However, there are also formidable obstacles to using technology optimally.  This webinar will look at relationships between research, policy and practice to suggest ways in which it can be used effectively. It will consider how local authorities have responded to research evidence and how technology is used by local authorities to meet the needs of older people who are eligible for adult social care, and suggest that there may be a need to reconsider the ways in which it is often used at the present time.

John has been involved in telecare research for over 20 years. He was a co-investigator on the EU funded ASTRID project (1999-2000) which led him to jointly set up and evaluate the first English telecare project established to support the independence of people living with dementia, the ‘Safe at Home’ project. He has subsequently been involved in two other telecare related studies: the INDEPENDENT project which was a collaboration between medical engineers and dementia researchers to develop prototype new technologies based on user-informed design, and more recently the ATTILA trial which looked at whether telecare could maintain the independence of people living with dementia for longer than more traditional forms of care. Most recently he led the UTOPIA project which explored how local authorities in England are using telecare.

The webinar reports on emerging findings of research that aimed to identify evidence about factors promoting and inhibiting the accessibility of s12 approved doctors to participate in MHA assessments in England and Wales. The research involved a scoping review and interviews with S12 doctors (whose views had rarely been sought), AMHPs and a range of key informants. Factors leading to difficulties included a lack of support for independent s12 doctors, concerns about the level of fees and complications about payments as well as the unpredictability of the work. The webinar will also explore views about some approaches to improving the accessibility of s12 doctors that have been tried, such as apps and suggestions about the organisation of the work.

Martin chairs the Health Research Authority (HRA) Social Care Research Ethics Committee and a social care research interest group within Local Area Research and Intelligence Association. He is working on the Migration Observatory and a Rapid Review concerning widening participation in medical education. Martin led the Who wants to be an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) study and was Principal Investigator for two NIHR School for Social Care Research funded projects. Martin co-ordinates the Making Research Count series of workshops on Learning Disability research. His research areas of interest include personalisation; learning disabilities; safeguarding; and interactionist perspectives. (Martin Stevens, Senior Research Fellow, Email: martin.stevens@kcl.ac.uk)