A head and shoulders photo of Daisy“5 things I learned by doing Personalised Technology training”


Communications Officer Daisy who joined our organisation in August, recently signed up for Personalised Technology (PT) training to better understand this core part of Hft’s services. What did she learn from the experience? Read on to find out…

1.) Personalised Technology is what Hft calls ‘Assistive Technology’

PT Coordinator Vince explains: “We call it Personalised Technology because we want to make it unique to the individual. We start by carrying out a holistic assessment of a person’s wants and needs, taking an active, person-centred approach which recognises their unique circle of support, and then, if needed, aim to bring in appropriate solutions which are tailored to them.

“Some of the most successful assessments I’ve done have involved me sitting with a cup of coffee and simply observing what goes on in the house. Chances are, if someone is experiencing an issue, there is a piece of technology or solution out there that could help resolve or alleviate that issue, or enhance their day-to-day experience – they just don’t know it’s out there.

“But the bottom line is, we want to make sure technology meets the needs of the individual, not vice-versa. It’s about getting people to think differently when it comes to delivering care and support.”

2.) Personalised Technology is the future of social care

The pivotal role of personalised, digital solutions and digitisation is being increasingly set at the heart of national social care planning and policy for health and social care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) encourages the sector to use technology in a person-centred way, to support greater dignity and increased health and wellbeing in care.

In 2022 alone, technology has featured in six different influential pieces of legislative proposals (often in the form of whitepapers) and developments within the UK, including:

How a service embraces Personalised Technology to enhance the lives and experiences of people we support, could be the difference between a CQC rating of ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’, says Vince.

3.) PT has its barriers…

Resistance, lack of knowledge around different technologies, perceived complexity and cost challenges, are all ongoing barriers to the implementation of PT.

But Hft’s PT team are here to help – and everyone has experience of working within services, so they come from a starting point of understanding the day-to-day challenges and issues being faced.

That means they are also well-placed to help services identify potential opportunities for bringing in technologies, that not only address issues, but that also contribute to someone achieving their best life possible.

Vince says: “We actually love it when people come to us with problems we’ve not yet been able to solve, because it means we can go into research and development on that issue!”

4.) …but the benefits of overcoming these barriers are huge!

We also learnt there are countless benefits to using Personalised Technology, not just for the supported person, but for their care givers, supporters, family, friends and society as a whole.

These can include everything from greater independence, dignity, privacy, choice and control, to increased communication, health and wellbeing, and enhanced risk management.

Vince explains: “In the UK we have a model of care which is ‘just in case’ – it’s focused more on hours than on outcomes. If there’s an issue, the local authority often throws hours at it. But we have to do things differently. We have to change the model of care within social care, and technology can help to enable us to do that.”

Lisa – Senior PT Coordinator – adds. “PT gives us the tools, space and control to free-up our number one resource – our care and support colleagues – to spend more quality time with the people we support.”

5.) PT doesn’t have to be hi-tech

During the training, we were asked: What piece of technology could you not live without?

We gave all sorts of answers, ranging from Alexa, smart plugs and Google Maps, to online banking, alarm clocks and digital timers. What this exercise instantly hammered home is that technology doesn’t have to be complicated or high-tech to make a difference in someone’s life.

Take ‘talking tiles’. These simple, individual push-button tiles can be used to record and play-back speech, music and sound effects, and are easy to reuse and customise.

Vince and Lisa gave several examples of how talking tiles are enabling people who are non-verbal to communicate their needs, through recorded speech, with minimal effort – including a talking tile which, when pressed, says: “I would like a cup of tea”.

PT Coordinator Valerie, says: “I’m an avid tea drinker, so I think it’s such a basic thing isn’t it, being able to ask for a cup of tea? No wonder people get frustrated when they’re unable to do so, so these simple solutions can really make the difference.”

Continuing along this vein, on the more high-tech end, is the one-cup kettle. Another popular choice, the one-cup kettle gives people the independence of being able to easily and safely make a cup of tea or coffee themselves by removing the need to lift and pour a kettle of boiling water.

Browse our Virtual Smarthouse to explore different kinds of PT, and find out more about Personalised Technology at Hft, including our PT Services for individuals and organisations who wish to develop their use and knowledge of technology.