New £8m Scottish Funding Will be Key to Mainstream Use of Telecare in Scotland
Funding will help to push the benefits of telecare into mainstream use, and will enable more older and vulnerable people to remain living independently with the support they need.
(PRWEB) August 19, 2006
Local authorities in Scotland are set to benefit from an £8 million grant to deploy telecare solutions, to further improve health and social care across the country. The funding will help to push the benefits of telecare into mainstream use, and will enable more older and vulnerable people to remain living independently with the support they need.
The funding, announced on Tuesday by Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm is a reflection of the Scottish Executive’s commitment to telecare and recognises the success of a number of telecare projects across Scotland such as that pioneered in West Lothian. The council’s Home Safety Service is recognised as one of the most advanced social healthcare projects in Europe, and uses telecare solutions from Tunstall to offer users increased choice and independence and an improved quality of life.
Telecare solutions enable carers to provide flexible assistance and support when and where it’s really needed in line with the wishes of the user, thereby simultaneously relieving some of the pressure on health and social care systems and also enabling users to remain mobile and independent for longer.
Mr Chisholm said, “Telecare clearly has the potential to drive future service delivery innovations in social care, health and housing. Older people who may otherwise have gone into full-time residential care can now feel more secure at home, giving them the confidence and reassurance that help is at hand if they need it.
“Telecare is an excellent example of how services can be redesigned in more integrated and innovative ways, by using the latest technology to complement traditional one-to-one assistance from trained professional staff.”
Over 2600 homes in West Lothian already benefit from Tunstall’s range of telecare solutions, which provide valuable help, support and reassurance to older and vulnerable people, and a further 3000 people are set to benefit from the technology as a result of the success of the project.
West Lothian was awarded first prize at the 2005 Healthcare IT Effectiveness Awards for its pioneering use of IT in primary and community care, which has helped the council to achieve the lowest proportion of bed blocking in Scotland. The average length of stay in hospital by a patient assessed as ready to move is 9 days, compared with the Scottish average of 57 days.
The Scottish Executive will be making the money available to all 32 Scottish local authorities, who have until 31st October to submit a bid for their share of the £8m funding. Authorities will need to outline how deployment of innovative telecare solutions will help support older and vulnerable people and improve quality of life.
For more information on telecare technology and how it can be used as part of mainstream health and social care provision, visit www. tunstall. co. uk
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