My name is Kiran, I am the Service Quality Director for The Camden Society (London) and I joined the team in September 2021.
I live in my own supported living flat in London. I own a mobile phone and an iPad, and I use a laptop for my work.
The doorbell intercom system in my flat links directly to my mobile phone, which makes things much more accessible for me. It gives me reassurance if I am not at home, as I can still answer any calls and find out who the visitor is.
This system is particularly good for people who may have a physical disability as it takes away the stress of trying to get to the intercom in time.
I am a confident traveller and use public transport all the time, so using technology helps me to organise my trips. I can use maps on my phone to plan out where I want to go and use my phone to pay for journeys.
My colleagues always ask me to help them travel around London and meet them at the tube station, I’m much more confident than they are!
Some of the other things I do with my mobile phone include:
• Using Facebook to keep in touch with people
• Take photographs and sometimes share these with other people
• Online banking
• Online shopping
I have also been able to join online religious services and listen to prayer on the radio.
In the future I am hoping to make use of other technology, like smart watches. These can help you track and monitor any health conditions you might have. One example is checking your ECG (electrocardiography) if you have a heart condition.
This everyday technology is often recommended by health professionals to help you monitor your own health and wellbeing.
There are many other benefits to using digital technology, like ‘find a friend’ and emergency contact details. These features help your friends and family to locate you in case of emergency, for example if you have epilepsy and experience a seizure.
Having emergency contact details stored in your phone can also be useful for emergency services to get in touch with your friends and family if they need to.
At work, I have been using online video calls to get in touch with the people we support at The Camden Society (London). It has been a good way to see people and have a chat about what they are up to while we still need to keep safe.
There are lots of other examples of how you can use digital technology as part of your day-to-day life, and these are just a few that I have personally used.
If you would like to find out more about how you could use digital technology, having a chat with your Service Quality Director or your staff team would be a great place to start.