Telecare provider, Tunstall Healthcare, has installed the first of its new monitoring solutions in the home of a Yorkshire family.
Lifeline Vi builds on the company’s Lifeline range and enables health and social care providers to support a wider range of care requirements, enabling people to stay in their homes for longer.
The first unit has been delivered to Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) and installed in the home of WDH Care Link customer, Anthony Weaver, to provide essential support for him and his family.
Telecare has changed my whole family’s life, not just mine. It’s given us real peace of mind, knowing there’s always support on hand if ever I have any problems
Lifeline Vi enables personalised care and risk management for older people and those with long-term needs and was developed with extensive input from customers including many of the UK’s leading local authorities and housing associations.
With a comprehensive range of sensors, Lifeline Vi monitors home environments unobtrusively for any events or emergencies and, if a problem is detected, the unit raises a local audible alarm and communicates with a 24-hour monitoring centre so the appropriate response can be quickly taken.
Martyn Durant, service director for WDH, said: “We’ve worked in partnership with Tunstall to develop the Lifeline Vi for our Care Link customers and I’m delighted they will be the first people to benefit from the new product. Lifeline Vi’s new functions will help support the needs of our customers even further, helping them and their carers to feel safe, confident and in control of their day-to-day lives. The new innovative technology will also help us to work better with our partners in health and social care to modernise the way services are provided”
The first person to use the solution, 35-year-old Weaver suffered a shrapnel injury while serving in the armed forces and has some mobility issues as well as suffering from seizures. He has been using a Tunstall Lifeline and personal alarm pendant for the past two years, so he is able to raise an alert if his family are not in the house.
. I’m really pleased to be the first in the world to have a Lifeline Vi installed. Its new design and features make it even easier to use than before
He said: “Telecare has changed my whole family’s life, not just mine. My kids have a better understanding of my illness and my wife has been able to return to full-time work. It’s given me and my family real peace of mind, knowing there’s always support on hand if ever I have any problems. I’m really pleased to be the first in the world to have a Lifeline Vi installed. Its new design and features make it even easier to use than before.”
Lifeline Vi has an integral ambient temperature sensor with configurable high and low range settings to help ensure that a comfortable, safe temperature is maintained in a person’s home. The unit also features a built-in reminder facility, which prompts the user about key information, such as the correct time to take medication, through automatic messages. Users can tailor each message and catalogue them as daily, weekly or monthly reminders.
The unit’s enhanced Virtual Sensor functionality – a Tunstall market first – enables a pro-active, intelligent response to any alerts raised by sensors in the home. For example, if a person gets out of bed in the middle of the night and doesn’t return in a pre-set time interval, the unit can interrogate other sensors in the property to establish if the person is simply making a hot drink, or if they have fallen and need urgent help.
The unit also includes a range of advanced features to ensure the safety of users, and to reduce maintenance and running costs for service providers.
