I have previously pointed out (June 12) the astonishing lack of any information, other than an initial press release by Newham, about what these major projects (that are intended to produce a strong evidence base for the use of telecare and telehealth devices in context of the whole health and care system) are actually going to do, and who their technology partners in the projects are. It is now nearly a year since bids to participate were requested and four months since the ‘winning’ sites, Newham, Kent and Cornwall, were selected.
I am told that no information on the winning bids is available because they contain material that is ‘in commercial confidence’, and the reason for the silence is, according to the Department of Health’s Long Term Conditions Team, that: “All three sites are currently working on detailed implementation plans. These are soon to be submitted to the Department of Health for review and sign off.”
On Friday, a similar statement was posted on the website of the Long Term Conditions Demonstrator Programme (as it is also called), saying that “Robust and rigorous programme management practices are being employed at each site and centrally, in order that documentation records all the planning and implementation steps of the programme and captures learning and best practice to inform wider roll out for the future.”
Yes, the projects and the evaluations need to be robust, and it’s nice to know that the project plans are coming along well, but such a lengthy and hidden process hasn’t done their credibility any good. Let’s hope the long gestation period really does deliver the goods.
Read the full statement at the White Paper pilots: whole system long term conditions (LTC) demonstrator programme website.