TAPPI Cast – 7 July 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. Includes updates from our 6 Testbeds, Resources and Events of interest.

To coincide with this week's Coproduction Week, TAPPI partners were delighted to publish 3 new Personal Stories from our Co-production Champions Group told in the authentic voices of the Champions. The stories cover the positives and negatives of digital technology, peoples’ hopes and fears and highlight how technology can be both a blessing and a curse.

In addition, Debra Edwards, TAPPI Co-production Champion wrote a fantastic article on the power of co-production (opens new window) for Care Management Matters magazine in which for shares her lived experience:

‘I want to spread the word so other organisations can effectively design and deliver care and housing services in partnership with the people they support.’

Debra is a fabulous advocate for designing and delivering care and housing  services in partnership with the people they support. Find out more about her story here. 

Updates from our Testbeds:

Last week, we were kindly invited to present at the WM5G Launch event in Birmingham. We shared Platform's Digital Journey and gave an update on our contribution to the TAPPI Project so far. Throughout the day we heard about the incredible opportunities improved connectivity is bringing to health, care, and housing throughout the West Midlands.

Last week, Peter from AMBA came down to Southend and visited the units to assist with staff training on the AMBA platform.

We also have now got tablets that can be attached to the wall for staff to see alerts and be able to close them down. Before we were using laptops but sometimes they were left for the next day without any charge, the tablets will stay plugged in all the time.

This will really enable staff to see at a glance what is going on.

We also had some scales for West Street and Spencer House delivered.

The Bield team concluded their mid-project review last week. Overall, there is agreement that we are making progress in addressing the three challenges we set out to investigate:

1. Digital literacy and reducing inequalities – we want, as a minimum, to test our tenants’ levels of digital literacy, their motivations and barriers to understand their skill levels.
2. Personalisation and promoting independence – we want to develop a pathway for identifying needs, co-producing personalised technology solutions and supporting those living independently, those in need of support and those who are becoming frailer.
3. Digital design brief – we want to establish what people in our developments (and their families) want to make them feel safer and live independently for longer in their existing homes.

The team also agreed a vision for the final part of the project including evaluations and what we will do with the information post-TAPPI.