How Proactive Telecare Improves Health & Wellbeing

The use of telecare monitoring services to provide remote wellbeing support for elderly, disabled and vulnerable people is fast becoming increasingly accepted as a way of providing care. 

And as technology develops and evolves over the years, it is likely that telemedicine will become the norm more and more, helping people remain independent and living in their own homes for as long as possible as they get older and their needs change.

In fact, a new telecare trial carried out by Scottish housing and care provider Bield Housing and Care has just revealed how effective telemedicine can be at supporting mental, physical and emotional health and wellbeing when it’s proactive. 

Bield Response 24 (BR24) is the digital alarm monitoring arm of the housing provider and it has been running its Inspire Phase 2 project in the Renfrewshire area, with some enlightening results.

For example, early intervention and preventative support methods led to a 75 per cent drop in ambulance calls and a 68 per cent decrease in visits to A&E, with the team making regular outgoing calls to individuals’ homes to help maintain and improve health and wellbeing, while anticipating and preventing crises.

Key findings included a 72 per cent drop in alarm use, a 57 per cent drop in requisite physical responses and a 90.0 per cent reduction in necessary family response.

BR24 service manager Gary Baillie said: “The project has shown a clear need for earlier intervention to improve the lives of older adults and help them live safely in their own homes for longer.

“The figures have highlighted that intervention support, whether that is through calls, monitoring trends or helping to create connections within the local community, has worked incredibly well and is vital to help reduce the pressures on public services.

“One customer taking part in the trial went from being completely house-bound to a regular gym-goer in a matter of months thanks to regular catch-up calls from the Inspire Phase 2 team to support her.”

Bield was also recently awarded funding that will see older people involved in shaping the new digital services that will enable them to continue living as independently as possible for as long as possible. 

The Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation project looks to revolutionise how technology is used in elderly housing and care. This new round of funding will ensure that Bield is able to work with tenants to test out devices, apps and systems across a range of different accommodation settings.

Tenants will also be given shared responsibility with staff members to co-produce digital services to help support independent living even further.

Bield is one of six providers in the UK to have been awarded this funding – and the only provider in Scotland. Other recipients include Haringey Council, Southend Care, Wiltshire Council, the POBL Group and the Platform Housing Group.

 

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