The UK faces a number of challenges, one of which is the increasing number of elderly people who require care, ranging from company, domestic assistance, and personal services to simple medical procedures, but who want to live at home. It is also certain that the government will not have the economic recourses to meet even a fraction of the demand.
GATC proposes that charities supporting elderly people should make an optional offer to their members to become Partners of the GATC pension scheme, which is based on the number of hours of service they give to GATC. In principle, every hour spent on the care and support objectives of the organisation earns a “care credit” which is deposited in a special bank account, using an alternative currency called GATs. This currency has no monetary value, although it can be gifted to family or friends or returned to GATC for an emergency fund. The primary purpose is to build up a balance of GATs over a period which, when the need arises, are used to service a care pension for the Partner.
The scheme, which has a national H.Q., is totally independent of the state, business, or charities. Mutuality and independence from government, charity or business support are the basic principles that make GATC care pension sustainable and not subject to any external policy change.
The basic principles of GATC reflect the triple bottom line framework whereby social, environmental and financial resources are innovatively integrated to maximise the benefits for all three:
- Social: GATC makes the community better integrated by not simply promoting volunteering but asserting that ‘looking after each other is the only way forward’
- Environmental: The local provision of care represents an option that can be close to be carbon footprint neutral
- Financial: GATC is sustainable by promoting intergenerational reciprocal care that is not subject to inflation and does not weigh on the government expenditure.
The IT infrastructure required by the project will be developed in collaboration with the East of England Co-op. GATC has also received a Smart Lab Innovation award from Sheffield City Council where GATC is likely to launch.
A scheme of this nature may be the only way in which our society will be able to safeguard the quality of life of an ageing population, in a climate of increasing requirement, adverse economic conditions and the erosion of money provision by inflation.
Dr Gabriella Spinelli - Reader in Healthcare Design and Innovation, Brunel Design School, College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences.
Dr Spinelli holds a Laurea in Human-Computer Interaction, a PhD in Computer Science, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (FHEA). Her research spans more than two decades and centres on human factors and user-centred design in complex socio-technical systems, with 60+ peer-reviewed journal and conference publications.
Her interdisciplinary research portfolio encompasses public and third-sector settings; in healthcare specifically, her major applied work includes the design and evaluation of inclusive, intuitive and sustainable medical products (supported by AHRC, NHS Charity, NHS England, MRC, Innovate UK and NIHR). More recently, her focus has shifted to strategic design and regulatory innovation in digital health.
She is Principal Investigator of the RADIANT CERSI, a Centre for Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation in Transformative Digital Health and AI. She also leads programmes on innovation leadership in the NHS, and support the NIHR funded Commercial Delivery Research Centre led by the London North West NHS University Trust to achieve inclusive community engagement and participation in clinical trials for responsible research and innovation.
Dr Spinelli is named inventor on two medical-device patents and co-directs the Centre for Research into Smart Technologies for Health and Rehabilitation (STAHR). She leads the Design for Health programme to facilitate co-development of clinically-led innovations through NHS, medtech and academic collaboration.
In addition to her research leadership, Gabriella teaches Human Factors to final-year students and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate reserach students in healthcare innovation.
Previous notable projects include the analysis of police command and control room operations in collaboration with the National Police Intelligence Agency (EPSRC); long-term research on technology adoption and inclusive product design for ageing populations (ESRC; DAIWA Foundation); and the development of intuitive product-service systems for later life (Design Council). She has led international research into community currencies and their role in reimagining social care and sustainable economic exchange (Innovate UK, £1M), as well as the development and evaluation of digital complementary currencies aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (FORMAS).
Dr Spinelli is a member of the MHRA National Commission for the Regulation of AI in Healthcare. She serves as Scientific Advisor to the UK Home Office (HOSAC) and she is also a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Design for Augmented Humanity.