriptive needs to the specific risks, needs, and desired outcomes of the individual
• Use data generated by TEC to provide a comprehensive picture of an individual’s well-being

In addition to improving outcomes for the individuals involved, the proof of concept aimed to assess whether a more robust TEC offering could contribute to the financial sustainability of the Council.

The proof of concept provided sufficient evidence to justify scaling the TEC service. Following a successful open market procurement exercise in 2023, Argenti was commissioned as the Royal Borough of Kingston’s strategic TEC partner. The service was mobilised in October 2023, with the new service going live in February 2024. During this period, all individuals were safely migrated and provided with a digital care solution in response to the national analogue-to-digital switchover.

Impact/Outcomes

Since the launch of the new TEC service in February 2024, over 40 individuals have been referred to the program. Of these, 20 referrals came from Kingston Hospital, where TEC was deemed essential for patient discharge. In such cases, the necessary technology was installed within 48 hours of receiving the referral.

Social work practitioners collaborate closely with Argenti and the individuals to discuss their care and the outcomes they aim to achieve. Together, they explore how TEC, including consumer technology like Alexa devices, can support these goals. Experience shows that when individuals are actively involved in the process, the technology is more effective in meeting their needs.

The new service has enabled TEC to:

• Inform professionals’ decision-making, such as supporting assessments of an individual’s support needs
• Provide reassurance to loved ones and caregivers
• Allow individuals remain in their homes
• Support return home after a period in residential care

All current referrals are being reviewed to assess the impact of TEC on both the individuals and the Council.

One of our residents in care had dementia, but her daughter lived a long way away. TEC enabled the family member to feel confident that they knew when their mother was going in and out of the house, because there were door sensors installed, allowing her to know where her mother was at any given time.

As well as helping the resident, the TEC also gave the daughter confidence that her mother was being kept as safe as possible. I always say to clients and families, there are two major things we seek to do. One is to keep people safe and the other is to keep them as independent as they want and to help them at whatever stage of life they’re in. Empowering them to feel that they’ve got something to offer and something to achieve.

Martyn Green
Social Worker

Next Steps

The main priorities within our programme plan for 24/25 are;

• supporting RB Kingston’s housing for older people service to consider how technology enabled care can support the service based on TAPPI principles (Technology for our  Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation)
• further refine the TEC service to support  individuals during reablement following discharge from hospital
• establish a  pathway from the TEC service into the local urgent community response service following recent referral guidance from NHS England.

Our key priorities for the 2024/25 programme plan are:

• Enhancing the housing for older people service in the Royal Borough of Kingston by integrating Technology Enabled Care (TEC) into the housing services for older adults, based on TAPPI (Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation) principles
• Refining the TEC service for reablement by developing our TEC service to better support individuals during reablement following their hospital discharge
• Establishing a TEC Pathway into urgent community response, in line with recent NHS England referral guidance

Sarah Spence is a Fellow from Cohort One of the SWL ICS Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme.

The SWL ICS Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme supports change makers employed by NHS, Local Authority and Voluntary Sector organisations in South-West London to design and lead health and care transformation projects underpinned by digital innovation. Funded by the South-West London Integrated Care System, the programme builds on DigitalHealth.London’s Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme but is specifically for staff employed by NHS, Local Authority and Voluntary Sector organisations in South West London.

To find out more about the other Fellows in Cohort One of the SWL ICS Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme, please refer to our innovation directory.