Item 6 - Analogue to Digital Telecare Transition
North Lanarkshire Council · 16 November 2022
Back to IJB Performance, Finance and Audit Committee — 16 November 2022 and its agenda
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1 REPORT Item No: 6 SUBJECT: Analogue to Digital Telecare Transition TO: Integration Joint Board Lead Officer for Report: Ross McGuffie, Chief Officer. North HSCP Author(s) of Report Bobby McClung, Senior Officer Assistive Technology + Analogue to Digital Project Lead DATE: 16th November 2022 1. PURPOSE OF REPORT 1.1. This paper is coming to the IJB for: For approval For endorsement To note 1.2. This report provides an update on the analogue to digital telecare transition within North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership and for approval to move forward with the purchase of alarm devices to assist with the transition. 2. ROUTE TO THE BOARD Prepared Reviewed Endorsed This paper has been: Prepared by the analogue to digital project team and reviewed and endorsed by senior management.
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2 3. RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1. The PFA committee is asked to: a) Note the progress of the project to date b) Note the risk of early telephone migration by telephone providers c) To approve the purchase of 5500 alarm devices to support the transition to digital telecare. 4. VARIATIONS TO DIRECTIONS? 5. BACKGROUND/SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES Background to Analogue to Digital Transition 5.1. Telephone lines in the UK are being upgraded to digital technology. The process of migrating to digital telephone lines has already started. The rollout is scheduled to be completed by 2025, when analogue telephone services in the UK will be switched off and replaced by digital systems using internet protocol (IP) technology. 5.1.1 North Lanarkshire Council currently provides telecare services to around 6500 service users using dispersed analogue community alarms. North Lanarkshire also provides a telecare service to around 800 users within sheltered accommodation. Within this service there is a crucial response element to support service users in their own home. 5.1.2 The Digital Office for Local Government is currently supporting North Lanarkshire through the transition with subject experts and through a defined National support network. 5.1.3. A project board has been established within the organisation with membership from all areas with a direct or linked connection to the community alarm service alongside representatives from senior management, finance, joint equipment store, NHS and enterprise and communities. Alarm Receiving Centre 5.2. In 2021 North Lanarkshire’s community alarm service facilitated 485,016 analogue telephone calls into the service. 5.2.1. Tunstall Healthcare currently provides the software used within the community alarm receiving centre which is known as Tunstall PNC 8.1. This software currently processes call through analogue signals. Yes No N/A
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3 5.2.2. The requirement of a digital alarm receiving centre to allow for the transition has allowed North Lanarkshire to work with the Digital Office for Local Government to build a tender for a National Shared Digital Alarm Receiving Centre. This work has included 13 other local authorities to ensure that a robust and secure solution can be found. The tender for this solution is due for release on November 11th, 2022, with an implementation scheduled to begin in Spring 2023. Dispersed Alarm Equipment 5.3. North Lanarkshire has prominently used Tunstall Lifeline Vi analogue alarm’s that are placed within a person’s home to allow them to contact the alarm receiving centre. There are still currently around 5500 of these alarms within the community. 5.3.1 North Lanarkshire currently supply Tunstall analogue and GSM alarms within the homes to allow users to contact our alarm receiving centre. 5.3.2. North Lanarkshire current community alarm supplier, Tunstall, has experienced significant difficulties for some time in being able to supply the required analogue or GSM based alarm devices for deployment to service users. 5.3.3 Given the lack of available alarm units from the Council’s incumbent supplier and the risk this presented to the wellbeing of service users, North Lanarkshire was able to procure 1000 analogue/digital hybrid alarms from Careium UK (Formerly known as Doro UK). These alarms do not work over a telephone line, however work through a provided SIM card that is inbuilt into the device. These alarms allowed North Lanarkshire to provide a working solution to those without a phone line or who’s phone line was migrated to a digital equivalent. There are currently 664 of these devices within the community. 5.3.4. Procurement has been engaged to look at the route North Lanarkshire requires to take to purchase the remaining 5500 alarm devices required for the digital transition. Telecare Peripherals 5.4. There are currently numerous telecare peripherals linked to the community alarm service within the community, such as linked smoke, heat and fire alarms, bed sensors, epilepsy sensors and door contacts. 5.4.1 Work is underway with procurement to ensure that North Lanarkshire and the new winning supplier of alarm devices can provide the same level of peripheral equipment to keep the people of North Lanarkshire safe. Key Issues 5.5. Telephone lines in the UK are being upgraded to digital technology at pace by the major telephone service providers including BT and Virgin Media. Currently North Lanarkshire is working alongside Virgin Media to identify telecare users within Airdrie, Coatbridge and Cumbernauld who will be affected by a mass migration of analogue services to a digital equivalent. North Lanarkshire is currently replacing analogue alarms at a rate of 20 per day which has depleted current level of stock that can be used within a home with a digital line.
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4 5.5.1. The national shared alarm receiving centre solution has currently been delayed from June 2022 until November 2022 due to issues with legal wording in the tender documentation. This has impacted on North Lanarkshire’s timescale to deliver a working solution as quickly as possible to assist with the telephone providers digital migrations. 5.5.2. Current equipment supplies chains have been heavily affected by shortages of microchips which has led to long delays for alarms, and this has been forecasted to remain an issue until late 2023/early 2024. 6. CONCLUSIONS 6.1. The analogue to digital transition requires to be completed by 2025 to ensure that North Lanarkshire can provide a working and reliable community alarm service. This will require the system used within the community alarm service to be a digital receiving software and for all equipment in the community to work through a digital means of signalling. 6.1.2 The analogue to digital transition in North Lanarkshire is still currently on track with work already underway in several key areas. Digital device roll out plan Data cleanse of current system Management and functionality of new alarm receiving centre at host provider (Digital Office for Local Government) 6.1.3. A business case around the analogue to digital telecare transition has been agreed and signed off at the Enterprise Architecture Govern Group and CORE. 6.1.4. 6.2. The vision had been that the in-home equipment would be procured once a decision had been made on the Alarm Receiving Centre, ensuring a high level of compatibility between the two. It is recognised that service users continue to be moved by their telecom provider to their digital offering, often at pace, without communication. The analogue to digital project team therefore recommend that the organisation looks to move forward with a direct award purchase of 5500 alarm devices that will be able to support the organisations digital telecare transition. 7. IMPLICATIONS 7. NATIONAL OUTCOMES 7.1. The analogue to digital transition is supported through the National Digital Health and Care strategy.
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5 7.2 ASSOCIATED MEASURE(S) 7.3 FINANCIAL This paper has been reviewed by Finance: Finance have not reviewed this current paper; however, finance have been consulted throughout the life of the project and are currently members of the analogue to digital board. Yes No N/A 7.3.1. The analogue to digital transition currently has capital funding of £2 million to support with the replacement of the alarm receiving centre, dispersed community alarms and peripherals associated with the community alarms. 7.3.2. There will be a revenue cost to the organisation for the subscription to the national shared alarm receiving centre. 7.3.3 There will be a revenue cost associated with the SIM cards placed within the analogue/digital hybrid and then fully digital devices. 7.3.2. Indicative costs for the transition have been scoped alongside the Digital Office for Scotland and are noted below: Costs: Cost Element Capital Revenue 3 Year Cost Notes Telecare solution setup and recurring contract costs: £10,000 (First year) £35,000 per year Disaster Recovery - £0 £ 105,000 Disaster Recovery - £0 Indicative costs supplied by the Digital Office New in-home digital alarm equipment: £1,193,500 (alarms only, no peripherals) £264,000 per annum if not within bundle (costed at £4 per month per sim) £48,000 for current digital alarms that are within the community £2,129,500+ (Cost of devices over first year and then sim charge over 3 years) £264,000 sim card cost is for the further 5500 alarms that we will require to buy for this. £48,000 will be required additionally to manage the current 1000 digital alarms we have within the organisation. Total £1,203,500 £ 347,000 £ 2,234,500 7.3.3 As of the finance cost above the ask would be to allow 7.4 RISK ASSESSMENT/RISK MANAGEMENT 7.4.1. All risks around the analogue to digital transition are managed by the analogue to digital project board.
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6 7.4.2. The analogue to digital transition is also on the organisational risk register with updates on a 6 monthly basis. 7.4.3. If the organisation is unable to obtain a supply of analogue/digital hybrid alarms, we run the risk of being unable to provide a high risk service. 7.5 PEOPLE 7.5.1. The communities of North Lanarkshire will continue to be informed of the analogue to digital telecare transition and users of the service will be contacted directly to allow the instillation of new equipment. 7.6 INEQUALITIES & FAIRER SCOTLAND DUTY EQIA Completed & Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment Form Completed: Yes No N/A 8. BACKGROUND PAPERS Scotland Digital Health and Care Strategy - Digital health and care strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) Digital Office National Telecare Briefing Document - Digital Telecare Playbook · LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL BRIEFING DOCUMENT (digitaloffice.scot) 9. APPENDICES None. ............................................................................. CHIEF OFFICER (or Depute) Members seeking further information about any aspect of this report, please contact the following. Bobby McClung – McClungR@northlan.gov.uk