March 3rd 2026
How do you balance a family’s need for reassurance with a person’s right to privacy?
What does meaningful consent look like when technology keeps evolving and collecting more data?
And as robotics and automation advance, what are we really saying about the role of care workers?
These are live questions shaping decisions in adult social care every day.
That is why our Digital Care in Focus theme for March is Difficult Conversations. We are want explore some of the tensions, trade-offs and ethical challenges that come with data and technology in adult social care. Not to reject innovation. Not to slow progress. But to be honest and find solutions.
Multiple perspectives
Technology choices are rarely straightforward. Providers are managing workforce shortages and regulatory expectations. Commissioners are balancing cost, quality and outcomes. Technology developers are innovating within commercial pressures. Families want reassurance. Care workers want tools that genuinely support practice. People drawing on care want dignity, autonomy and control over how their information is used.
All of these perspectives are legitimate. But they do not always align.
Acknowledging that we each bring priorities and pressures into the conversation helps create a more constructive starting point. When trade-offs are named openly, they can be worked through collectively rather than defensively.
We’re hosting a series of three in-depth webinars to explore some of the key issues. Book your places, and please join in the discussion on social media using #DigitalCareInFocus
People’s right to privacy vs home sensors — 11 March 2026
Our first webinar focuses on monitoring in people’s own homes.
Sensors can support independence, reduce unnecessary checks and provide important alerts. At the same time, they raise significant questions about proportionality, intrusion and choice.
Where is the line between reassurance and surveillance? Who decides what is “least intrusive”? How are people supported to understand and influence those decisions?
Speakers include:
- Richard Keyse, Chief Executive of 2iC-Care
- Amy Lewis, Managing Director of Just Checking
- Lynsey Way, Clinical Director of Active Prospects
- Mark De Bernhardt Lane, Senior Advisor for Partners in Care & Health (LGA/ADASS)
- Adam Chamberlain, Strategy Director and General Counsel of Orchid Group
- Care Workers Charity
- Think Local Act Personal
This session will bring different perspectives into the same conversation and surface the practical and ethical tensions involved.
Book your place on People’s right to privacy vs Home sensors – 11 March 2026
Consent and technology — 17 March 2026
Consent is often treated as a straightforward requirement. In reality, it is layered and dynamic.
Digital systems collect and share information in ways that are not always obvious. Technology changes over time. People’s circumstances and capacity may change too. All of this complicates the idea that consent is a one-off event.
In this webinar, we will examine what meaningful, ongoing consent looks like in practice. How do organisations ensure understanding rather than assumption? How should concerns or refusals be handled? And how can leaders support cultures where questioning technology decisions is seen as responsible practice?
Speakers include:
- Amy Lewis, Managing Director of Just Checking
- Lynsey Way, Clinical Director of Active Prospects
- Mark De Bernhardt Lane, Senior Advisor for Partners in Care & Health (PCH) – LGA/ADASS
- Dee Woodcock, solicitor, Lester Aldridge
- Care Workers Charity
- Think Local Act Personal (TLAP)
Book your place at Consent and technology — 17 March 2026
Robots vs carers — 31 March 2026
The final session addresses are we replacing in-person care workers with technology?
Automation and robotics may support repetitive or physically demanding tasks. They may ease capacity pressures. But care is not only a series of tasks. It is relational and human.
This webinar will explore how narratives about efficiency sit alongside expectations about compassion and connection. What values are guiding decisions? How do care workers experience increasing automation? And what does the public expect from care?
Speakers include:
- Amy Lewis, Managing Director of Just Checking
- Mark De Bernhardt Lane, Senior Advisor for Partners in Care & Health (PCH) – LGA/ADASS
- Care Workers Charity
- Think Local Act Personal (TLAP)
Book your place at Robots vs Carers – 31 March 2026
Join the conversation
We invite you to join the webinars, reflect with your teams and share your learning with us. What difficult conversations are you having? Where are the tensions in your organisation? What have you put in place to manage risk and responsibility?
#DigitalCareInFocus
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