A new procurement system has been launched to help local authorities access digital telecare services.
The ‘dynamic purchasing system’ – valued at an estimated £12m over 10 years – will allow councils to find suppliers of next generation alarms and home tech-based systems for health and social care.
Launched by Scotland Excel – the procurement arm of Scottish local government – the DPS will initially allow companies to submit applications to be part of a formally approved list of contractors that meet stringent software and security standards.
Richard Bridgen, senior procurement specialist at Scotland Excel, says: “The DPS is a method for us to provide a flexible offering to local authorities and housing associations by allowing new participants to join through its lifetime. Suppliers can apply to join at anytime during its lifetime and go through a stage similar to a pre qualifying questionnaire (SPD). Once appointed to the DPS all the suppliers are then issued tenders by councils. The DPS is for commonly available products, we are not seeking services through this DPS. We see the DPS as also assisting us with one of our strategic objectives, encouraging SMEs to access the public sector market.”
Following on from this, it is envisaged that a digital telecare services framework will also be published, lasting four years, where suppliers provide pricing for goods and services. On a framework, the suppliers can then receive direct awards from users unlike on the DPS where suppliers enter ‘competitions’.
The telecare market is currently undergoing its own transformation with analogue based home alarm services due to be switched off by 2025. Digital solutions will become the norm, and it is envisaged that a high number of future services will be deployed with additive internet of things based technologies that rely on sensors to generate various home care alerts around air quality levels, damp and energy efficiencies as well as more intervention based services including monitoring of falls.
Details of the new DPS – broken into two lots – were published on the public contracts Scotland website with the first lot including body-worn pendant alarms, fall detectors, bed sensors, lifestyle monitoring, bogus caller buttons, wearable and predictive devices. The second lot will include smoke and movement detectors and gas, humidity and temperature sensors.
Related posts
Interviews
Comment
Please mind the gap… or healthcare may fall
Imagine sharing a lengthy train journey with others. From beginning to end, imagine how often you might hear ‘mind the gap’ messages about embarking and disembarking safely. Picture how navigating…
Women Lead: My journey from Dragons’ Den to Silicon Valley
Following her appearance on Dragons’ Den, Sheila Hogan, serial entrepreneur, founder and chief executive of digital legacy vault, Biscuit Tin, shares her experience of her time in the Den and…
Look anywhere – the future is ‘aged tech’. But Scotland needs to be more adventurous
Scottish Care, as the representative body of independent social care providers of care home, care at home and housing support services, has been working over several years with colleagues in…
Women Lead: Engineer turned entrepreneur
We are always fascinated by other people’s stories. It’s how we connect, grow and learn from each other. Until very recently I always felt like I didn’t have a story to tell. Who…
‘Women – together we will change the dynamic in tech’
I was inspired to start a career in technology when personal computers were in their infancy and the internet decades away. My childhood dream of becoming a scientist was shaped by…
It’s time to change the future of tech apprenticeships – and we need your help
In his latest exclusive column for Futurescot, Ross Tuffee, chair of the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Digital Economy Skills Group, calls on tech employers to get involved in shaping the…
What AI difference a year makes
Amazingly, it’s been one year since the publication of Scotland’s AI Strategy. And what a year it has been. Demanding but rewarding, with good progress made and great foundations laid…
International Women’s Day: It’s time to harness power of women in technology
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I hope to be part of a future where barriers that prevent women from competing on a level playing field in the work environment…