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Learning
Disabilities — “telecare for carers”
Frances Thompson, Assistive Technology Project Manager,
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
The
presentation demonstrates the needs of carers and tenants in
supported housing for people with learning difficulties.
The
supported housing is a bungalow with 4 tenants, all having
their own rooms and sharing a communal kitchen, living and
dining room.
The
Scheme Manager had identified a need for extra care staff to
be employed for the day care; however, due to funding, this
was not possible. Through the awareness sessions regarding
telecare in Wakefield, an assessment visit was arranged to
discuss the needs of the carers and tenants and what sensors
would be appropriate for each individual tenant.
The
need of the carers was to be able to monitor the risks and
activities of the tenants during the night, such as a simple
visit to the toilet, or the possibility of an epileptic
seizure, which may otherwise go unattended.
The
need of the tenants was to be enable them to manage their
own activities as much as possible with dignity and to
regain some of their privacy and independence,
The
purpose was to eventually phase out the waking night carer
and re-deploy the carer on to days.
The
sensors did not need to be monitored by a call centre, as
there is always someone present 24 hours a day. Therefore,
after looking at a number of solutions, the Carer Alert was
deemed the ideal choice.
The
solutions were bed sensors with lights and epilepsy sensors
monitored by the Carer Alert.
The
result is that the waking night carer is gradually being
phased out and employed on days where more work can be done
with the tenants. |
