April Housing Blog - Digital Telecare Migration: What a Journey (and what we learned along the way)
Digital migration can feel like a straight line on paper and a maze in real life, especially when the systems in question help keep people safe in their homes. This month, I’m sharing what we’re seeing across housing as providers move from analogue to digital telecare, and the practical insights that can make the difference between a smooth changeover and a stressful one.
In the February blog, we recognised Castlehill Housing Association’s transformative digital migration and shared a case study on their approach. Castlehill also captured lessons learned during decommissioning as part of their postproject review, insights that are genuinely useful for anyone preparing for a similar journey.
Key lessons learned from Castlehill
Here’s the advice Castlehill shared: simple, practical, and worth building into your plan from day one:
- Prepare digital lines before contractors arrive to prevent delays and avoidable complications.
- Confirm any integrated kit works in standalone mode, if it doesn’t, costs can escalate quickly.
- Engage with residents early and often to understand telecare needs and preferences.
- If residents don’t opt in now, make it easy for them to access their local HSCP telecare services later.
- Invest in staff training and plan for programming requirements (for example, door fobs).
I’m delighted to share that Link Group and Castlehill Housing Association were the joint first housing providers to receive full recognition for achieving digital status across all five milestones in the Housing Implementation Award Scheme. An achievement that reflects real crossteam effort and a strong focus on resident support.
How Digital Telecare (and the Playbook) can help
Castlehill and Link began their digital journey after consulting with Digital Telecare and made extensive use of the Playbook, particularly the overarching guidance for grouped housing, PLAY117.
PLAY117 brings together what you need to know about natively digital options, plus pragmatic advice on interim solutions such as adaptors. Adaptors may not be fully digital, but they can help you operate over a digital line while you assess longerterm choices, and keep you on track for the migration deadline.
A key point: always confirm, with both your warden call solution supplier and your ARC monitoring provider, that any adaptor has been fully tested on your chosen ARC and delivers the full functionality of the equipment it connects to. If you’re unsure, contact Digital Telecare. We work with manufacturers and ARC platform suppliers to integrate adaptors securely and safely, both at scheme level and at the ARC side.
The Housing Implementation Award Scheme: five milestones that make the journey manageable
The Implementation Award Scheme milestones represent meaningful steps towards digital transformation. They were designed with housing partners as realistic, achievable targets, recognising that successful migration relies on teamwork across housing, IT, property services, resident engagement, suppliers, and the ARC.
Below is a short walkthrough of each milestone, plus the kinds of actions and decisions that typically sit underneath them, so you can sensecheck your own plan and spot gaps early.
The five milestones for digital transformation in housing
Think of the milestones as five hurdles to clear on the route to a safe, effective digital telecare service. Each step is important, and, with the right preparation, achievable for most housing providers.
Milestone 1: Governance
Start with governance. Before you touch technology, make sure the right decisionmakers are aligned and the governance structure is clear. A comprehensive asset register is a great foundation for grouped housing, because it helps you understand exactly what you have today, and what that means for your migration plan.
If you need one, an asset register template is available in the Playbook.
Bring the right people with you: colleagues and stakeholders across property services, IT, resident engagement groups, onsite staff, and the ARC that responds to offsite telecare alarm calls. Peer support is invaluable too, organisations that have already transitioned to digital are often willing to share what worked (and what didn’t). For example, Bield, Hanover, and Link Group have recently showcased their digital choices to housing partners. If you’d like recommendations on housing partners to visit, contact Digital Telecare at digitaltelecare@digitaloffice.scot.
It’s also worth reviewing the contracts that sit behind your assets, communications suppliers, hardwired kit suppliers, and any contractors responsible for infrastructure and equipment maintenance.
Some organisations have consolidated call handling from multiple providers into a single Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). Others have reviewed maintenance and supplier contracts to address charges for parts and labour, particularly where older warden call systems are still in place. All of this work sits within governance, and it sets you up for the next milestone: strategy and planning.
Milestone 2: Strategy and planning
Housing tenure and assessment criteria can shift as residents move in and out, so digital strategies should be reviewed periodically, and should always include a needs assessment. For instance, Castlehill and East Lothian Housing Association found that only 25–30% of tenants needed or wanted telecare, meaning a likeforlike replacement of existing equipment wasn’t the right answer.
An options appraisal can help you weigh up need, funding, staffing, benefit, risk, impact, and intended outcomes, so your chosen approach is defensible and deliverable.
Milestone 3: Test and implement
Once you’ve selected an option (or a shortlist of options), move into testing and implementation. Many organisations use trial sites to pilot solutions and build confidence before wider rollout. For example, Link Group tested 10 dispersed alarms in each scheme; residents preferred them so strongly that additional devices were purchased during the test phase.
Digital equipment can change daytoday processes, particularly where solutions are digital by design and dispersed rather than traditional warden call. Make sure procedures, staff guidance, and resident information are updated, especially when alarms connect offsite to the ARC 24/7.
Dispersed alarms typically require an online device management platform (DMP) that is monitored 24/7. This may be supported by the ARC or by maintenance suppliers, but it’s important to confirm the options before selecting dispersed alarms for schemes—particularly in light of staffing resources and any limitations.
Supplier engagement and testing are critical, as are configuration and integration with the ARC. For warden call systems and adaptor-based approaches, integration can be one of the biggest hurdles, so allow time for it.
East Dunbartonshire Council, for example, opted for an offtheshelf dispersed model that was already integrated with the ARC. That choice enabled a quick and effective migration for grouped housing, exceeding expected timescales.
Testing and implementation can feel daunting, particularly where multiple suppliers and integrations are involved. Digital Telecare can support housing partners, equipment manufacturers, and ARC platform suppliers through these stages. If you’re facing hurdles and want to talk them through, please get in touch.
To achieve this milestone, 25% of the telecare estate should be migrated to digital (or be digitally ready). “Digitally ready” means the equipment is capable, but may be awaiting broadband installation or ARC integration.
Milestone 4: Operational and rollout plans
This stage is about moving from pilot to pace: operational rollout planning and a businessasusual process review. The goal is to reach 50% digital (or digitally ready) status, with clear plans for resident communications, installation sequencing, ongoing monitoring, maintenance, and staff support.
Milestone 5: Full digital connection (and post-project review)
The final milestone is full digital migration: 100% fully digital systems operational endtoend through to the ARC. A sixweek faultfree period is recommended to make sure connection errors are identified, resolved, and not recurring.
After go-live, a post-project review is essential. It captures what you learned and helps others avoid the same pitfalls, bringing us neatly back to Castlehill’s lessons at the start of this blog. Sharing what surprised you (including unexpected challenges or costs) strengthens the whole sector’s digital journey.
If you’re considering applying for recognition through the Housing Implementation Award Scheme, the application marks a huge achievement, often supported by many teams across an organisation, and a real celebration of how you’re working to meet residents’ support needs in a digital world.
If you’d like further information or support as you move towards digital transformation, please contact sharon.hannah@digitaloffice.scot. I’m here to help.
