As the Future Network Programmes conclude, UKTIN is working with DSIT to reflect on the government-funded projects, outlining the key outcomes and the lessons learned to help improve future telecoms initiatives.
Despite significant progress in recent years, there is a distinct lack of digitisation and connectivity across the health and social care industry. In social care, the demand for services is increasing and there are major concerns around recruitment and digital skills, in addition to budget pressures. Over 70% of the NHS budget is used for long-term condition management: local authorities across England spent more than £28.4 billion on adult social care in 2022/3, with around half this figure going towards services for people over 65.
Wes Streeting, the UK’s Health secretary, has committed to three 'strategic shifts' for the NHS: moving care closer to home; focusing on preventative care; and leveraging technology to transform services. His vision promises to transform the UK’s system, enabling a future-ready sector and aligning with the 5GIR DSIT-funded projects, discussed below.
Watch the Future Network Programmes – Public Health and Social Care overview
The West Midlands 5G Innovation Region
Up to 1,000 citizens across the West Midlands will benefit from improved social care provision, thanks to a groundbreaking collaboration between Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton Local Authorities’ Adult Social Care Teams. The 5G Innovation Region scheme has installed Technology Enabled Care (TEC) - such as sensor devices and voice-activated wireless technologies - in residents’ homes.
The aim is to support more, vulnerable adults across the region to live more independently while reducing pressures on overstretched social care teams. Instead of the reactive, passive approach of telecare solutions, new technologies proactively predict health support needs – monitoring activity patterns; alerting care providers if something seems amiss; providing medication reminders; and reducing hospital admissions through effective sensor data analysis.
Kelly (not her real name), a 30-year-old resident with learning difficulties, bipolar disorder and lymphedema, faced losing her independence when her supported-living accommodation closed. She transitioned to a new supported-living environment, regaining autonomy and control over her life through a tailored technology package. The technology solutions implemented included a falls sensor watch, motion sensors, a touchscreen smart speaker, door and window alarms, and a smoke detector, enhancing her safety and security. This reduced reliance on waking night staff resulted in significant care cost savings for the council. The innovative technology fostered her personal growth and confidence, enabling her to embrace independent living.
Diane, a Wolverhampton resident with lived experience, said: “Having this technology installed in my home has been a true blessing. It makes me feel so much safer, knowing that help is just a button press away if I ever need it. I feel more independent than ever because I can go about my day without constantly worrying and also knowing my family feel so assured by this support really empowers me. It gives me peace of mind, and that is truly priceless.”
Robert Franks, MD of WM5G, which is delivering the 5GIR Health and Care programme on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), said: “Technology-enabled care can also reduce pressure on our stretched social care teams, reducing the number of face-to-face visits required, for example when supervising residents taking medications. This releases capacity from within the system, freeing social care practitioners to focus on other areas of demand and empowering them with the data they need to proactively identify needs and evolve care packages to suit individual requirements.”
Glasgow City Region: Smart and Connected Social Places Programme
Smart and Connected Social Places aims to push the boundaries with 5G and data, innovating at scale and providing a blueprint to accelerate and encourage change across Scotland and the UK. The programme wants to transform services and improve lives; Glasgow faces notable socio-economic and health inequalities, alongside challenges to services.
Funded by DSIT, the region has created social asset maps, allowing gaps to be identified, resolved and closed: connectivity provides the foundation for deploying digital solutions to capture and share data. In Renfrewshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, this includes an Invest to Save case for deploying IoT sensors into 10,000 social homes and free high-fibre broadband into each home. This was based on the connectivity infrastructure already in place and 5G will be a part of this.
The project wants to use aggregated data to inform care plans, especially for tenants or patients with respiratory and other health conditions impacted by environmental conditions. By the end of March, the team plans to have designed and tested the benefits and scaled adoption potential of smart social housing; smart care homes; smart telecare; smart home care; and smart virtual wards.
Barry Mcnally, Programme Manager, said: “I’m proud to say we have deployed around 125 smart speakers and hob hub devices across the Glasgow City Region. We are planning to provide enhanced telecare solutions, remote healthcare access and monitoring to reduce social isolation. Each project will produce a sustainability report to enable local authorities and social care providers to implement the solutions, including an outline for a business case and four stackable use cases. While digital transformation comes with challenges, the benefits make it worthwhile.”
Iain Macfarlane, a Programme Director, said: “The health, inequalities, and service sustainability challenges across the Glasgow City Region are significant. We want to collaborate and learn from other organisations to help us design and prove solutions that will improve as many lives as possible.”
3. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Region: 'SMART Decarbonisation Network Project'
Focusing on tackling climate change drivers by accelerating efforts to reduce carbon emissions and improving quality of life. The project connects hundreds of existing air source heat pumps in social housing settings across Greater Manchester, using 5G Advanced Wireless technology and Smart Energy Grids to enhance performance, manage demand, and support a lower-carbon future. These grids deliver benefits such as reduced costs for residents and housing providers while cutting harmful emissions. A video and webpage were developed to highlight the benefits of the Greater Manchester’s 5G Heat Pump Project for residents.
The delivery team are actively learning from these initiatives, (with over 100 homes being connected so far) creating scalable models for applications in building management, education, mould detection, and health-at-home across the region which is contributing to the development of GMCA's longer term plan to drive innovation in social housing for their 'Connected Homes Inclusive Places' (CHIP's) programme.
