East Ayrshire Council Awarded Bronze Digital Telecare Implementation Award

Digital Telecare for Scottish Local Government are delighted to confirm that East Ayrshire Council have been awarded the Bronze Digital Telecare Implementation Award in recognition of the progress they have made on their analogue to digital telecare transition project.

To achieve the Bronze Award, a telecare service provider must have implemented a fully operational digital Alarm Receiving Centre solution. This is the first major milestone in the transition to digital telecare and sets the foundations upon which the rest of the digital telecare transition will rest.

East Ayrshire Council recognise the importance of transitioning the Community Alarm service from Analogue to Digital. On the announcement of Telephony companies ending the sale of copper analogue lines and transitioning to digital, East Ayrshire Council began immediate planning for the transition. Planning involved the recruitment of the Analogue to Digital (A2D) team, who have responsibility for the transition of the Community Alarm service and associated equipment. 

First action by the A2D team was to review current systems and equipment, working with internal and external partners to procure and upgrade the call handling system. Upgrading the call handling system is the first milestone in ensuring East Ayrshire Council are able to continue to provide a valuable service to those most vulnerable in our community. 

The Analogue to Digital team will now focus on the procurement and roll out of the new digital ready Community Alarm units, strengthening East Ayrshire Council’s position as the transition gathers pace.

Erik Sutherland, Chair of the Analogue to Digital Board in East Ayrshire, said: “It is with great pride that I extend congratulations on receiving the Bronze Digital Telecare Implementation Award to all officers involved in this. 

Colleagues have made fantastic progress in delivering on digital Technology Enabled Care (TEC). Strategically, we want to realise the huge potential of TEC across health and social care and the life-changing benefits of this for the residents of East Ayrshire.

TEC plays a vital role in enabling independent living, community inclusion and innovative forms of care and support, and I consider it an honour to be see how TEC adds to quality of life for people. The upgrade of the control from analogue to digital ensures that we are able to continue to support the most vulnerable in our communities in the digital age.  I’d like to thank all officers involved for their contributions in reaching this incredible milestone.  

Thanks also go to colleagues in Digital Telecare at Scottish Government for the recognition of our progress. We look forward to continuing our work on the transition from analogue to digital telecare as we progress toward the Silver Award. 

This achievement has encouraged us to continue to strive for excellence in delivering TEC. It’s an exciting time for TEC in East Ayrshire.”

Achieving the Bronze Award is a significant milestone for East Ayrshire Council and now that this digital alarm receiving solution is in place, the organisation can move towards the first phase of testing with alarms and peripherals.

Digital Telecare will continue to work with East Ayrshire Council as they progress towards the Silver Digital Telecare Implementation Award.