News
Cheshire telecare users give positive feedback
10 March 2008
Cheshire County Council has reported on the success of its
county-wide telecare service, which is being used to deliver more
proactive and timely care and an improved quality of life for older
people and their carers.
In a recent survey of 128 people using telecare, 94% of respondents
said that they are pleased with the service and reported that they felt
telecare helped them to feel safer and more secure in their own home.
The survey also revealed that 90% of carers said telecare helped them
in their role by giving them confidence that people they are caring for
are safe when alone in their home, which provided them with peace of
mind and greater independence in their personal life.
Vance Gallagher, telecare projects officer for Cheshire County
Council said: “We wanted to evaluate how much of an impact telecare was
having on service users and their carers, and the feedback we got back
has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Some of the most popular sensors include the bed sensor and property
exit sensor, which are particularly useful for people with dementia,
alerting their carers if they have fallen out of bed or left the house
during the night. This reassures the carer that they will be notified if
something happens and the user feels secure that help is on hand if
needed.
“Being able to stay in their own home for longer has made such a
difference to the quality of life for service users and their carers –
providing this type of support is the way forward for assistive
technology. Mainstreaming telecare is something that needs to be
considered by health and social care services across the country.”
One service user who is benefiting from a telecare package is 74-year
old Mrs Armstrong who has Parkinson’s disease. She lives on her own and
has had sensors in her home for over 18 months. She has a fall monitor,
a smoke detector, a bed monitor and a pull cord in her bathroom, all of
which are all linked to her Lifeline unit.
Mrs Armstrong speaks highly of the telecare service and said: “All
the telecare sensors give me a lot of peace of mind because my main
worry is falling. I’m very pleased with everything and it’s good to know
someone is there in case there is a real emergency.”
The telecare supplied by leading telecare provider Tunstall, delivers
a comprehensive way of proactively managing risks around the home, by
raising an alarm to a monitoring centre or carer, if assistance is
required.
Having secured £1m government funding from the Preventative
Technology Grant (PTG), Cheshire Social Services has successfully
mainstreamed telecare across the county. By January 2008 tailored
telecare packages were being provided to 600 service users with
long-term care needs.
Through early organisation and detailed planning, Cheshire surpassed
its first year target for telecare, exceeding its goal of 280 telecare
users by 40; in addition it has also provided telecare to an extra 57
service users on a short-term basis.
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