Community Integrated Care Case Study: S

1​4 July 2026

S’s life changed drastically when, 18 months ago, her mother — who she had always lived with — developed dementia. S’s brother moved their mother to live with him 150 miles away, and while S was invited to join them, she chose to remain in her local community. Staying allowed her to keep her part-time job, her connections at the temple, and her long-standing face-to-face outreach support.

For the first time in her life, S was living alone. She found herself contacting her support workers outside their planned hours for reassurance about small but worrying things. Her flexible job and varying temple commitments also meant that she sometimes declined scheduled support visits when they clashed, making consistency difficult. The Service Leader overseeing S’s support tried to accommodate her preferences — S preferred a small, familiar team — but the rota system couldn’t always offer the flexibility S needed.

The Service Leader contacted the Virtual Care Centre (VCC) to explore how technology-enabled support might help. Together with S and her Social Worker, a new plan was developed. S’s face-to-face support was reduced by two hours per week, replaced with a daily wellbeing call. Through the VCC, S also gained access to round-the-clock operators — someone to talk to, day or night, whenever she felt worried. With a SIM-enabled tablet, S could take this support with her wherever she went, including visits to her mum or work commitments. This new arrangement also helped S’s outreach staff by reducing unscheduled calls and texts, improving their work-life balance.

S is a Quality Advisor for Community Integrated Care, where she works with others receiving support to improve services and ensure their voices are heard. She brought this same collaborative spirit into shaping her own support.

Update

Over time, S’s support has become more personalised. Operators noticed that she seemed stressed during her evening calls, so they explored this with her. S explained that she often worried about forgetting things, such as turning off appliances or locking her front door. Working together, they created a tailored plan in Carebuilder:

• Reminders:
• Turn off electrical appliances at 8.30am and 10pm
• Take inhaler at 8.30am, 1pm, and 10pm
• Evening wellbeing call at 10pm to check in before bed
• Door & safety check: Operators confirm appliances are off and the door is locked. If S doesn’t answer via her tablet, a text reminder is sent, to which S replies to confirm she is safe.

These small adjustments have had a big impact. S feels more confident, sleeps better, and is more rested for her job, temple activities, and social life. The flexibility of VCC support means her wellbeing calls can easily be rescheduled when she has family visits or community commitments, ensuring her independence is never compromised.

This has lead to the following outcomes

• Increased confidence and independence living alone for the first time
• Reduced stress and improved sleep through personalised reminders
• Flexible support fits around work, temple, and family life
• Outreach staff freed from unscheduled calls, improving their work-life balance
• Technology used not just for safety, but for dignity, reassurance, and empowerment