TAPPI Cast – 2 June 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.

Updates from our Testbeds

Last week Platform attended this year's Social Housing Strategy Forum, building our knowledge on equipment and services. This was a super opportunity to make lots of great new contacts to connect and meet with again to further collaboration and learning around technology for our older residents.

We are thrilled to share a heart-warming story about the positive impact of the mobile GPS alarm ‘Oysta’ on one of our tenants. Just a short while ago, this tenant was fearful of going out alone and had only recently started going to the local shop with another resident, which is a short 5-minute walk away.

Last Saturday, she took a bold step and decided to embark on a bus trip to Canvey Island, a place she hadn't visited in years. It was an incredible experience for her, exploring the seafront and the local area. This outing, lasting approximately 5 hours, marked a significant milestone in her journey towards independence.

Having the Oysta device by her side played a crucial role in boosting her confidence to venture further, providing her with a sense of security. Moreover, the device's data proved invaluable when Rita didn't return as expected, allowing us to track her progress and see that she was on her way back home.

Last week saw Bield representing Scotland at the Integrated Care International Conference in Antwerp, showcasing our proactive telecare service. This provided a platform to engage on an international level and show how Bield plan to build on the outcomes of our proactive telecare service successes and incorporate predictive and preventative analytical technology with people, whilst fully utilising co-production methods. This will lead to data-driven insights being provided which will enable us to make proactive interventions. The initiative, via TAPPI, will allow Bield to support their tenants to live independently, at home, for as long as possible.

In addition, the opening of Bield’s new Tech Hub at their West Port development in Linlithgow on Wednesday 17th May has been featured in the following articles:

Publications of interest:

Digital exclusion and the cost of living crisis (opens new window)

This report from TAPPI Evaluation and Shared Learning Partner the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, was commissioned by leading social enterprise Places for People, to understand the impact of digital exclusion.

It exposes the digital divide that is hampering efforts by people and communities to manage in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, with calls for governments and housing providers to urgently improve digital accessibility.

CIH published a related blog which can be found here (opens new window).

Forthcoming events of interest:

Click here (opens new window) for a list of all forthcoming TAPPI related events, including:

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 presentations during the conference by Alyson Scurfield, CEO, TSA; Jeremy Porteus, CEO, Housing LIN; and Jirko Hoogerwerf, TAPPI Steering Board member. We hope to see you there!