Assistive technology for dementia sufferers living at home can be cost-effective, increase patients’ independence and deliver support to unpaid carers, but it must be properly targeted and maintained, according to an extensive new study by the head of a Northamptonshire care project.
The study ‘Safe at Home: The effectiveness of assistive technology in supporting the independence of people with dementia’, focussed on Northampton’s Safe at Home project and found that in the course of nearly two years a total of £1.5 million had been saved.
John Woolham, Senior Research Officer for Northamptonshire County Council, who was jointly responsible for setting up the Safe at Home project, said in his report: "The use of technology is very cost-effective, and to the extent that it may delay or prevent admission into care or avoid unnecessary hospitalisation, it can save the NHS and local authorities considerable sums of money."
Several different kind of technologies were installed in 233 homes across Northamptonshire, including doorbells and bed-leaving monitors that can be activated wirelessly. Video phones and response units that connect smoke, flood and intruder detectors linked with external call centres were also installed, as well as simpler equipment such as pull-cords, bath plugs and night lights.
While the devices were "broadly reliable", said Woolham, they needed to be checked regularly and reviewed to make sure they were targeted towards the patient’s changing needs – particularly as the patient becomes progressively more unwell.
"It is important that assistive and telecare technology are only deployed following a thorough, holistic and person-centred assessment. In some cases, though a technological solution might be possible, a better approach might involve seeking a non-technological solution."
Carers had problems with some medication dispensers, but the majority of comments about reliability were positive. However, some were concerned that the alarm systems were not notifying the people they were supposed to, and the report stresses that a proper call centre infrastructure must exist that can handle the assistive devices.
Woolham compared his patient group to another similar one in Essex which did not have the benefit of assistive technology. Over the 21-month period he found that patients in group without technology were four times more likely to leave home care (either through death or admittance into residential or nursing care) than those who had the systems.
Systems installed included Tunstall’s Lifeline 4000+ telephone home response system and photo phones from Northern Acoustics.
The study, which has not been formally peer-reviewed, is available from Hawker Publications.
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