David Brown, Business Relationship Manager at Digital Telecare for Scottish Local Government, shares what he expects the collaboration agreement between Digital Office for Scottish Local Government and TEC Cymru will achieve for the future of digital telecare, and outlines plans to work collaboratively to improve independent living in Scotland and Wales.
David Brown
Business Relationship Manager
Digital Telecare for Scottish Local Government
How will you be working with TEC Cymru on this project?
We have set up regular meetings with the team at TEC Cymru to discuss sharing of documents and learning, and also to explore any future opportunities for collaboration or joint working.
This partnership is already working well and Aaron Edwards, Senior Project Manager at TEC Cymru, kindly agreed to present at the annual Scottish Government Digifest Digital Health and Care Conference in the beginning of this month. Moving forward we are keen to include Aaron and the team in some of our broader programme activity, including involvement in our monthly Technical Advisory Group and Telecare Service Provider meetings.
What would you like to learn from working in collaboration?
Even at this early stage of the discussions, there have been numerous ‘light bulb’ moments for both teams, and it is difficult to underestimate the potential of our joint working as we progress. There are lots of commonalities across both programmes, but interestingly, we are already seeing lots of areas where there are different approaches and thinking, which will help provide some great learning opportunities.
Are there any key deliverables you can mention?
The initial phase will be focussed on reviewing the existing learning and products available across both programmes to avoid any duplication and save both teams as much time and effort as possible. This should mean that the telecare sectors across both regions begin to see the practical benefits of this collaboration almost immediately.
Moving forward, we will work in partnership to develop resources and documents together which can then be published quickly to support service providers to transition to digital as safely and securely as possible before the telephony switch-off in December 2025.
What are the next steps and immediate plans for the project?
The immediate focus for both teams is to work collaboratively to support service providers though this complex change as safely as possible, to ensure critical telecare services can continue to be provided to the thousands of citizens who rely on these every day. In addition to this, the evolution to digital telecare unlocks a huge opportunity for the sector to innovate.
A key focus of this collaboration will be supporting service providers to fully exploit the capabilities of their upgraded telecare solution to improve efficiency, resilience, reduce cost and enhance the range of services that can be offered to citizens.
For more information on the Digital Telecare Programme, visit: https://telecare.digitaloffice.scot/
