Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) offers Technology Enabled Care and Support (TECS) as a care and support option, for people to live their lives as independently as possible, in their own home. 

A new video has been launched to promote and explain how TECS can work as part of a person’s package of social care support. The video has been split into two short parts and can be viewed in any order. 

The video entitled ‘Explaining a Social Work Assessment and Technology Enabled Care and Support (TECS)’ explains how the social work assessment process works before going on to look at the support options available, focusing on TECS.

The second video, ‘TECS as Part of Your Care and Support Plan’, focuses more on the TECS; the equipment used, how remote support works, the TECS assessment process and how TECS is paid for and maintained.

These videos are for everyone – people with a disability or long-term condition, families, carers and guardians, care provider organisation staff and our own HSCP staff. The videos have been co-produced with input and feedback from service user groups, including People First and Glasgow Disability Alliance, SOL Connect (the TECS provider) and support from a range of HSCP staff. 

The videos, alongside an Easy Read Booklet that also explains how technology can help people live more independently, are now available and accessible through the Your Support Your Way Glasgow (YSWYG) website at https://www.yoursupportglasgow.org/TECS

Steven Love, Senior Officer, Glasgow City HSCP says: “These videos, accessible through the YSYWG website, are part of a suite of new information resource materials that are now available for staff and the public to access. They explain some of the options for using technology as part of your support plan.Technology can’t replace all the need that people have for face to face support, but it can be a useful part of a package of support within the person’s care plan, giving increased choice and control to people.

“The videos demonstrate how TECS works within the person’s home and shows how they engage with it. It provides information in an accessible way for care managers, support providers and family members to understand and explains how TECS could work to enhance someone’s support.”

The key message from these videos is that using technology can help with managing or minimising risk in order to support vulnerable people to live in their own home and community, whilst also providing reassurance for family carers. It recognises that technology and using remote support is not going to work for everyone, but it can help maximise people’s independence and help them to have more control over their own lives. 

Steven continued: “In Glasgow a number of ‘test of change’ TECS projects have already been carried out or are currently underway, and a new TECS project is about to commence in North West Glasgow. This new project will focus primarily on support people have in their own homes, that is funded through a self-directed support package. It will look at ways in which TECS can enhance existing support arrangements to enhance the person's quality of life and increase and maximise independence.

“By allowing Glasgow City HSCP to successfully test out TECS through our existing telecare services and our Framework TECS providers, this project will provide valuable learning on TECS-based outcomes, for our service users across a range of adult services care groups.”

To find out more about how the Glasgow City HSCP TECS strategy is being developed or any of the TECS development work undertaken to date, please contact: Steven Love, by email, steven.love@glasgow.gov.uk or mobile, 07425611901.