December conference Glasgow...

[Scally]

[quote]Excalibur]

Don't worry, Colin, there is no such wing. My comments were clearly intended to be humorous - yes, we are allowed to make light hearted comments here - though there is no smoke without fire, and one or two oddballs on the fringe of the movement have tried to object to this long-standing partnership for reasons best known to them. It seems you have recently encountered them and formed your own opinion, with which I concur.

Carers UK gets some useful financial support from Tunstalls, and it works both ways. Carers who wish to reduce some of the anxiety of constant observation may also benefit from knowing about the latest technology that is available, in the same way that many parents now benefit from having baby alarms so they know when baby wakes up and needs feeding or a cuddle.

As for the Japanese care robots, whilst there is a very funny side to all this, any kind of labour saving or safety device is worth at least looking at. No doubt there were those who disapproved of tumble driers when they first came out too....

[susieq]

And what about the emotional support that our Carees need ??? Can a robot give my Mum a cuddle when she's depressed ??? Can it reassure someone who is frightened and confused ???

It isn't all about taking meds on time or making the home safe - it's also about emotional support and human contact.

Sorry but as I see it NOTHING can replace the human element.

[marie66]

Hi guys, the items currently on offer are not intended to replace the Carer, I already use alarms as do other people, they're meant to help the Carer manage easier and they do!

I've said I do use technology to help me but not the Tunstall company's.

I prefered the equipment available at easylink.co.uk as it was more suited to our needs!

I know this equipment would not work for some people but where it does work it can make such a difference - even if it is just to let you be free to sit in the garden for a bit with a cuppa!

I'm all in favour of looking to see what's out there and finding out if it would help your situation at all.
Why not?

Anything that makes it a little easier to manage is ok in my book.

I know, I'd have found things a bit easier quicker, had I known these alarms were on the market and (in the case of easylink) fairly reasonably priced!

For that reason alone, I think it's right they're available at the conference for Carers to look at and try.
You never know, maybe they will help someone else who didn't know what was out there!

marie x

[charles47]

Wow, turn your back for a few minutes...

Colin - as far as any other website is concerned, I agree that they should not be misquoting anyone. Happens all the time though, often for point scoring. You may have noticed it's happened to me too over this particular discussion. No worries: what matters is what goes on here is out in the open.

Excalibur - I do understand your comment was meant in fun but comments can be misconstrued sometimes: occasionally it's deliberate, often it's down to the difficulty of interpreting the written word. I know one website where sarcasm is completely lost on the majority of its members. It is NOT a carers' site, incidentally. I sometimes wonder if we need an "All in Fun" warning notice, with all that has been going on on other sites...

Everyone - this is a really interesting discussion and I look forward to its continuing. Just to add that the whole reason why it's important to discuss things like this is so that we can share experiences that show us what works, what doesn't - and where the pitfalls are!

Marie - thanks for keeping us informed about how the equipment has helped you - and that it cannot replace the need for you to be around.

Thanks everyone for keeping the discussion going!

[colinb]

yes Marie, i can see where technology such as this woul be useful for some. that is not my problem or issue with the conference. my issue is that this Tunstall seem to have taken over the whole day, just about. that coupled with the fact that we are on the cusp of some of the biggest changes which will affect most of us (ie welfare reform), and so many other issues facing us, that i , and i stress i personally, feel it is wrong for the main conference for the year to have been...wondering whether to pick and choose wording here...taken over, bought over?given over to...by a private company such as tunstall(again i stress i have no problem or issue with this particular company) to such an extent.

i hope others will find it useful and the technology on offer both reliable and most important..cost effective...but i think it should have been part of the afternoon session planned, rather than the main focus
Colin

[Scally]

Everyone - this is a really interesting discussion and I look forward to its continuing. Just to add that the whole reason why it's important to discuss things like this is so that we can share experiences that show us what works, what doesn't - and where the pitfalls are!

Well, quite! There is an amazing video out there in cyberspace of a Japanese experimental robot carer lifting a (dummy) carefully... and it made me think. You know, in hospitals they have got smart and now use mechanical hoists to move patients rather than bust nurses backs. This makes sense - as lots of nurses were having to take early retirement due to bad backs, and anyway there is such a thing as the safe lifting and handling law to protect workers.

The skill required to be a carer should not include the requirement to be a weightlifter.

only taken me 10 months to get her to agree to having the bathlift fitted

As carers get older and frailer themselves, if we can get mechanical aids to help, then lets do that. Likewise, if we can utilise automated communications technology to keep people in touch (no more than smart telephones really) then its nice to have the choice. Lots of people cant live with their carees for all sorts of reasons: imagine the situation of a couple who need to work in Saudi Arabia, the wife's widowed mother lives in Scunthorpe but the husbands widowed father lives in Cape Town. These days that isn't so uncommon. With modern technology they can all keep in touch on a daily basis - without it they are on different planets.

[charles47]

Colin, the devolution issue raises its head here a bit in that some of the issues raised on this forum don't affect "north of the border" - at least for now - but I would have thought there would have been some debate on the benefits issue, for example. The day does seem a little "Tunstall-heavy" and while it's important to get the message out there that there are ways to make life a little easier for carers, I would have thought it would not have taken all day to do it.

Excalibur - you'right. Until hoists were finally introduced into hospitals (and even then only after compensation claims from injured nurses), some 200,000 nurses a year were injuring their backs. Now the problem is that for some of the larger patients, the standard hoists are useless!

Carers should not have to go through the same thing. The old expression "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" comes to mind.

[colinb]

firstly..just noticed something here. Marie..like me you are in scotland..where the heck do you find the weather to sit out in the garden?lol

and i also hope that people will come to the conference and learn about this eqiupment, and its uses as it would apply to them. if technology can make a difference- great. i firmly believe however, it should not be thealmost single purpose of our main annual conference. it also raises with me the question of who pays for it? i assume here that a lot of this equipment requires constant monitoring, and designated people for call outs etc-is this an extra drain on our carees already inadequate resources, or is it to be more of a drain on public sector resources? is it sustainable if use becomes more widespread?

as it stands , however, i am left wondering if it is worthwhile attending the conference, as this technology has no use for me at all. i have asked myself..what else is there at the conference?learning for living?-i like many others, already have a job...pampering???

charles..yes i did see your name mentioned elsewhere in regards to this thread, that was in fact how i came across it..someone asked if it was me getting you in trouble..lol

all in fun?..hmm..dificult one that charles. yes an odd humerous comment , a lighthearted moment is absolutely fine, but where does the line get drawn. humour is so subjective-just look at all the uproar around brand/ross and now clarkson. humour can so easily cause offence to some it becomes a difficult thing to know when to use. sarcasm is completely lost on so many people. i was disgusted recently when shown a site which is supposedly "humerous", but is only an anorexically veiled means of attacking and ridiculing others. add to this it is , i can only say allegedly, run and used by carers, i find it both shocking and reprehensible. it shows no sign of a "caring" attitude, and in fact only serves to demean the status of carers all over the net. i am pleased you manage to keep such (insert whichever adjective you think suits) off this site, as i can only guess it is not an easy task. sites like that one and the one where we have both been quoted over this thread on should just go away, and the people that run them likewise as they do caring in general, and themselves no favours.
keep up the good work here at CUk folks, we need more sites like this.

[marie66]

Colin said:

i assume here that a lot of this equipment requires constant monitoring, and designated people for call outs etc-is this an extra drain on our carees already inadequate resources, or is it to be more of a drain on public sector resources? is it sustainable if use becomes more widespread?

Nope! there's nobody monitoring us!
The alarms go straight to the receiver in my hand and that's it nobody else is involved and that's the way we like it!

Don't get me wrong social services told us about the tunstall stuff but it would not have been suitable!
My OH seizes between 10 - 20 times a day, either during the night or afternoon naps, it would have been totally inappropriate for me if everytime the bed alarm went somebody phoned me!

To be fielding phone calls all day as well as coping with all the seizure activity, would have been no respite at all - I'd have needed a receptionist to cope with that system!

The easylink alarms only alert ME and that's all we want them to do!
No monitoring, No phoning, No callouts and NO annoying us!

As for our weather, well I guess, any dry weather was a bit in short supply this summer wasn't it!

Incidently why was this thred being posted else where?
It's not that controversial surely!

marie x

[charles47]

Incidently why was this thred being posted else where?
It's not that controversial surely!

marie x

No good asking us here Marie