The government has now recognised the benefits of providing telecare to the services that help support older vulnerable people in their own homes. The Preventative Technology Grant (PTG) is now available as a ‘pump priming’ mechanism to establish self sustaining processes to reduce unplanned hospital admissions and delay entry into residential care. Traditional telecare in the form of pendants and environmental sensors can help reduce the risks of older people living in their own homes.

Traditional telecare will send an alarm to the call centre when there has been a crisis; a fall, a fire, smoke or gas is detected etc. Unless the telecare can give an indication of a person’s wellbeing or state of health, crises are still likely to occur and in many cases, this could still mean unplanned admissions. The worsening of pneumonia, UTIs and other infections in their early stages causes many of these admissions.

Failure to implement preventative telecare that can monitor a person’s wellness and allow carers to intervene at an early stage means that unplanned admissions will continue to occur. The PTG money is available for 2 years and it is therefore important that telecare can be funded in subsequent years from the savings in avoiding unplanned admissions and delaying residential care.

In the past, there has been a mindset that the users take responsibility and purchase their own telecare supporting devices. In some instances this will remain the case however, now that PCTs, social services and housing departments have to maximise their budgets, relying on users to take action to prevent crises is no longer appropriate.

Now, health and social care providers are looking to the very latest technology to assist them in delivering services within tight budgets, and that means Preventative Telecare. Preventative Telecare lets them harness technology to monitor and care for individuals and take action before a crisis occurs. Preventative Telecare focuses on the individual yet includes where appropriate, sensors that monitor the building in which they live. Preventative Telecare offers choice and flexibility to the older person and allows them to live independently in their own home for as long as possible. Our older generation deserves nothing less.

Vivatec provides Preventative Telecare via WristCare, a watch-like device that has benefits for users and care service providers alike. It continuously monitors users, providing both automatic and manual alarms, and allows carers to remotely check wellbeing and take necessary action before a crisis occurs. Where appropriate it also incorporates environmental monitoring devices to further reduce risks for the user in their own home.