U.K.: Hi-tech Help for Elderly in £8m House Alarm Scheme

EDINBURGH (The Scotsman),August 16, 2006: Up to 75,000 elderly people across Scotland will be able to live more independently for longer due to £8 million worth of funding for "telecare" technology, such as house alarms that allow the vulnerable to remain safe while living alone. The hi-tech scheme, pioneered in West Lothian, involves a range of monitors being fitted to homes which can raise the alarm if a problem develops and can even remind people to take their medication. The system can detect a person falling over, smoke, extreme heat and flooding, and is connected to a 24-hour response centre. Campaign groups welcomed the funding, but warned councils not to use the new technology as an excuse to cut back on home helps. All of Scotland's 32 councils can apply for funding packages of up to £75,000. Eligibility will be judged on a social care assessment of how the money will be used in the long run. Malcolm Chisholm, the communities minister, announced the funding during a visit to Colinshiel Court, a housing association development in Armadale, West Lothian, where the technology has already been fitted. Some 2,300 people in the area have had the sensors installed in their homes and West Lothian Council plans to increase that to more than 3,000 this year. Mr Chisholm said his aim was for about 75,000 people, including 9,000 dementia sufferers, to benefit from the technology. He said: "Telecare can help Scotland's increasing number of older people to lead fuller and more independent lives. "Older people who may otherwise have gone into full-time residential care can feel more secure at home, giving them the confidence and reassurance that help is at hand if they need it. "It also provides peace of mind for their families and support for their carers. "Use of telecare allows, for example, non-intrusive monitoring of whether an individual has got up in the morning, or has fallen, or has had a flood in the kitchen or bathroom. It can also be used to remind people to take their medicine." Lindsay Scott, of Help the Aged, welcomed the funding, but warned councils not to cut back on staff. He said: "In principle anything that enables an old person to stay in their own home is welcome, but before we can give this our wholehearted support, we want to know if there will be a cost to recipients, for example electricity bills." He added: "We want reassurance that this action will not justify scaling back one-to-one provision for elderly people." 'My life has changed, I know help is there' At 82 and disabled by a below-the-knee amputation, Mamie Wallace gave up the dream of being able to live alone. Her house was up a flight of stairs with no lift and she resigned herself to having to go into a home. Monitors allow Mamie to continue to live independently. Picture: Michael Hughes However, thanks to a pilot scheme by her local council, she has been able to retain her privacy and her independence. Eight months ago Mrs Wallace moved into sheltered housing at Colinshiel Court, in Broxburn, West Lothian, where she has her own flat. The reason she can live independently is thanks to motion detectors that will alert helpers if she falls, a remote door controller system so she does not have to get up to answer the door, and a panic button. She says the "telecare" technology has brought her peace of mind and increased her confidence in moving about. The former café worker said: "My life has changed tremendously since moving to Colinshiel Court. " I am less wary about moving around and about because I know that help is there if I need it. And it's now easier for me to let visitors in and out of the house because I don't have to go to the door every time. "Living here has enabled me to live more independently and made me feel safer." By Louise Gray © 2006 Scotsman.com