31 July 2010 Good Evening

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Your TeleSupport

Background

We looked at the growth in telecare - home-based technology that is linked to social care monitoring centres. Being aware of the continual increase in the number of people needing care, we decided to trial a new integrated hands free telephone/video system, (which we called TeleSupport) to see how useful it could be as part of a support package. Using a small sample group, we installed this in the offices of care staff and the homes of their clients for a 6 month trial period.

The overall success and potential of this small study, particularly amongst people with learning disabilities, encouraged us to move on to a wider pilot project. This is the project now being undertaken.

Your TeleSupport

Objectives

We want to look at using the videophones to allow for greater flexibility in care delivery - so that we can make the best use of our support staff time.

We also feel, from the results of the first pilot, that its use could encourage greater independence for the people we support as well as developing a wider circle of peer friendships and socialising opportunities.

We aimed to have a project manager working with our care staff and service users to develop training materials and practice guidelines and protocols for using the videophones within a care package. These training materials should then be available for anywhere where the use of videophones is being considered as part of a support package.

The plan

We planned to appoint a project manager, finalise the location of the new project, and assess staff and clients to identify those who would benefit most from the use of the videophones.

Building on lessons learnt from the sample group, training and training materials would be developed and offered to both care staff and the people they support with the aim of training 20 care staff in this new way of delivering care, so that they could use the videophone as part of their routine delivery of care.

As the pilot progressed, the materials would be evaluated and updated and changed accordingly. By the end of the pilot, training materials and protocols will be finalised and available for use.

What happened

The project initially experienced a delay in appointing a project manager but Skills for Care remained supportive during this period and on 30th September 2008 a project manager was appointed.

Training sessions and materials for all care staff participants have been developed, accompanied by an accessible user friendly guide which forms the training the care staff use when supporting clients to use the equipment.

Training is now well under way.

What was Achieved

So far, the project manager has trained 21 care staff in 9 locations across 3 towns and villages, giving the project a wide reach of clients. The trained support staff are able to connect to 32 clients in 7 locations and 3 towns and villages, along with a further 18 clients from the first pilot.

What Helped and What Hindered

• A very popular open day helped to pass on vital information re equipment.
• We were able to show managers and care staff how important it was to follow through by allowing time out for training, whilst ensuring service delivery was not disrupted.
• We knew that the project manager's geographical proximity to the area where the project is based would be important, along with flexibility of timetable, and offering some individual training sessions. These have all helped with the success so far of the project.

What We Found Out

Lessons learnt from the sample group included:

• the importance of delivering training to suit the timetables of the already busy care staff
• the need to offer follow on training.

Evaluation

Once the training is complete and the use of videophones is embedded into the ongoing delivery of care, then evaluation on the impact will be undertaken on a progressive basis i.e. assessed at regular intervals as part of the area's staff and care management timetable.

What New or Changed Skills do People Need to Work in This Way?

• The support staff has learnt how to use the Telesupport units, which for some has been their first experience of an IT based system, for others it has expanded their skills.
• Staff can now assess and anticipate a different way of providing practical support; for example they can consider leaving a person unattended at home, for an agreed period of time, with the telesupport unit being utilised to support the individual. This will involve understanding and developing sensitivity to the individual's needs, risk assessments and forward planning.
• Care staff located at different services can now provide peer support for each other via the telesupport units. This will be particularly useful for staff on night duty enabling them to have a practical alternative method of communicating with each other.

The Future

The project is due to complete in October 2009. Early indications demonstrate the success of the project in using this new way of working.

Contact Details

Mary Doran
E-mail: mary.doran@unitedresponse.org.uk
www.unitedresponse.org.uk
Phone: 01903 732736