Assistive technology for your home

The integration of assistive technology is becoming increasingly essential to address the diverse care needs of older adults. Bluebird Care Rushcliffe & Melton's team of home care experts can help recommend the most appropriate assistive technology to enhance your quality of life.

Understanding Assistive Technology

Assistive technology encompasses a wide range of devices, equipment, and systems tailored to assist individuals with disabilities or age-related limitations. In the context of home environments, these technologies are engineered to promote independence, enhance safety, and facilitate everyday tasks for people.

Key types, features and benefits

Safety Monitoring Systems

Advanced sensor-based technologies can monitor activities within the home environment, detecting unusual patterns or emergencies, changes in movement, or deviations from daily routines. These systems provide real-time alerts to care assistants or designated contacts (such as a family member), ensuring prompt intervention in case of emergencies. There are a wide range of sensors including:

1. Property exit sensor – alerts if you leave your home at an inappropriate time, for example due to dementia.
2. Bed absence sensor – sends an alert if you have a fall at night.
3. Bed epilepsy sensor – detects tonic-clonic seizures when you are asleep.
4. Flood detector – senses if a bath or sink overflows because severe memory problems mean that you sometimes forget to turn off taps.
5. Smoke sensors – if you have severe memory problems and may not remember what to do in an emergency, these can automatically alert the monitoring centre to a fire in your home.
6. Surveillance cameras - to improve security at your property and act as a deterrent to crime. Internal cameras could also help provide reassurance and alert next of kin to any accidents or falls you might have.

Smart Home Automation

Integration of smart devices and home automation technology enables individuals to control various aspects of their home environment with ease. From adjusting lighting and temperature to operating household appliances, smart home systems enhance accessibility and convenience, empowering older adults / people with disabilties to manage their living spaces independently. For most people, one of the four mainstream DIY smart home platforms — Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, or Samsung SmartThings — is the best place to start.

Telehealth and Remote Monitoring

Telehealth platforms and remote monitoring solutions enable people to access healthcare and home care services from the comfort of their homes. Through virtual appointments and remote monitoring of vital signs, individuals can receive timely medical attention and proactive health management, reducing the need for frequent hospital visits. Check out how Bluebird Care Rushcliffe & Melton use such technology here: PASS System & Health & Wellbeing Checks.

Assistive Devices for Daily Living

A wide array of assistive devices are available to facilitate daily activities such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and meal preparation. From grab bars and mobility aids to ergonomic kitchen utensils and adaptive clothing, these assistive tools promote functional independence and mitigate the challenges associated with age-related impairments.

You might qualify for free mobility aids (such as commodes, rotunda's, hoists, and stand aids) from the British Red Cross, providing you've had an NHS Occupational Therapy assessment.  A referral can be made via the Adult Community Therapy (ACT) team, which encompasses the District Nurses, Physiotherapy, and Occupational Therapy. You can contact them directly yourself Tel: 03000 830100 or instead Bluebird Care Rushcliffe & Melton's care experts will be happy to make the referral on your behalf. Please note, ACT tend to focus on short-term rehabilition needs. For longer-term mobility needs, the referral will need to go via the Social Services Occupational Therapy team at Nottinghamshire County Council Tel: 0300 500 80 80.

Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS)

Personal emergency response systems offer round-the-clock support to older individuals in the event of emergencies or urgent situations. By simply pressing a wearable pendant or button, users can summon immediate assistance from emergency responders or designated contacts, ensuring rapid intervention during critical incidents. Two very popular systems are lifelines and falls alarm pendants provided by Tunstall First Response.

What to do next

Bluebird Care Rushcliffe & Melton recommends contacting your local authority to discuss your assistive technology needs. For the majority of our customer-base, this will be Nottinghamshire County Council Tel: 0300 500 80 80 www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/contact. They can often source and install the technology you require via their supplier partners. You can of course, source these various systems / equipment privately from 3rd party retailers if you wish.