Transition from analogue to digital for telecare services in Scotland

Last week, the DHI, the local government digital office, the Scottish Centre for Telehealth and Telecare and the Technology Enabled Care Programme organised an event to explore the implications of switching telecare services from analogue to digital. This was a knowledge sharing event as well as an opportunity to discuss the future landscape of telecare in Scotland. The event, held on the 16th of December in Glasgow involved four talks followed by a question and answer session where participants could quiz the panel on matters important to them. There are an estimated 170,000 users of telecare services in Scotland, demonstrating the importance of these services and why they must be enhanced to provide even better care. In 2025, British Telecoms (BT) will switch off all analogue telecare services and so the public switch telephone network (PSTN) will be replaced by digital means between now and 2025. The government expect to have a more solid idea of the work that will take place in that time early next year