1 December 2008 Good Evening

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Assistive Technology Norfolk

Summary

ATSW’s use Assistive Technology and Telecare in order to provide a cost-effective and popular way of promoting and maintaining independence for older and disabled people.

Description

Norfolk Count Council used the preventative technology grant to develop an infrastructure of specialist Assistive Technology Support Workers (ATSW’s) assigned to local managers but coordinated by a central Assistive Technology office. They have worked across home care and residential care with older people and also people with learning disabilities. Developing and maintaining a wide range of partnerships has been key to their success. These partnerships have included health, housing, emergency services and the voluntary sector as well as the community alarm services. It has also entailed developing new and creative ways of working with private sector providers.

Outcomes

• Older people have avoided hospital admission and been returned home earlier - representing savings
• People with learning disabilities have been able to leave family home and lead independent lives
• A genuinely new type of more confident more fulfilled worker has been created
• Social care approaches and values being exported out to other areas

Themes and Issues

• The approach responds to a number of national government "Super highway" Policy objectives - crosscutting a number of Departments
• Issues of initial training and career progression linked to terms and conditions and qualificatory pathways
• How should the savings realized by delaying admissions to hospital be distributed
• Significant and substantial implications for commissioners, particularly joint commissioning arise form this project
• Partnership working brings undoubted benefits for service users and their carers