Tunstall Healthcare, the leading provider of telecare and telehealth solutions, is showcasing its advanced telehealthcare services and solutions at the Third Annual International Congress on Telehealth and Telecare in London. Tunstall and its partners will demonstrate how telehealthcare can enhance the quality of life for those with long-term needs, whilst offering health and social care services cost-effective models of care.
Sheila Latham, Manager of Independent Living Services at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, will share her experiences of telecare as part of the event's 'Supporting assisted living' session on Day 3. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council partnered with Tunstall in 2010 to develop a mainstream telehealthcare service, designed to enhance the delivery of flexible, personalised care services to citizens in the area. Since its rollout, the service has already saved the council £2.2 million through reablement and telecare, exceeding its original savings target of £1.9 million. It has also reduced long term residential care admissions by 18% across the borough in one year.
During Day 2 of the event, Andrew Corbett-Nolan, Chief Executive at Good Governance Institute presented on how Birmingham City Council is mainstreaming its telehealthcare service. The Good Governance Institute (GGI) is working with Birmingham to develop a quality assurance programme, centred on the needs of service users from the Birmingham Telecare Service (BTS). Tunstall has been working with the council to provide telecare to older and vulnerable residents in the city, and the service has so far benefited 6,000 people, with 10,000 referrals overall. The service, which aims to support 27,000 people by 2015, enables residents with a wide range of support-needs to remain living independently in their own homes.
As part of the council's continued efforts to reduce reliance on residential care and provide preventative and flexible support. By embedding telecare into its processes and culture, Birmingham City Council is pioneering the use of large-scale technology to support a shift in balance from crisis management in adult social care to focusing on prevention, personalisation and enablement, in line with Government policy.
Commenting on Tunstall’s recent achievements, David Cockayne, Managed Services Director at Tunstall said: "Over the last twelve months, we have continued to work with NHS Trusts and local authorities to help them support those with long-term health and care needs. We have seen the value of telehealth and telecare as a means of reducing hospital admissions, cutting costs for the NHS, and improving independence for those who want to live at home for as long as possible. Our partnership with Birmingham City Council and Blackburn and Darwen Borough Council highlights Tunstall's ongoing effort to encourage the mainstream uptake of telehealthcare."
While at the show, Tunstall will preview a range of telehealth and telecare products and services, including the new myclinic mobile solution, a fully portable alternative to the myclinic multi-user system, and touchscreen tablet mymedic II. Technology aimed at helping people to self-manage their own condition more effectively, supporting independent living and improving quality of life.
Tunstall will also be presenting Lifeline Vi, a fall detection personalised alarm that helps people live independently by providing safeguarding and reassurance for anyone at risk of a fall, and the iVi pendant - the only product of its kind to feature a 'not worn' alert, which raises an alarm if movement has not been sensed for a defined time period.
As in previous years, the congress will include several rapid fire poster sessions, the first of which featured a short presentation from Hilary Thompson, a stroke specialist nurse from Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. Hilary is the winner of this year's Royal College of Nursing Award for Transforming Care with Technology. Her poster presentation focused on the work she has done to successfully incorporate remote telemonitoring into her practice in order to measure, monitor and manage stroke patients' blood pressure to help prevent secondary strokes.
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About Tunstall
Tunstall Healthcare Group is the market leading provider of telehealthcare solutions, with over 3.6 million users globally. Tunstall's solutions support older people and those with long-term needs, helping them to live independently by effectively managing their health and well-being. Its solutions have been proven effective in the world's largest telehealthcare trial. Tunstall provides technology, expertise and advice to millions of people enabling them to lead independent more fulfilling lives.