Telecare company Tunstall has released a series of guides that aim to show how telecare devices can be used to support the National Service Framework for older people, as well as specific ideas for dementia care and learning disabilities.
The guides, which are available on the Tunstall website, show examples of how devices such as bed sensors, infra-red detectors and alarms can be used to remotely monitor elderly people, thus providing for their welfare while allowing them to live independently.
Ali Rogan, marketing director at Tunstall, said: "People with learning diabilities cannot be defined as a homogenous group with the same needs, lifestyles and aspirations. This is why providing truly tailored care and support is essential, whether it is provided at home or in a more residential setting.
"Telecare offers a platform of constant reassurance around which care can be planned in line with the changing requirements of the individual and those who care for them, for a fuller, more independent way of life."
One example cited by Tunstall is in Craigavon & Banbridge Community HSS Trust in Northern Ireland, where a housing association is using telecare devices such as epilepsy sensors in order to monitor residents remotely.
The guides also show how Northamptonshire County Council, working in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Society, also have a ‘demonstration house’ featuring many different kinds of devices that are remotely monitored, such as a carbon monoxide detector, a wandering client alarm and a bogus caller button.
The home is the centrepiece of the ‘Safe at Home’ care project that has been running since June 2000. According to Tunstall, a pilot study revealed potential savings of up to £66,000.
"Technology forms a backbone of the package of care, whether it be holding an acute situation until working hours when appropriate solutions can be discussed with all relevant parties or providing 24 hour cover around which care can be coordinated," says the guide into supporting the National Service Framework.
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