Telecare specialists Tunstall has helped an extra care housing scheme in Brighton win a European design award, aimed at promoting independent living.
Tunstall deployed their Comunicall telecare system into the £3m New Larchwood extra care housing scheme, which is run by the Hanover Housing Association, and was developed with Brighton and Hove City Council.
Communicall is specifically designed for the extra care sector, and consists of a network of radio receivers giving full-site coverage, a management terminal and site-wide paging system, alerting staff to the source and nature of an alarm if a sensor is activated, so that timely and effective assistance can be provided.
A Hanover Housing Association spokesperson told EHI: “The purpose of New Larchwood is to provide elderly people with an adapted premises that suits their tastes, as opposed to being confined to a care home. The application of telecare helps to give them independence and the ability to look after their own health with minimal intrusion.”
The New Larchwood extra care scheme was judged alongside 45 other housing schemes across Europe, as part of the Welfare Housing Policies for Older People (WELHOPS), a European Union funded project aimed at promoting independent living and came out as overall winners for its design.
The spokesperson added: “We specifically designed our apartments so that they cause minimum hassle for elderly people and allows them to move around the premises freely. We are proud to have been recognised by the panel for this, telecare is one of the innovations we have used on order to help give residents independence and this will have contributed to our recognition.”
The telecare package deployed at New Larchwood also incorporates advanced door entry and access control solutions to provide increased security and protection for residents, with visual caller verification through TV sets, and remote control of door entry from anywhere in their apartment.
Door systems meet DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) requirements, supporting residents with disabilities through DDA-compliant door panels, a key fob system and motorised door mechanism to make access to the flats easier for all users.
Tunstall’s director for the UK and Ireland, Jon Lowe, said: “This scheme is an excellent example of how telecare has been successfully deployed to make a real and tangible benefit to users, improving quality of life and supporting independence for older people through increased security, proactive monitoring and low-level support round-the-clock.”
Councillor Anne Meadows, Chair of Adult Social Care and Health Committee at Brighton and Hove City Council added: “New Larchwood is a real addition to the local community – this exceptional award is much deserved and clearly sets the standard for the future development of older people’s housing.”
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