As an Assistive Technologist and the Managing Director of gdewsbury, I offer a consultancy service that provides advice on assistive technology and telecare.

As an academic and a practitioner, I have a wealth of experience in this field having worked for over 16 years with older or disabled people using a person-centred approach to matching technology with people’s needs.

I have been involved with academic research projects, most recently at Kings College London developing eHealth and mHealth initiatives and at Lancaster University undertaking ethnographic research. At Robert Gordon University I co-designed smart homes for adults with severe autistic spectrum disorders allowing them to live independently in the community (See Dr Dewsbury’s CV).

I have experience of ‘front line’ working as Telecare Coordinator for a large London Borough. The ability to plan and implement a strategy for a core service provision within Social Services whilst continuing to adopt a person-centred approach to the individual was always a challenge. I passionately believe that assessing a person in their own home is crucial to matching their needs to any technology (See, for example, the Telecare Blog).

As a freelance consultancy gdewsbury can add value to many areas of a business by undertaking research, advising on product suitability within the market, working with small businesses to plan and focus routes to market. Having a clear strategy with real time scales and a thorough understanding of the technology’s use in practice eliminates costly mistakes.

 

The gdewsbury consultancy also offers a freelance writing service.

As an expert in the field, I am currently on the editorial board of Health Informatics Journal and the Journal of Assistive Technology. I have recently published an eBook on mobile phones for people over fifty focusing on easy to use mobile phones.

In conjunction with academic writing, I am currently a regular columnist in Disability Magazine, with TechTalk, and seek to expand and develop the writing side of the consultancy.

 

Debbie Ballard, the Assistant Director, comes from an OT background having worked at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London.  She then moved into Social Services and whilst in this local authority she worked on a self-assessment project and was promoted to work in the Telecare Team. Debbie brings health, social care and technology hands-on expertise to the team.  Debbie also co-writes and edits publications for the consultancy.