Modern technologies can help vulnerable people stay in their homes, as Falkirk Council is proving.
The Falkirk Council/Community Health Partnership has made such good progress in its telecare development programme that it was awarded more than double the grant it requested.
Care services for people with
dementia is improving
The Council /Community Health Partnership was one of six in Scotland to receive the highest available award of £200,000 from the Scottish Government - £113,000 more than expected.
The Council has been carrying out improvements including:
-
modernising the hardware and software for the Mobile Emergency Care Service (MECS) to be compatible with modern telecare sensors
-
replacing passive alarm units which provide alerts for hazards like gas escapes, flooding and smoke in the homes of people with dementia
-
new sheltered housing smoke alarms
-
special terminals to maintain MECS alarms when telephone lines are down
-
bogus caller alarms
-
equipment for people with complex physical disabilities to switch on electrical equipment and close or open curtains
-
the Ablelink system which provides prompts for people with cognitive impairments or head injury
Over the next two years the additional funding will allow for:
-
expansion of the improvements programme
-
cover staffing costs including a project manager and specialist rehabilitation nurse for the development of a telehealth pilot
-
training and awareness raising for service-users, carers and staff
-
more Ablelink and similar technologies as well as telecare equipment
Leading the way
Falkirk Council is also a partner in the Forth Valley Dementia Project which is expected to create a blueprint for the improvement of dementia services throughout Scotland.
The project is a partnership between Stirling University, which has become a world leader in the improvement of national and international standards of care for people with dementia, the Council and NHS Forth Valley.
The aims are to:
-
increase awareness of dementia in all Council and health services
-
to improve management and dementia services in the National Health Service, local authorities, voluntary organisations and the private care sector
Primarily viewed as a condition which affects only the elderly, new research is emerging which reveals that age is not the only factor in the development of dementia.
The challenge presented by caring for the increasing numbers of people diagnosed with dementia is extensive and is expected to grow in coming years.