New Learning Disabilities Technology Guide Provides Advice On How Telecare Can Support Millions of P
Tunstall teams up with leading healthcare and housing specialists to offer advice and guidance on how telecare can support independent living
[UKPRwire, Sat Mar 11 2006] With an estimated 1.2 million people in England living with a learning disability, the market leading telecare provider Tunstall, has teamed up with healthcare and housing specialists to explain how telecare technology can be used to support people with learning disabilities and enable them to live independently.
The Tunstall Learning Disabilities Technology Guide provides real life examples and looks at how telecare solutions have helped to develop new models of care and support across the UK to help people with learning disabilities, their families and carers to live full and independent lives as part of their communities.
The guide also examines the growing trend towards telecare as a means of providing automatic, tailored care, to meet the needs of the individual through remote monitoring and the proactive management of risks.
Knockeden, a supported living scheme in Northern Ireland, created as a result of a partnership between Craigavon & Banbridge Community HSS Trust and Fold Housing Association, is a key example of how telecare has enabled 16 people with physical and learning disabilities to move out of long-term hospital care and into a community setting, for the first time in their lives. This gives residents more privacy and dignity, whilst also reducing the burden on healthcare providers.
The Knockeden scheme uses telecare solutions from Tunstall to monitor the wellbeing of the residents. Unobtrusive epilepsy sensors ensure timely support and immediate assistance if required, providing valuable reassurance to carers, residents and their families, whilst also maintaining quality of life.
With 50% of people with learning disabilities living with parents, telecare helps to create an important balance between independence and support, with the reassurance that assistance is on hand should they need it, whilst also preserving privacy.
Another example of how telecare can benefit people with learning disabilities is with the use of intelligent bed sensors to monitor activity during the night. Depending on the level of support a user requires, bed sensors can be programmed to raise an alert immediately upon the user getting out of bed, or to raise an alert if the user does not return to bed within 15 minutes.
In this way, users can get a drink or go to the bathroom when they choose, helping to maintain dignity and independence.
Tunstall’s telecare solutions can be tailor-made to meet the needs of the individual, using a range of smart sensors as part of a supportive care service. The sensors monitor risks, hazards and environmental conditions around the home and trigger a call from a Lifeline unit placed in the home to the monitoring centre when assistance is required.
Ali Rogan, Marketing Director at Tunstall said: “People with learning disabilities cannot be defined as a homogenous group with the same needs, lifestyles and aspirations. This is why providing truly tailored care and support is essential, whether it is provided at home or in a more residential setting.”
“Telecare offers a platform of constant reassurance around which care can be planned in line with the changing requirements of the individual and those who care for them, for a fuller, more independent way of life.”
To obtain a copy of the Learning Disabilities Technology Guide or for more information on telecare, visit www.tunstall.co.uk/guides or contact us on 01977 660479.
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