Telecare consists of various sensors placed around the home. If a sensor detects an incident it will raise an alert and enable appropriate action to be taken. Every sensor is linked to a home hub – if it detects something unusual it will trigger an alarm and send an emergency call through the telephone line to a monitoring centre which is staffed 24 hours a day.
The trained operators will then find out what the problem is and if necessary send out appropriate help. This could involve contacting the emergency services, the mobile response service or a friend or relative which the person has nominated.
Telecare is not right for all disabled people, but it could help some people who are physically frail and/or have a cognitive impairment (including dementia), learning disabilities, are at risk of harm and identified as needing telecare f discharge or a fall or as a preventive measure.
Home Alert Pager
Provides additional peace of mind and reassurance to carers by immediately notifying them of alarm calls from telecare sensors when they are at home or in the garden.
Medication Reminder/Dispenser
Provides effective solutions to support medication compliance. Can be used to provide other reminders if required.
Bed/Chair Occupancy Sensor
A specially designed pressure pad which fits under the mattress and gently turns on the bedside light when a person leaves their bed at night, lowering it automatically upon their return. It can also be used with a timer which will raise an alarm if they fail to return safely to bed after a short time. It may also be used to notify a carer that someone has failed to go to bed by a certain time, or failed to get up in the morning after a particular time. A similar device is available for use with chairs and wheelchairs.
Community [Social] Alarms
Almost every local authority will have an existing Community Alarm Scheme, usually run by the housing department of the local council. These are often known as “panic buttons” or “lifelines” and are aimed at vulnerable people who live alone. Many Carer Emergency Schemes tap into this existing resource, by using the call centre infrastructure to register the carer’s emergency plan - e.g. Greenwich
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