From Crisis Calls to Co-Design | TEC in Social Care & Support with a Human Heart

When I first heard the term Technology Enabled Care, it felt distant, a bit techy, a bit abstract. But over time, I realised it’s actually the thread that weaves care, connection, and dignity together.

Working in reactive care – answering calls at 3 a.m., leading responders into homes where someone’s fallen or stopped responding, managing the pressure of knowing every second counts, taught me two things:

People are incredibly resilient.

Our systems could be so much better if they worked with us, not just after us.

That’s what TEC means to me. It’s how we shift from reactive to proactive care.

TEC Is More Than Just Gadgets

When people think of TEC, they often picture pendant alarms, fall detectors, or bed sensors. And yes, those are part of it, but they’re only a fraction of the story.

TEC is:

The quiet reassurance that helps a carer sleep through the night.

The insight that helps a professional spot a decline before it becomes a crisis.

The dignity of an older person living independently, supported, not smothered.

It’s also:

The structure that helps someone manage ADHD.

The wearable that reduces anxiety for someone with sensory differences.

The digital prompts that keep someone with depression connected to support on hard days.

Too often, TEC is viewed through an ageist lens, as something “for older people.” But TEC belongs across the whole lifespan. It’s about independence, connection, and wellbeing, not just risk management.

As someone who’s neurodivergent, I see TEC through another lens too. Tools that support executive function, like reminders and focus aids, don’t just help the people we support. They help us as practitioners. When technology is inclusive, it levels the playing field for everyone, not just those who fit the system neatly.

Why TEC Matters More Than Ever

We’re all feeling the pressure, rising demand, stretched teams, increasing complexity. In this context, TEC isn’t a luxury; it’s part of the solution. It helps us work smarter, prevent crises, and join up fragmented systems.

But more than that, it helps us keep people at the centre.

The best TEC is co-designed, not for people, but with them. Working alongside people with lived and living experience has shown me how collaborative design transforms outcomes and builds trust.

From the Frontline to Innovation

After over two years leading a frontline telecare team, handling safeguarding, balancing compliance with compassion, and managing responders through real-world emergencies, I realised my focus had shifted.

I didn’t just want to deliver care. I wanted to help redesign it.

With my entrepreneurial background and experience building a business from scratch, I saw how innovation, systems thinking, and creativity could come together to make care more human – not less.

That’s how I found my way to DCC-i and TECWorks: spaces where practice meets innovation. Together, we’re building a platform that brings practitioners, technologists, and lived-experience partners into one conversation, to share what works, what doesn’t, and what’s next.

What We’re Building at TECWorks

TECWorks was born from a simple idea: to create a space that’s not just another “tech” site, but a community.

A place where practitioners, innovators, and people with lived and living experience come together to shape the future of care.

Through TECWorks, we’re building:

TECWorks Resource Library for Digital Care Innovation

A Learning Hub for Human Centred Technology and CPD

Co-Designed Care Solutions: A Collaboration Platform for TEC in Social Care

Whether you’re just discovering TEC or have been working with it for years, TECWorks is here to help you do it differently – and do it better.

My Hope for TECWorks

I want TECWorks to reflect the heart of our sector: human, hopeful, and honest.

We don’t need more jargon: we need connection.
We don’t need perfect systems: we need ones that listen.

That’s TEC that works. And that’s what I’m here to build.

Let’s Connect

Join us at TECWorks in partnership with DCC-i, explore our TEC in Practice Library, sign up for the newsletter, or connect with me on LinkedIn.

I’d love to hear how you’re using TEC in your world.

“From Tiny Acorns Mighty Oaks Grow”