Sefton Council prepares for the digital transition with Tunstall Healthcare

0​5 September 2023

Sefton Careline, the at-home technology care service from Sefton Council, is transitioning to a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform to ensure the people they support in Sefton remain protected during the UK’s communications network’s transition from analogue to Internet Protocol (IP).

The team, which is supported by experts at Tunstall Healthcare, works with older and vulnerable people across the borough to provide monitoring and response services, giving reassurance 24 hours a day. As well as Careline systems enabling users to get help at the touch of a button using a wearable pendant, the technology system in their home can also incorporate sensors that will automatically alert an operator at the monitoring centre if an event such as a fall, fire or  carbon monoxide leak is detected. 

These solutions help local citizens to remain independent at home. They also offer a package of care for Sefton residents who have been discharged from hospital, which offers a robust aftercare process including daily care visits at home in the first few weeks. 

Sefton Careline’s transition to Tunstall Healthcare’s PNC IP SaaS means the service is now ready for the UK’s move to digital. It also avoids the time and costs associated with sourcing, maintaining and managing hardware infrastructure, provides robust business continuity and means Careline is always operating on the latest version of software. Operators can now work from home, enabling the service to become more agile if needed. Workflow guidance also enables quicker response times for an improved user experience.

Jo Alty, Sefton Careline Manager, says: “The team here is in regular contact with Tunstall and they are a huge support for us. Making this change has made the service much more flexible and it is easier for both our team and the people we care for to use it. Working directly with our technology provider has allowed us to make this transition smoothly, benefiting everyone involved with our Careline service.”

Carissa Turner, Delivery Manager at Tunstall Healthcare, added: “The movement to SaaS is an important one, as we continue to ready ourselves for the culmination of the transition from analogue to IP digital. It’s been a pleasure to work with Sefton Careline on updating its platform from PNC6 to the new SaaS platform and we’re thrilled to see this making a difference already. We hope to continue the relationship into the future and we will continue to work closely with the team as part of our day-to-day support.”

For more information about Sefton Careline’s experience with Tunstall’s PNC IP, please visit www.tunstall.co.uk/sefton-case-study.