TAPPI Cast – 19 May 2023
Welcome to TAPPI Cast, our weekly update on the 'Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation' (TAPPI) project which aims to improve the way technology is used in housing and care for older people.
T
his week was Global Accessibility Awareness Day, an opportunity to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access/inclusion and people with different disabilities. A fitting week for our Scottish Testbed Bield to celebrate the grand opening of their digital hub in Linlithgow (read more about it below)!
Updates from our Testbeds:
As part of the TAPPI Project at Llys Y Werin, residents of our Extra Care service in Gorseinon recently hosted a Magic Table demonstration, thanks to the team at Social-Ability.
The Magic Table is a light projector, which encourages interaction. Everyone had a go and really enjoyed themselves, with plenty of laughter heard!
One individual said, “this is great – we can use the table’s quiz games and make our own pub, as sometimes it’s not feasible to go to the local pub together.” And Marilyn, one of the residents who’s Personal Story you can find here, said: "this enables us to keep our brains working".
It's fair to say that the demo was a huge success and by the end of it, there was just one question - when would their own Magic Table arrive, as everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. A brilliant result!
A coffee morning and bingo afternoon at Harling Court have already raised £313 for this week’s Dementia Action Week, and an evening screening of 'On Golden Pond' using our new screen and Hearing Loop will round off the fundraising activities on Friday.
On the TAPPI project we're exploring how technology can be used to aid not only those living with dementia, but also their care network. GPS trackers have the ability to 'geofence' a person, allowing them the independence to access their local community with the benefit of an alert being raised if they venture too far.
Our Tipper Kettles have specifically been chosen in dementia-friendly red, signifying danger, and motion-activated lights ensure adequate lighting in homes. Our digitally-enabled Appello SLS system and linked fall detectors ensure help can be summoned without delay, and we look forward to trialling preventative TEC solutions in the coming weeks.
We were delighted to welcome some external stakeholders to the official opening of our new digital hub (the Bield Tech Hub) at our West Port development in Linlithgow on Wednesday 17th May.
Representatives from the Scottish Government, local Health & Social Care Partnerships, Housing Associations and our TAPPI project partners were in attendance.
They were given a tour of the hub and had the opportunity to see the different types of technologies which, through co-production with tenants and our TAPPI Champions, we have selected to trial. All of the tech on offer can be used to help older people to live independently and safely in their own homes for longer. We received some very positive feedback and the robotic companion dog was without a doubt the star of the show!
Moving forward, we will be encouraging tenants, staff and stakeholders to visit the Bield Tech Hub and learn more about the TAPPI project and the benefits of tech-enabled care.
Publications of interest:
Digital working in adult social care: What Good Looks Like
The Department of Health and Social Care released Guidance for care providers and local authorities on What Good Looks Like (WGLL) for digital working in adult social care as part of their work to achieve their ambitions for digital transformation as set out in People at the Heart of Care. Read more about it here.
WGLL for adult social care aims to bring the needs of local authorities and care providers into one coherent piece of guidance to develop an understanding of what they need to do to work well digitally.
Alongside this, Tuesday saw the launch of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce, bringing together a team of experts - including the Housing LIN’s CEO, Jeremy Porteus - to report on how to improve housing for older people.
Forthcoming events of interest:
Click here (opens new window) for a list of all forthcoming TAPPI related events, including:
- 23 May in Durham - My Home, My Care, My Way - Health, housing and care at the centre of everything we do (opens new window) - FREE one-day event by TSA. This event will explore how technology can truly be integrated into health, housing and social care, including the latest from the Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation (TAPPI), and how the TAPPI principles are being implemented across testbed sites.
- 27-29 June in Manchester - CIH Annual Conference 'Housing 2023' (opens new window) – Prof Roy Sandbach, TAPPI Chair, Lynn Douglas, CEO, Bield Housing & Care, and Debra Edwards, TAPPI Co-production Champion will run a TAPPI sessions along with other TAPPI sessionss during the conference with Alyson Scurfield, CEO, TSA; Jeremy Porteus, CEO, Housing LIN; and Jirko Hoogerwerf, IKEA and TAPPI Steering Board member.