The RAATE conference is coming up on the 5th December.
That would seem to be as good a place as anywhere to have an ad-hoc meeting
of interested/concerned parties.
Perhaps you could get together after the end of the conference, although I
realise people will have trains/planes to catch, etc.
Just a thought,
Geoff.
Jeremy I
share your concerns especially the one about being hung. :)
There is little
doubt that things need to be brought back to an individualised needs led
approach.
Guy
At 18:09 26/10/2005, you wrote:
I am probably going to be hung,
drawn and quartered for saying this
but consequent to the publishing of
these various related telecare
strategies, there has sprung up a
veritable industry of consultancies
offering enterprise-wide
implementation solutions. Suddenly all the
specialist expertise appears
to be focussed on mangement-level
rather than client implementation
issues - cart before horse or
what!!!!!! I have a real concern that
there are significant conflicts of
interest developing here and that the
needs of the severely disabled,
in particular, are going to be lost in
the process. I really feel that the
AT commmunity has to mobilise,
big-time, and get the focus back
onto individual client needs and
aspirations.
Jeremy
> I can't decide whether to get het up
or not about the (deliberate?)
> restriction of the term assistive
technology to describe the bits of
> kit the government currently find
sexy and, unlike most AT, an easy
> pill to swallow.
>
>
In 2001 FAST worked with a wide coalition of groups to agree on a
>
definition which could accommodate old and new forms of technology
>
(from bath hoists to virtual reality tools) and encompass new
service
> models (such as remote support using telecare) without
requiring
> amendment to any associated legislation or regulation. In
deciding not
> to use this (admittedly) wide definition which has an
emphasis on
> independence I wonder whether it is not more profitable
to see what
> government reveals by its determination to use a
health-centric
> definition.
>
> My conclusion is that 1)
the department of health is struggling to
> maintain an overview and
strategy in relation to assistive technology
> 2) is concerned that if
the magic pill of telecare/ telehealth is put
> into the obvious
context of assistive technology then it will be
> forced to consider
issues such as workforce development (specifically
> national
occupational standards) which are required by the whole AT
> industry,
and 3) is talking to manufacturers and suppliers who do not
> want to
position telecare as one element of an independence
> infrastructure
which must be integrated with other AT services and
> sustainable over
time. Where is the professional body or coalition of
> voluntary
sector organisations who is raising these issues?
>
>
While there is some concern about the Department's confusion/
>
confusing misuse of the term assistive technology, I'm even more
>
concerned about the attitudes and lack of knowledge that lies behind
>
it.
>
> What to do though? I'm not sure.
>
>
Keren Down, FAST
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Judge Simon
> To:
[log in to unmask]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 26,
2005 9:05 AM
> Subject: Re: EAT Sidelined again
>
>
> Interesting - I had a brief email or two with
one of the authors
> regarding AT and if (what we define
as) AT software was relevant to
> their report. I
hypothesised that it should be.
>
> Their opinion
was that it wasn't and that they had a different
>
definition of AT
>
> "as in the Audit Commission
Report "Assistive Technology -
> Independence and
well-being" and is closely associated with Telecare
> in
the home."
>
> I argued that Telecare was a subset
of AT, not t'other way around -
> the 'version' of AT that
they were interested in for the report was
>
>
"that sub-set of Assistive Technology which assists
healthcare
> delivery or decreases or postpones the need
for healthcare. "
>
> I'll have a read...
>
> Cheers
>
> Simon
>
> Clinical Scientist
>
ACT
> 0121 627 1627 ex 53245
>
>
-----Original Message-----
> From: A discussion list for
Assistive Technology professionals.
> [ mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gary
Derwent Sent: 25
> October 2005 20:47 To:
[log in to unmask] Subject: EAT
> Sidelined
again
>
>
> I was disappointed to see that a
recent report entitled "The Impact
> of e-Health and
Assistive Technologies on Healthcare" did not seem
> to
mention communication aids, environmental controls or
nearly
> anything else that I think people on this list
would consider
> Assistive Technologies. (I say 'didn't
seem to' because I haven't
> yet waded through the entire
75 page tome, but a quick electronic
> search of the pdf
document didn't throw anything up.
>
> Admittedly
the group that produced the report is predominantly from
>
a Health Informatics perspective but it still annoys me to see
the
> term assistive technology used without mention of
AAC or EC. Yet
> again the telecare agenda obliterates
everything else.
>
> Also, on an extensive list of
contributers in the appendix, only two
> names were
vaguely familiar to me from the EAT world. I'm going to
>
contact the authors to let them know what I think. I've got half
a
> toe in the Health Informatics world myself and
generally think it's
> a great field, but they've made a
pigs ear of this one.
>
> Anyway,...I just felt
like a rant after leafing through it...thanks
> for
listening !!!
>
> If you'd like a look its here
:
>
> http://www.health-informatics.org/tehip/tehipstudy.htm
>
> Cheers
>
> Gary
>
>
> Gary Derwent
> Compass
Electronic Assistive Technology Service
> Royal Hospital
for Neuro-disability
>
>
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