COVID-19 has made the healthcare system slowly adapt to new digital technologies enabling remote care. However, there are still strides to be made in reforming adult social care. ADASS and the TSA are making recommendations to the government, health, care and housing sectors about the role of digital technology in a reformed adult social care system. Even the Adult Social Care Winter Plan highlights the shift towards technology enabled care (TEC), and how through technology people have been able to stay connected to their loved ones this pandemic. With companies offering a range of digital support, can TEC effectively be combined to enhance a person’s home to create a smart home.
“Digital health and social care have filled the gaps during the pandemic and the Commission seeks to pull together this knowledge to make it easier and quicker to adopt, spread and scale innovations with the aim of creating a more preventative UK social care system.” – Rafael Bengoa, Co-Director of The Institute for Health & Strategy in Bilbao, Spain
Digital Partnership
On Friday we announced our digital partnership with AdaptEco, who Ethel Care have been working with throughout the pandemic.
Christian Geisselmann is the Founder and CEO of AdaptEco Ltd. With over 25 years’ experience, Christian is an expert in the field of digital care. Working at both strategic and operational level, Christian has extensive knowledge of supported housing, health and social care, enabling technology, commissioning, and service redesign. He develops integrated visions and strategies which fundamentally promote health, wellbeing, and independence through the appropriate use of assistive technology.
Adapt Eco and the ecosystem
AdaptEco provides smart home technology for assisted living and future-proofed homes. AdaptEco has developed a unique collaboration, a Digital Care Partnership combining the world’s most innovative smart home technology. AdaptEco build and deliver bespoke solutions to create an Ecosystem, enabling people to live safely in their homes for longer. With an all-round tech agnostic approach, AdaptEco combines the relevant Digital Care Partners to provide customer-centric solutions to meet specific assisted living requirements. AdaptEco works closely with Local Authority Adult Social Care, Care Providers, Housing Associations as well as Architects and Specialist Design and Build for Supported Living / Extra Care Living.
Christian explains, “Very little in telecare had moved on in the past 10 years. With traditional analogue telecare being the primary technology offer, its approach remained inflexible and ‘one size fits all’. The same solutions were being given to everyone, regardless of a person’s ability or level of support, or if an individual required reablement or elderly care. The technology was reactive, not proactive and didn’t support early intervention. It only allowed intervention once a problem had occurred. This traditional approach was not designed to support the challenges of our ageing population, the growing need for adapted homes and the required level of care”.
Digital Care Partners
The switchover from analogue to digital in 2025 is imminent. AdaptEco didn’t want to digitalise what the industry already had in analogue but wanted to provide the marketplace with pioneering digital smart care solutions, backed up by an end to end consultancy service. After two years of research, AdaptEco selected some of the world’s best smart care innovators to create the Digital Care Partnership. Christian continues, “It was imperative that each company had the same passion and vision as AdaptEco, and of course ethical standards. Many partners were already looking towards EcoSystems, seeing the benefits of collaboration and data sharing. Our partnership presents us all the space to share ideas and gain feedback from different markets around the world. With an all-round tech agnostic approach, the Digital Care Partnership continues to strengthen and grow”.
How can Ethel help?
By joining forces with other companies, such as AdaptEco, a person’s home can be uniquely adapted to their needs. Combining different types of TEC with Ethel creates an enhanced level of support at home and encourages independent, smart living. There is a need to provide better care at home and offer proactive care rather than reactive due to the social care funding gaps. This pandemic has shown that home care is the future.
