What is assistive technology and telecare?
Assistive technology
Assistive technology is a range of equipment designed to prompt and assist you with your everyday activities which have become difficult.
They support you to stay safe and independent in your own home for as long as possible.
Examples of assistive technology include:
- Equipment with built in sensors that automatically detect a fall and raise an alert
- Magiplug, which is a bath plug intended to prevent bath overflow.
Telecare
Telecare is a manually activated electronic equipment combined with a 24/7 monitoring centre that provides support to users at the press of a button.
Telecare equipment is an efficient and effective way of letting others know when you need help in your home and can reduce the need for more intensive support.
A basic telecare package includes a personal alarm, which can get you immediate support if you feel unwell. We can also install sensors in your home such as smoke and carbon dioxide detectors to monitor and alert us if something goes wrong.
Telecare can help people who:
- Have recently been discharged from hospital
- Have a disability
- Are at risk of or who suffer falls
- Have no local family or support network
- Have memory loss or dementia
- Have been victims of bogus callers, hate crime or domestic violence.
Telecare and assistive technologies include:
- Pendant alarms
- GPS devices
- Smoke detectors
- Natural gas detectors
- Fall detectors.
Falls prevention
There are assistive technology devices that can be recommended to support customers who fall and also to support vulnerable customers who are at high risk of falling.
Equipment with a built in sensor aid can be provided. This aid will automatically detect that a customer has fallen and will trigger an alert. The alert can be raised to the external monitoring centre or designated carer.
