Sheffield City Council’s aim is for every adult in Sheffield to be able to age well and live the life they want to live, with choice and control over the decisions that affect them.
Technology (TEC) is the equipment used in people’s homes which helps them to live independently, safe, and well, so building on what is already in place is a priority for the Council.
On 26 March, the Council’s Adult Health and Social Care committee will be asked to approve a new commissioning strategy for the Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Service, including the procurement of a strategic partner.
The strategy has been developed through strong engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including people in receipt of care, their families, and carers. Public forums have taken place in collaboration with Healthwatch Sheffield, with health, housing, and social care practitioners also helping to inform how best to deliver the new service.
Currently the Councils Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Service is delivered by City Wide Care Alarms (CWCA), the in-house telecare service, alongside an offsite 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre currently commissioned from Tunstall Healthcare. If the new strategy is approved, there will be a re-design of CWCA.
The new TEC service would very much build on the strengths of the current Citywide Care Alarms Service, which supports over 8,000 people with telecare through a TEC Monitoring Centre alongside the CWCA’s 24/7 response service. The service receives around 200 referrals and completes 154 installations per month. The 24/7 Monitoring Service delivered by Tunstall Healthcare receives on average 24,000 alerts each month, with the CWCA response service completing on average 800 visits to customers’ homes each month.
The current TEC offer is however limited to carelines, pendants, and a small number of peripherals such as smoke detectors, property exit sensors and falls detectors, monitored by the Tunstall Healthcare Alarm Receiving Centre.
Equipment is mainly aimed at older adults at risk of falls or with dementia and is limited to support in the home.
But now, approving this strategy would give the Council’s Adult Health and Social Care Team the opportunity to offer services wider to younger people in transition, those with autism, mental health, and learning disabilities, as well as supporting people to have the freedom to go out and about to safely access their local communities.
“I have seen first-hand just how much has gone into developing these plans, all with a focus on improving the lives of those people living at home who rely on social care services every day.
“Those who will be using the different kinds of equipment planned in this strategy have been part of the conversation from the very beginning which gives us the confidence to know that the direction we are setting is the right one. If approved at committee, it will be exciting to see the plans start to come to fruition, working with all partners across the city.
“The plans will not only improve people’s lives but also gives us an opportunity to reduce costs by embracing new technology and service re-design. We want to make sure that everyone, irrespective of their income, can use and access the services we are talking about here. That’s good news for everybody.”
Councillor Angela Argenzio, Chair of the Adult Health and Social Care Policy Committee at Sheffield City Council
This development work will focus on new digitally enhanced TEC products such as Connected Care and YOURMeds, a digital monitored dosage system, and the Council plans to introduce a new digital Careline, the Chiptech 7, along with the series 7 Go Pendant, which will support people when out and about in their communities.
This recent investment in the new Chiptech products has been supported by Sheffield City Council capital funding of £290,700.
The current UK Analogue system for landlines in people’s homes will move to a digital platform by the end of January 2027, with BT beginning to transfer their more vulnerable customers on to digital services across Yorkshire and Humber from Spring 2025. CWCA have been transferring their customers to digital services with less than a third of the customers yet to transition.
The new digital services present extensive opportunities to collect and use data to aid the delivery of proactive and preventative services such as falls prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections.
A new Sheffield Place Digital and TEC Transformation Group has been set up, which is jointly chaired by senior leaders from both health and social care. The group will lead the work to support the transformation, governing and steering of these TEC and digital developments.
The Council will be making sure that people are made aware of the benefits of TEC and how it can help them so that as many people as possible can access those services.
TEC training will be prioritised for frontline health, housing, and social care practitioners such as occupational therapists, social workers, community nurses, and housing officers so that they can provide the necessary support in the introduction of TEC.
There will be a review of the Council’s TEC Charging Policy, with engagement planned with people in receipt of care, their families, and carers along with other stakeholders in the Spring. The aim of the review is to ensure that the TEC services are accessible and affordable for all.