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TeleHealth and Telecare are two new technologies which
have been piloted in Kent. They assist people in need of care in
their own homes and aim to help people retain their
independence.
TeleHealth
is targeted at people with long term chronic conditions,
specifically Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Heart
Disease and Type 2 Diabetes.
The pilot, which is currently being trialled by 250 people
across Kent, uses tried and tested equipment designed for this
purpose which has an emphasis on ease of use. This enables people
to measure their vital signs in their own home and send these,
through their home telephone, to a community based clinic so they
can be monitored more frequently.
This reduces frequent trips to clinics in both the community and
acute sectors, whilst helping people to better understand their
condition and its impact on their daily living. Through doing this,
the TeleHealth pilot appears to be reducing hospital admissions by
increasing early interventions.
By improving confidence and reducing anxiety, as well as freeing
them from the need to access hospital based care, service users
live more independent lives.
This pilot is now the largest of its kind in Europe, and it is
planned to have 1000 people using TeleHealth by April 2009. It will
be fully evaluated as part of the Whole Systems Demonstrator
Programme, led by Professor Chris Ham from Birmingham
University.
Telecare
uses environmental monitors to alert trained operators within
seconds of an accident or an emergency (such as a fall, a gas leak,
flood, or fire).
Telecare has already brought reassurance to more than 860 people
from across six Kent districts (Ashford, Dover, Swale, Tonbridge
and Malling, Gravesham and Maidstone) who wish to remain in their
own homes for as long as possible, whilst enabling them to retain
their privacy and control their individual lifestyles.
These people now have help available at a touch of a button, 24
hours a day, 365 days a year. |