Centre for Ageing Better Image - lady shows older lady mobile phone digital telecare

A new survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) and Partners in Care and Health (PCH) has revealed that some councils do not yet know how they will fund the move to digital telecare.

The LGA and PCH’s Digital Switchover Working Group conducted a readiness survey in August 2022 to gauge councils’ position on awareness, planning, and implementation of the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN).

The national telephony network is undergoing a change process which will see the 1.7 million people, who access technology enabled care and support, at risk of being left without a connection.

Advertisement | Continue story below

Whilst this work is a communications industry led process, the potential impacts beyond telephony and broadband services are significant and possibly impactful on the services that local authorities commission, deliver and refer to.

The LGA and PCH’s Digital Switchover Working Group has therefore conducted the readiness survey to gather data from councils to support work with the impact assessment and ensuring continuity of services.

In August 2022 the LGA and PCH’s Digital Switchover Working Group conducted a readiness survey to gauge councils’ position on awareness, planning, and implementation of the PSTN.

The purpose of the survey was to inform support offered to councils, as the switchover has urgent implications for the sector and the millions of people who rely on telecare in the UK.

The survey also asked about the impact on services more widely, for example, on alarm systems, traffic controls and lifts. Councils need to move to digital systems by 2025 to ensure that care technology reliability and safety is not compromised.

The online survey was launched at the end of August and responses were accepted up to 26 September. A total of 59 completed surveys were received, two of which were joint responses from shire district councils working in partnership, giving a response rate of 18 per cent.

Findings revealed three quarters of respondents were fully aware of the impact of the digital shift on telecare services, and the remaining quarter had some awareness.

Most councils have plans in place to manage the digital switchover, and a number have already started to implement these plans. Most councils are confident that they will be able manage the switchover with minimal disruption to their telecare services.

90 per cent of respondents were confident about their council’s ability to manage the digital shift with minimal impact on their telecare service and service users.

While some councils understand the costs and funding requirement, scoping work is still ongoing in others. Several councils are yet to identify how they will fund the move, and some are considering increasing their charges to service users.

A fifth of respondents have a digital-ready solution in place for telecare and a third are in the process of putting one in place.

A further 15 per cent have a plan which they have not yet implemented, 20 per cent have completed early-stage planning while just three per cent do not currently have a plan in place.

Over a quarter of respondents are replacing/upgrading all of their analogue alarm units with digital devices as soon as possible and half only plan to continue using them for up to two further years.

27 per cent of respondents understand the costs and have obtained the funding required to complete the move to digital telecare, 25 per cent understand the costs but have not yet obtained the funding, and a further 27 per cent do not yet understand the funding required.

Nearly two fifths of respondents do not yet know how they will fund the move to digital telecare while a third intend to fund it from council budgets.

A further eight per cent will use a combination of council funding and increases to service user charges and three per cent will fund the move to digital telecare solely through increased service user charges.

Councils are concerned that there is a lack of information in relation to the switchover, particularly from service providers. They have also flagged up the potential for technology failure and supply chain issues.

There were high levels of awareness of the impact the digital switch will have on respondent organisations more widely, just over two fifths were fully aware, almost half had some awareness, and under a tenth had heard about it, but did not know the detail.

However, three per cent were still unaware of the impact the digital switch will have on respondent organisations.

THIIS ROUND-UP
Join the 3,750+ mobility professionals who stay informed with THIIS' twice-weekly industry updates.
We respect your privacy
https://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Ageing-Better-Conversation-using-phone-digital-feedback-900x613-1.jpghttps://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Ageing-Better-Conversation-using-phone-digital-feedback-900x613-1-150x150.jpgMillie YorkGovernment & Local AuthoritiesNewsroomReports & ResearchSector Newscare at home,Councils,local councils,Local Government Association,switchover,TelecareA new survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) and Partners in Care and Health (PCH) has revealed that some councils do not yet know how they will fund the move to digital telecare. The LGA and PCH’s Digital Switchover Working Group conducted a readiness survey in August 2022 to...News, views & products for mobility, access and independent living professionals