The Committee will be provided with details of the Telecare and Telehealth Service in Havering, together with details of the technology available to the older and vulnerable population of Havering.
Minutes:
The Sub-Committee received a presentation on assisted technologies. These were to promote independence and provide care at a distance.
The Telecare centre was run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a response service. There were approximately 4,500 clients who received the service the majority were elderly and lived in their own homes.
The Sub-Committee was able to view a number of the technologies that could be offered to clients. The minimum was a box and pendant which could be linked to the client’s telephone line and could open up a communication line between the telecare centre and the client. It was peace of mind for the client that there was someone at the end of the line should they fall or become ill. 85% of clients had this technology.
Other equipment included a watch which worked in the same way as a pendant, a PIR system which had sensors to ensure the client was moving around, a flood detector and a temperature extreme detector. All of these, if activated, would sound an alarm at the telecare centre which operators would respond too. The Sub-Committee was informed that there was also a falls detector which could work out if the client was in an upright position. If there was an increase in acceleration downwards followed by and decrease in deceleration then the alarm would sound. The Sub-Committee noted that in October 2014, there were 256 emergency calls, 127 due to falls and only 24 of these needed ambulances, due to the nature of the service, and the response of staff.
There was also a pills dispenser which could be programmed to dispense at certain times of the day and was currently a 28 day pod. If the client does not remove the tablets at the selected time then the telecare centre can call to remind them. Officers were talking to the manufacturer about getting a bigger or smaller dispenser as clients would often need different tablets at different times during the day. Currently clients were being provided with more than one dispenser.
Officers explained the on-track system, which included either the Skyguard or Vaga-watch. These were GPS systems which could track people who wandered. A Geo-fence could be set up in a particular area so that if the client went outside of that area then an alarm could be sent to the call centre who could then get an alert to a next of kin or relevant carer. The smallest area that could be set was 200 metres.
Members asked how many responders there were at the call centre. The officer explained that there were 11 responders in total who worked across the 24 hour rota system. During the day there would be 5-6 responders and in the evening there would be 2-3 responders. The response time targets were 90% in 45 minutes and 100% within an hour. The average response time in Havering was 23 minutes with 99.2% in 45 minutes in October.
Members asked if there were particular “peak” times for calls. The officer stated that there was no peak time and every day was different. There were more requests for installation between January and March together with removal of equipment due to the death of the clients.
The officer explained that the minimum cost was £4.68 a week, which included equipment, installation and all call-outs. The service was installing on average 100 units a month and removing approximately 50 a month. All equipment was re-used and the service was not fixed to one supplier. The equipment was regularly tested and maintained every year. An alert for a low battery is sent but this is up to 3 months before the battery needs changing. The service ask that all individuals test their equipment once a month and if they have not heard from someone the call centre will call them to ensure the equipment is working efficiently.
The Sub-Committee thanked the officer for the comprehensive presentation.