Knowledge and Skills Sets for Telecare Service Staff in the Context of Digital Health

Abstract

Telecare services have an established place within the United Kingdom. Through using online technologies to help mostly older people to remain at home, they are recognised as having a support role for health as well as social care. This positions telecare services within the broader realm of ‘digital health’. As that position becomes more embedded, it poses questions about the nature of tasks that are (or should be) undertaken by telecare staff, and regarding the knowledge and skills that are required. A convergence of telecare and telehealth services is indicated together with a need for some kind of accord or accommodation. This paper summarises the United Kingdom policy context; references the technologies that are provided by telecare services or can be linked to them; notes briefly the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and proposes six knowledge and skills sets. Outcomes of the UTOPIA study undertaken in England from 2016 to 2017 are drawn upon: this study provided important information from over 100 local authority telecare managers.