“The modern social and economic climate is driving dramatic changes in telecare,” said Chris Williams, CEO of mediagrids. “A number of issues such as the ageing population, spiralling costs in the NHS, availability of beds & care facilities and the significantly increasing importance of independent living for patients coping with a long term illness has advanced the telecare industry into a new era. Two thirds of all beds in the NHS are occupied by the elderly, yet 90% of these individuals would prefer to be at home. The good news is that half these people could return home much sooner if the appropriate levels of telecare support were in place.”
The home health hubs, when used with a camera and biometric devices; such as blood pressure and heart monitors; convert a standard television set or computer into a high quality videoconferencing and biometric workstation. Using this next generation of telecare systems, call centres can also become more proactive by scheduling regular calls into clients working with the advantage of live, visual contact which makes carers better placed to call for emergency assistance immediately if required. Statistics show that 40% of all accidents involving the elderly are falls which, in some cases, can go undetected for days.
Williams claims that broadcare will change the landscape of the healthcare industry, and the way in which care centres and hospitals liaise with patients will soon be re-written.
