What is it?

Telecare includes the continuous, automatic and remote monitoring of real time emergencies and lifestyle changes over time in order to manage the risks associated with living independently. It is a service that brings health and social care directly to a client, supporting the independence and well-being of predominantly older people but also other groups (see “Where it would be useful”)

Telecare grew out of the social or community alarm infrastructure which exists in one form or another throughout the UK. Access to help in an emergency 24 hours a day is one of the defining aspects of sheltered housing, and this service is now readily available to people in their own homes. The response given depends on the type of assistance required and can be from a relative, keyholder, rapid response team or the emergency services.

Components to telecare:

• assessment and referral of clients
• installation and maintenance of equipment
• monitoring of clients and response in the event of an alert
• protocol writing
• review

A local telecare strategy needs to start from an identification of priority users and the level of service deemed appropriate to meet their needs.

Coupled with the appropriate care plan, this technology enables people to live safely and independently at home.

What does it do?

Telecare uses a series of sensors to monitor for potentially dangerous situations such as floods, fire, gas leaks, falls, and intruders. It also provides a security solution to protect the individual, their belongings and the premises. When a sensor is activated, by smoke for example, it sends a radio signal to a central monitoring unit, the Lifeline, which then calls a 24-hour response centre where trained operators can take the appropriate action. This could mean contacting a local key holder, doctor or the emergency services.

Solutions such as the bed occupancy sensor can be programmed to alert if a person has failed to return to their bed after leaving it during the night, which might indicate they have fallen or encountered another difficulty. This unit can also gently raise a light when the bed is left, which can help to prevent falls, and will lower it again once it has detected a safe return to bed. If appropriate, the sensor will also raise an alarm if it senses someone had failed to get out of bed by a certain time in the morning or go to bed by a certain time at night.

Telecare enables assistance to be raised, 24 hours a day. The home unit allows two way speech between the centre and the client, and also picks up radio signals sent by sensors placed unobtrusively around the home which will raise an alert should they sense a potentially dangerous situation.

Where is would be useful?

Telecare has been proven to help a wide range of groups, including:

• Older people living with specific long terms conditions, notably dementia and COPD
• Older people faced with moving from home to residential/nursing home care
• People at risk of falling at home, or at risk from other household dangers such as fire or flood
• People requiring rehabilitation and/or intermediate care services to enable them to return home successfully
• People who are frequently visiting hospital A & E departments
• People suffering from Social Exclusion as a result of fear of crime, social or health reasons
• People with learning difficulties or cognitive impairment
• People with sensory or physical impairments
• Other groups of vulnerable people of all ages, including lone workers, victims of crime, domestic abuse, racial abuse, even witness protection
• Carers, both formal and informal

Ethics

Telecare raises ethical questions about surveillance and possible loss of privacy and autonomy and legal issues relating to confidentiality and data protection.

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Case studies

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Equipment descriptions

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