Essex Council signs £9m deal for health and care technology

Essex County Council has signed a £9m deal to deliver a countywide care technology service to support collaboration between health and social care.

The three year call off agreement, valued at £8.9m, will use technology to support adults in their own home in a bid to reduce reliance on hospital services.

After a successful tendering process, Millbrook Healthcare Ltd and Provide CIC were commissioned to deliver the technology services framework, in partnership with Essex Fire and Rescue and Uttlesford District Council.

It will include the identification, deployment, installation, maintenance, decommissioning and removal of technology to meet service users’ care needs as well as supporting Essex County Council staff to develop a more innovative and technological mindset when commissioning care.

Provide CIC will deliver a countywide monitoring and response service for Essex County Council. The company will monitor, triage and respond to citizen’s calls and alerts, received by the response centre from the adults’ care technology.

Both Millbrook Healthcare and Provide CIC have committed to providing social value – to support economic, social and environmental factors – as part of the delivery of these contracts, with a focus on maintaining and developing employment opportunities in Essex.

Lee Davies, commercial director for Millbrook Healthcare, said: “This working partnership will deliver huge value to the county and the community it serves and is completely aligned to Millbrook Healthcare’s commitment to develop technology based solutions that enable and support independent living.”

Mark Heasman, of Provide CIC, added: “We are committed to using needs-led emerging technological solutions to enable service users to live the life they want, supported in the least intrusive way.

“Our systems will maximise their family and community networks and allow them to exercise individual preferences to increase a feeling of independence and choice.”

Care technology is the umbrella term that incorporates technology used to support adults in their own homes and can include telecare, assistive technology, remote monitoring, virtual solutions and apps.