Taking a collaborative approach to social care

18 Aug 2021 04:58 PM

Introducing techUK’s social care working group mission

The pandemic has amplified the complexities facing the social care sector. The narrative around social care is a familiar one. A sector facing continued financial constraints, rising demand and complex structures. It can also be hard to navigate for innovators and new entrants who offer digital solutions to level-up social care and improve services and outcomes for citizens.

As techUK’s Ten Point Plan for Healthtech, outlines, although there are broader systemic challenges to the delivering of care in the UK, through the successful deployment of technology, using solutions such as remote monitoring, Technology Enabled Care Services (TECS) and increasing the base level of connectivity and digital maturity across the social care estate could go a long way to helping to improve outcomes for citizens.

techUK’s Social Care Working Group

Social care stakeholders and partners are vast, from the national to local to homecare level as well as the social care workforce, carers and unofficial carers. Recognizing the complexity of this market and the challenges it faces techUK has established a Social Care Working Group that brings together members of the Local Public Services and Health and Social Care Programmes to interrogate the challenges the social care market faces and collaborate on how digital technologies can transform outcomes in social care. It is a diverse group representing the breadth and depth of the sector, from your established players to SMEs. Recognizing the complexity of this market and the challenges it faces techUK has established a Social Care Working Group that brings together members of the Local Public Services and Health and Social Care Programmes to interrogate the challenges the social care market faces and collaborate on how digital technologies can transform outcomes in social care. It is a diverse group representing the breadth and depth of the sector, from your established players to SMEs. The Chair is Chris Gibbons, Technology Consulting Senior Manager, Health and Public Service, Accenture and Vice-Chair is Max Parmentier, CEO, Birdie. The Chair is Chris Gibbons, Technology Consulting Senior Manager, Health and Public Service, Accenture and Vice-Chair is Max Parmentier, CEO, Birdie.

The key focus areas as voted by members are:

The Working Group acts a neutral forum for knowledge exchange across the supplier base and for public sector stakeholders to engage with the market. While identifying common challenges and solutions and offering the opportunity to leverage synergies to partner as often an ecosystem approach is needed to solve a problem.

The Working Group also provides members with the chance to connect with national and local stakeholders, to better understand their digital vision and challenges they face. Recent guests have included ADASS and NHSX. It enables members to be better informed of the problem and how their solution can solve a problem.

Show & Tell

In the spirit of furthering collaboration and fostering growth in the social care tech sector, we have introduced a new ‘Show & Tell’ standing agenda item. At each meeting one member has the opportunity to present for 5-10 minutes who they are; the social care problems their tech solves; and the opportunities they see where other members can help or partner with them.introduced a new ‘Show & Tell’ standing agenda item. At each meeting one member has the opportunity to present for 5-10 minutes who they are; the social care problems their tech solves; and the opportunities they see where other members can help or partner with them.  We will use these videos to curate a techUK social care digital marketplace for members and stakeholders to browse. 

How to get involved

This working group meets at least once each quarter. If you would like to be part of this growing and thriving tech community then you can do so by signing up here.

If you are a public sector stakeholder and would like to present at a future meeting, share your vision and challenges and access the latest social care innovations and tech get in touch with Georgina and Leontina.

Chris Gibbons, Senior Manager, Health and Public Service, Accenture & Chair, techUK Social Care WG, said:

We invite the wider techUK membership to come join us and be part of this growing ecosystem. It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get this right for social care. Digital will underpin the transformation of the system as we know it. A key part in getting it right is collaborating across the ecosystem to solve some of the biggest challenge’s adult social care faces. We welcome our public sector partners do get in touch with their challenges and together highlight what the art of the possible is.

Max Parmentier, CEO, Birdie & Vice-Chair of the techUK Social Care Working Group, said:

This working group has an impressive list of members working across social care. Not only do the meetings provide members to gain the latest market insights but connect and collaborate with each other. We’re really excited about the new show and tell item, putting the spotlight on a member company each time and using the content to create a tech social care marketplace hub.

This working group meets at least once each quarter. If you would like to be part of this growing and thriving tech community then you can do so by signing up here