The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing in our daily lives and something that we, as a council, are looking to introduce across our services.
Whilst I’m not exactly a whizz kid when it comes to technology (stop laughing please), I want us to use it to help us work more efficiently.
You may not know that, out of every pound we receive in either business rates or council tax, 77 pence is spent on adult and children’s social care – and that figure is set to rise. Thankfully, in an effort to reduce costs whilst keeping vulnerable adults safe, our adult social care service is already using AI to great effect, by ‘cloning’ an experienced team member into an AI chatbot, ensuring that her vast knowledge can be shared quickly and easily.
Geraldine Jinks works in our Technology Enabled Care and Therapy Team and has worked for the council for 35 years. She knows almost everything there is to know about technology assisted care and how to help residents stay independent in their own homes for longer.
As you can imagine, Geraldine, bless her, was inundated with questions from colleagues asking for advice on how to promote independence with the use of Technology Enabled Care. While she didn’t mind helping, it took time and stopped her from completing her own tasks and more complex cases.
Last year (2024), the council brought in Datnexa – an ‘impact innovation partner’ (says the whizz kid) who helped to bring national award nominated ‘Hey Geraldine’ to virtual life. ‘Hey Geraldine’ can respond to contextual and practice-based questions, such as “I am working with a person who is forgetting to turn the oven off. What is available to help them?” providing a range of answers to include simple solutions (locking cooker valves and potential checks by the fire service).
Since being introduced, ‘Hey Geraldine’ has delivered several improvements including upskilling the workforce, saving them time whilst increasing productivity. Along with other measures, it has helped people in care to gain their independence again, which is simply fantastic.
This is just one of the latest technological solutions being used to develop our adult social care team, so watch this space!
School pupils, teachers and staff now have a nice long summer break to look forward to and I hope you all enjoy it!
Without wanting to wish time away, the autumn school term will soon be upon us, and I’m pleased to say that we have teamed up with the Queensgate Shopping Centre to support parents struggling to afford school uniforms.
A Free School Uniform Event takes place at the Queensgate on Friday 1 August 2025, designed to help residents tackle the cost of living, while also highlighting how we can reduce textile waste.
Clothes for both primary and secondary schools can be exchanged on the day, which will be held on from 11am to 4pm near the ‘Superdry’ store.
Hopefully this can be an event that helps parents to cut down on their costs whilst also benefitting the environment, so please pop along if you can.
Don’t forget, at the Household Recycling Centre in Fengate, you can also drop off clothes and home textiles for repurposing, which is preferable to throwing clothing or textile waste into the general waste or recycling bin.
Finally, I’m delighted that with the school summer holidays starting, two popular water attractions will be open for families.
Our teams have been working hard to prepare Bretton Water Park and Central Park paddling pool for re-opening and we are confident that families and visitors will once again enjoy the fun experiences that both attractions have to offer.