Wellness Partnership Drives Hi-Tech Home Care Support

Major changes to the way home care support services for the housebound and elderly are provided are being explored thanks to a groundbreaking partnership facilitated by Wellness and Health Innovation (WHI).

WHI has brought together Scotland’s largest independent care provider and two companies specialising in the development of hi-tech devices to support independent living in the home.

New devices linking those at risk to support services and families are being tested by Independent Living Scotland (ILS) in a newly established Technology Suite at its Alva, Clackmannanshire, base.

The company which provides care services for 2,200 people across Scotland and works with 19 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities sees technology based services, which will complement the care provided by its 1200 staff, as a cost effective means of meeting the increased demand from a rapidly aging population.

In a climate of continuing financial restraint for Scotland’s councils ILS aims to lead the way in developing new care models that will merge frontline care workers and complementary technology in the provision of enhanced services.

“The kind of technology we are introducing would for instance be extremely helpful in the extreme weather conditions we have experienced this winter for those elderly people who have felt vulnerable, insecure and isolated from family and friends, “said Ian Flynn, Business Development Director at ILS.

With the support of Wellness & Health Innovation, set up by the Scottish Enterprise to assist companies to develop technology and applications to improve healthy living, ILS has formed partnerships with two companies, OmniQare and Sensorium, to pioneer technology enhanced care services.

OmniQare’s 'touch button home hub' provides a simple but comprehensive touch screen communications system for the over 65's linking them to carers, family, friends and much more.

Sensorium provides a range of sensors for the home that will detect and monitor for example movement in our out of bed, smoke, fire, flood and automatically alert the monitoring organisation of an untoward incident.

Ian Flynn points to the predicted growth in the number of elderly people in Scotland –a 60% rise in the over 65’s and 140% increase in the 85’s in the next 20 years – as one of the main drivers for change in the delivery of care services.

The availability of staff and financial restrictions are the two other key elements in the need for change.

“Traditional methods of care will not meet the requirements of the ‘age supertanker’. Everyone leaving school would need to enter the care industry if we continue to provide services as we do now. We need to redesign the care models to accommodate the movement towards preventative services,” he claimed.

ILS has already invested more than £500,000 installing IT programmes to manage staff and improve efficiency through internet enabled remote working.

Flynn says without these improvements they would have struggled to deliver their services during the extreme weather in early December when the Pensioners Forum warned that in excess of 200,000 elderly Scots were at risk in their homes.

Ian Flynn explained: “We are very focussed on developing and improving our services based on technology to meet the changing demographics and the financial situation. Services have to have a local presence and be much more orientated towards assisted independent living in the home. It’s as much the responsibility of private providers to come up with solutions to the pressures affecting the provision of care services as it is the local authorities.”

Janette Hughes, Project Manager of Wellness & Health Innovation, said: “The increasing numbers of elderly in the population and rising costs are driving fundamental changes to healthcare systems not only in Scotland but across the world. Technology will play a major part in ensuring we provide appropriate and affordable care here in Scotland to address the growing demand for assisted and independent living. We have worked with ILS to facilitate partnerships with OmniQare and Sensorium to ensure the best technology is made available to complement and enhance the services they provide.”