There are currently 850,000 people with dementia in the UK and that number is set to double to two million by 2050.
Image source: Tunstall Healthcare
People with dementia typically need more support from caregivers than people without dementia. Therefore, it is critical for caregivers to understand how technology can help people with dementia maintain their independence, stay safe, and stay active.
Smart solutions and assistive technologies can help ensure the safety of service users with dementia, especially those who are particularly frail or at risk of falling. This Alzheimer’s Month (September 2021), Zillah Moore, Director of Tunstall Healthcare, speaks about the critical role technology can play in helping people with dementia and those who care for them.
A number of solutions
Technology is critical to enabling care, which means people with dementia can enjoy greater independence for longer. It can also help to relieve the caregivers, reduce stress and allow them to care for longer. As our social and health systems continue to face limited budgets and increasing demand, it becomes increasingly important that providers deploy solutions that enable more effective and person-centered care.
The technology can be tailored to the needs of the individual and helps cope with events such as falls, taking medication and people leaving their homes unable to find their way back. Devices and systems, including portable alarms, can be configured to automatically provide assistance 24 hours a day from a nurse, emergency services or emergency services in the event of an emergency.
They can also allow caregivers to do daily activities, spend more time with service users, or in the case of home carers, have uninterrupted sleep knowing they will be alerted in the event of an incident. The earlier technology is introduced in the dementia pathway, the easier it is to understand health and care outcomes and how support can be given to enable better patient-centered care.
New digital technologies offer higher levels of connectivity, which enables seamless integration of services and enables care providers to better manage the health and wellbeing of service users with dementia. Not only does this improve their quality of life, but it also reduces costs, the number of GP visits, ambulance visits and hospital admissions.
Telecare in practice
Hertfordshire Telecare Service is helping nearly 4,000 people in Hertfordshire live more independently, many of whom have dementia.
Norman has vascular dementia and lives alone, although his daughter lives nearby. Technology helps him stay safe at home and keep his daughter safe. Inconspicuous Telecare sensors in his home automatically set off an alarm in the 24-hour surveillance center when they detect floods, fire or carbon monoxide in Norman’s home, and property exit sensors have also been installed to notify the center when an outside door is opened. A specially trained operator at the center can then speak to Norman over the lifeline unit loudspeaker to assess the situation and ensure that Norman is okay. If the operator doesn’t get a response, they can contact Norman’s daughter or the UK Red Cross Responder Service to check on him.
Norman’s daughter has also given her father a GPS tracker that she can use to locate him if he leaves the house and cannot find his way back. Together with the Telecare Service, this has already helped Norman to quickly find his way back to his home country so as not to put him in danger. It also means that Norman can stay in his own home for his own safety instead of being taken into a nursing home while he keeps his family safe.
This, in turn, takes the pressure off nursing homes and their employees, as telecare enables more people like Norman to live at home.
Integration is the key
While technology is a fantastic resource for relieving home and facility caregiver pressures and user needs, it should never completely replace human interaction and care. Technological solutions should always be connected to the broader supply circuits in the residential, health and social sectors in order to achieve as many benefits as possible, and designed with the hearts of the people who use them.
