WP4. Core technologies and outcomes of importance

Work Package 4 worked with stakeholders within our partner services to explore factors influencing the development of technology enabled care services for professionals in social care. This stage of the project adopted a two-round e-Delphi study combined with an online consensus workshop and had the goal of gathering expert insights on the wider barriers and facilitators of Technology Enabled Care Services.  The e-Delphi survey was sent to 15 social care professionals—including managers, occupational therapists, and technology leads in the three participating local authorities in the project. The study achieved a high expert consensus in relation to how technology is currently deployed, who benefits most, and what organizational obstacles hinder wider adoption. Findings revealed near-universal delivery of traditional tools like telecare, GPS trackers, community pendant alarms, and fall detectors, primarily embedded within short-term reablement, post-hospital discharge support, and ongoing telecare services using well established telecare platforms.

The e-Delphi exercise highlighted strategic priorities for social care. Upskilling frontline staff through hands-on training and digital induction modules, raising community awareness via trusted partners, such as GPs and third-sector agencies, and employing dedicated technical support teams and wider ongoing support via the usual monitoring channels, so that the burden of troubleshooting any issues with devices does not fall on vulnerable users or on carers with limited knowledge. Finally, scaling up services requires stronger evidence-based research in the sector to demonstrate long-term outcomes of services, including their cost-effectiveness. Service users and family caregivers were finally highlighted as playing an important role in co-designing such research.