Digital: Collaborative Solutions

Heriot-Watt Ambient Assisted Living Project

Follow the links below to our video and podcast exploring the scope and potential of this new research project launched by Heriot-Watt and partners, working with supported peopled and using remote access to their assisted living lab, to find digital solutions to challenges presented during the Covid pandemic

The Ambient Assisted Living Project at Heriot-Watt University demonstrates the effectiveness of seeking collaborative solutions in the care and support sector. By finding innovative ways to collaborate with supported people and stakeholders across the development of new technologies, scientists at Heriot-Watt University will be able to ensure assisted living technology in the future meets the needs of those who use it.

GET INVOLVED

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University are now looking to engage with people who use, or may benefit from using digital assistive technology. Please get in touch if you, your organisation or the people you support are interested in participating in the project – all perspectives are welcome!

What do collaborative solutions look like?

Listen to our brand new podcast below to hear about why Sight Scotland have partnered with Heriot-Watt University and the Ambient Assisted Living Project to collaborate with supported people and how they have adopted digital during Covid

Blackwood are also involved in the Heriot-Watt project. Check out the video below to see how they have adopted collaborative solutions to provide improved outcomes for the people they support.

This video provides a quick run through of the 24 brand new, highly accessible, beautiful, Blackwood Homes based in Helenvale in the East End of Glasgow. These new properties are designed to enable the occupier to live life as independently as possible. The new homes have rise and fall kitchen counter tops and cabinets, remote activated raising/lowering blinds and video door entry system. The bathroom boasts the Eclisse Pocket doors, adjustable Pressalit rail system and Geberit toilet systems ensuring maximum adaptability to fit the user’s needs.

This is all supported by Blackwood’s bespoke digital care system, CleverCogs™. Each customer receives a digital device preloaded with CleverCogs™ and Blackwood provide training to support people to access their calendar to see their upcoming care visits and to use the video calling feature to contact family and friends. CleverCogs™ can be personalised to access a user’s specific interests and control some of the smart elements in their new home such as the remote activated blinds. Not only will the new tenants receive traditional care visits but also, through CleverCogs™, be able to access Blackwood’s 24/7 Support Service. This means that a friendly, supporting staff member can be contacted at any time.

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Digital: Service Transformation

How has digital helped to continue support people living with dementia and their carers?

Alzheimer Scotland

How has digital helped to continue support people living with dementia and their carers?

Alzheimer Scotland has developed many new ideas to keep contact with the people they work with, including weekly digital quizzes hosted by volunteers involving people with dementia, family members and carers. We captured a few choice moments from a recent session with volunteer Ellen, Jim, who has been diagnosed with dementia for about 4 years, and Eugene – caring for his wife Roseanna.  Both previously attended face to face events, however due to Covid-19, Alzheimer staff had to find alternative methods of support. Over the last 8 months the online group have become friends. Most of their time is spent laughing and joking with each other and staff say watching this natural friendship grow has been priceless. Furthermore, neither like to lose, so the competition is stiff and keeps the game very lively indeed!

The second story shows a few moments from a Weekly Carer Conversation. These provide an opportunity for carers to come together to speak to other family members offering advice, information and support to each other. Ian cares for his wife Anne; Eugene cares for his wife Roseanna; and new to the group is Pat, who cares for her husband Jim. The group have built a trusting connection and look to each other for that much needed peer and emotional support. As well as the formal support, the weekly digital video call offers a chance to escape the caring role for an hour. The group chat and laugh together and have built up a lovely friendship. These calls have been some of the funniest over the past 8 months, thanks to the great sense of humour and the love of going off on a tangent or two….There is no doom or gloom on these Friday calls and they really set people up for the weekend!

Quarriers Resilience for Wellbeing Project

Watch our latest video below to learn more about how one small mental wellbeing project in the Scottish Borders went digital in a matter of days at the start of the lockdown.

When COVID-19 forced Scotland into lockdown, vital services such as the Quarriers Resilience for Wellbeing Project, based in schools and working to support young people’s mental wellbeing, had to rethink how they could deliver a formerly face-to-face service. Over a short period of time, Quarriers were able to transform their project and run it virtually for the duration of the lockdown. This switch also allowed practitioners to prioritise their own mental wellbeing during such unprecedented times.

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Digital: Workforce Wellbeing

CPPS Digital: Care and Support Innovation through COVID-19

Take a look at our brand new podcast series, CCPS Digital: Care and Support Innovation through Covid-19, to hear about the workforce wellbeing innovations CCPS members have made this year, as well as the Scottish Government’s new National Wellbeing Hub (find out more at promis.scot).

Episode 1 features Katherine Wainwright, Director of People and Culture at Scottish Autism, talking about the importance of worker wellbeing and the development of the National Wellbeing Hub (approx 14 mins)

Episode 2 features Dr Claire Fyvie, NHS psychologist, talking about why worker wellbeing is so important during this pandemic and how the National Wellbeing Hub can help (approx 11 mins)

Episode 3 features Tracey McFall, Chief Executive of Partners in Advocacy, talking about how they have used digital to support their staff during the pandemic and integrated this into their strategic thinking (approx 23 mins)

Episode 4 features Pauline Cavanaugh, Advocacy Manager at Partners in Advocacy, talking about involving staff and the practical steps taken to encourage staff creativity, wellbeing and learning using digital tools (approx 17 mins)

Episode 5 features Linda Tuthill, Chief Executive and Jennifer Dow, Development Manager, from the Action Group, talking about their experience and practical measures taken to create a culture that embraces digital and the wellbeing benefits that have accrued (approx 19 mins)

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Our Work

Our mission is to identify, represent, promote and safeguard the interests of third sector and not-for-profit social care and support providers in Scotland, so that they can maximise the impact they have on meeting social need.

CCPS is the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland.

Our mission is to identify, represent, promote and safeguard the interests of third sector and not-for-profit social care and support providers in Scotland, so that they can maximise the impact they have on meeting social need.

We aim to provide solutions and thought leadership in policy for the social care sector. Our work is built with the expert voices of our active membership. We engage collaboratively with partners across sectors.

We currently run a number of Scottish Government funded workstreams to help us meet our mission:

Our Commissioning and Procurement Programme is actively building leadership, promoting new ideas and supporting change towards the all-important delivery of ethical commissioning and procurement in social care.  We work in active partnership with commissioners, providers and supported people.

Our Workforce Development Network supports third sector social care providers to contribute to national workforce agendas and works to underpin essential sustainability for the sector.  This includes influencing the national Fair Work agenda, the future of regulation and workforce planning.

Our Digital Programme provides support, information, learning and development opportunities to third sector providers in the digital arena, as well as running problem solving networks.  It is now heavily engaged in helping to shape digital opportunities through the National Care Service.

Our Children and Young People’s Programme gathers expertise from the sector to influence key areas of national work, such as the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund.

In addition, we work with our membership to influence the wider reform agenda through the National Care Service, we speak up for the sector around wider issues of sustainability during these difficult economic times, and we were a key player in ensuring the needs of the sector have been reflected in COVID planning.

CCPS also hosts the Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum and the Housing Support Enabling Unit (in collaboration with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations).

 

Rachel Cackett

Chief Executive Officer

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The CCPS Digital Programme

Providing support, information, learning and development opportunities.

The CCPS Digital programme is funded by the Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Digital Social Care programme of the Scottish Government to support third sector providers of social care by providing support, information, learning and development opportunities.

The CCPS Digital Programme will also contribute to policy and legislative consultations arising from the development of the National Care Service in relation to digital and data.

The programme’s main activities include:

  • Creating opportunities for networking and collaboration between Third Sector care and support providers, statutory sector partners and others working within the technology sector
  • Facilitating small group problem solving networks to bring providers together to work through shared challenges on identified issues
  • Representation and policy influencing to strengthen the voice of Third Sector providers in the development of national policy and implementation
  • Gathering and sharing evidence and learning to explore the capacity for shared digital system solutions across the sector and gathering examples of good practice, learning and the impact of policies on Third Sector providers
  • Information and support to share sector learning and give providers the information, knowledge, and contacts to develop and adopt digital practice

These activities currently focus on four themes that correspond to priorities set out in the Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care Strategy:

  • Digital services: developing a better understanding of the role of digital in the context of care and support commissioning (including service design) and procurement
  • Digital foundations: supporting digital maturity among our members, including cyber resilience;
  • Digital skills and leadership: supporting a digitally skilled care and support workforce;
  • Data-driven services and insights: encouraging better use of data, data sharing, and citizen access to data;

Contact us

Why Digital?

Why Digital?  See our co-produced animation illustrating our ambitions for an integrated and digitally enhanced world of health and care services and support could mean for citizens and people who need support.

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Digital: Activities

The Digital Programme supports a range of activities for members and interested stakeholders.

Seminar Series

This is a monthly online series of ‘short & sharp’ seminars (1.5 hours) led by members, often involving external experts, on a range of digital topics of practical and strategic interest to care and support providers.  Please get in touch if you would like to learn more about these sessions or suggest a theme.  Presentations, related links and recordings are available for members.

  • January 2023 – Developing a digitally skilled workforce
  • December 2022 – AI in care and support services
  • November 2022 – Digital Technology in housing support
  • September 2022 – Options for rota management systems
  • August 2022 – Exploring internal staff comms – provider case studies
  • June 2022 – CivTech – How it works and how you can benefit
  • May 2022 – Exploring the Data Theme: SSSC Date, Scottish Government Data Strategy, and Data standards and sharing across third sector care and support providers
  • March 2022 – Cyber Resilience and incident management
  • January 2022 – Microsoft 365 and Teams
  • December 2021 – Microsoft Power BI

Access Group User Forum

This group meets quarterly and brings together members using Access Group care management software,
including People Planner, care planning, etc., to share information, support learning and identify potential development opportunities. To join the group, please get in touch with us.

Third sector cyber catalysts

CCPS members participate in the third sector cyber catalyst group, coordinated by the Scottish Government
Cyber Resilience Third Sector Unit – further information about the group and cyber resources and support available to the third sector are on our web page here.

Data Lab sessions on Driving Value from Data

A series of three intensive workshops for members held online in February/March 2022 covered:

  • Case studies and interviews from data leaders across The Data Lab’s network
  • Tools to both assess maturity and plan future strategy
  • Guidance on how to transition from strategy to successful execution

We continue to work with the Data Lab to support better understanding and use of data across our sector, including collaboration to develop shared data standards, benchmarking and improved sharing of data for the benefit of the people our members support.

External Working Groups

CCPS and its members are involved in supporting the development of digital and data policy for the benefit of service users and the long-term quality and sustainability of care and support provision.

We participate in/or organise sector representation for the following forums:

  • Scottish Government Digital Citizens’ Board – supports the work of the Digital Health and Care Directorate
  • Digital Social Care Delivery Board
  • The Scottish Government Digital Social Care Team (TEC Team) – The team delivers the TEC programme and links with external related work
  • Digifest and Digital Learning Network Steering Group – Plans and supports delivery of the annual Digifest conference and series of related seminars and events, and the annual Digital Learning Network conference
  • NES – Building Digital Skills and Leadership Board; Building Digital Skills and Leadership Reference Group; and the NES Digital Leadership Programme
  • MySSSC
  • The Scottish Government’s National Care Service reference group

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Digital: Information and Resources

CCPS members did a remarkable job of swiftly integrating digital and technology-based solutions to maintain care and support in Scotland during the Covid pandemic. 

CCPS Resources

CCPS Digital: Care and Support Innovation through Covid-19
We produced a series of videos and podcasts, in partnership with members, to share experience and advice about what worked well or not, and some of the unexpected benefits for staff and supported people.  The links below take you to stories and information in our three key themes.

Digital innovations continue across the sector and we want to help tell your story – please get in touch!

Our three themes:

  • Workforce wellbeing
  • Digital service transformation
  • Collaborative solutions

Scottish Government Resources

Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care Directorate – key responsibilities are:

  • leading on policy and strategy, informed by the latest innovations, research, evaluation, and engagement
  • Transforming services through the implementation and spread of digital services and technology
  • Providing expertise on information governance, assurance and cyber security.

Digital Health and Care Strategy – this is a refreshed strategy (October 2021) setting out how Scotland will work together to improve the care and wellbeing of people in Scotland by making best use of digital technologies in the design and delivery of services, in a way, place and time that works best for them.

The Scottish Government Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Programme – The programme focuses on citizen facing digital solutions where “outcomes for individuals in home or community settings are improved through the application of technology as an integral part of quality, cost effective care and support to look after more people at home”

Cyber Resilience – Scottish Government Cyber Resilient Strategy: Cyber Resilient Scotland: strategic framework. Updated in February 2021, this framework sets out the Scottish Government’s vision of what we need to do collectively to make Scotland a digitally secure and digitally resilient nation.

Cyber Scotland – The Cyber Scotland Partnership is a collaborative leadership approach to focus efforts on improving cyber resilience across Scotland and includes the Scottish Government’s key strategic stakeholders in a formal partnership arrangement to drive the delivery of activities that will achieve the outcomes of The Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland: the site includes up to the minute information about current cyber threats, advice and guidance, incident response resources and reporting, and skills.

Scottish Government Third Sector Cyber Unit – The Unit has supported a number of cyber catalyst working groups, including one for the third sector. Its membership is here: Cyber catalyst working groups: list and information about its goals and activities is here. The most recent report of its activities is here. In terms of recent outputs, it has produced a very helpful outline of the steps an organisation can take to strengthen its cyber resilience: Third-Sector-Cyber-Resilience-Journey-1.pdf

The Scottish Business Resilience Centre – its goal is to support Scottish organisations to have the skills and knowledge to protect themselves against online attacks, through delivery of education and preventative training, as well as actively raising awareness of threats throughout the business community. They have resources on incident response including the excellent Exercise in a Box, a training tool to help organisations consider and plan for incidents – as well as a recently developed incident response planning pack

National Centre for Cyber Security (NCSC) – The UK Government’s cyber security centre, containing information, advice and guidance on current threats, preventive tools and strategies, and incident response

SCVO – helping people and organisations in Scotland develop their digital potential, including events and training, how to guides for digital services and remote working, digital inclusion and skills, including Microsoft training, digital maturity check-up and senior leaders programme

Digital Office – Scottish Local Government – jointly funded by 30 local authorities, it was set up to deliver on the digital transformation strategy for local government agreed in 2016.

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