Planning Ahead - Tomorrowscare.co.uk
Mario Zuccaro, Founder of telecare solutions provider Oysta Technology, discusses why sufficient forward planning is key to ensuring vulnerable independent people in your care remain safe and supported to live independently for as long as possible.
It's never too soon to start thinking about what life might be like further down the road. Breaking the misconception that care planning, or the thought of it, is reserved for 'old' people is a high priority for me.
Often, care is thought about as a reaction to a problem, for people who are at a point where they immediately need extra care and support.
All too often, we see families of vulnerable people coming to us, their local authority or social care provider in a state of distress. Unable to look after a loved one themselves due to distance or other reasons, they are frantically looking for a way to ensure that their parent, grandparent or vulnerable adult child, is kept safe while living on their own. Luckily, we are equipped to quickly help vulnerable independent people to remain safe in their own homes through the provision of our mobile telecare solutions and home sensors, but this only takes care of part of the problem.
More often than not, a decision made during a crisis period takes away that element of choice for the individual affected. Having worked in the industry for many years now, what we see time and time again are people wanting to remain independent. They want choice in the support they need, how that support will be provided and how it is delivered. Usually, people want to remain at home.
The majority of people requiring additional care want to stay as independent as they can and usually in their homes, as opposed to the alternative of a moving into a residential care home. This is only possible if the home environment remains safe for the individual. The evolution of care tech within the home is making this easier.
Overtaking traditional telecare 'button and a box' solutions, digital telecare technology is trail-blazing the way for the future of at-home care. Flexible, powerful and discrete, the Oysta devices look like any other modern communications device, removing the stigma of having a personal alarm. Either worn on the wrist like a watch, or in the form of a tiny device to slip into a pocket, the look and feel of today's personal telecare solutions fits the needs of people now. Take into account the reliability and sheer geographical distance that the GPS technology can cover and, all of a sudden, the telecare technology option gains traction with a more diverse audience.
The over-60s now are more familiar with technology and have higher expectations. They want to be safe, and for technology to support them, not to have to live around technology. Oysta's telecare solutions are designed by independent people, and support an independent life inside and outside the home.
Continually developing its telecare solutions, Oysta are committed to supporting safer independence for vulnerable independent adults (or VIPs as they call their service users). Through innovative mobile technology, Oysta provide independent people with a means to continue to live within their own homes for as long as possible. Monitoring wellbeing 24/7, the mobile element to Oysta's telecare solutions, enables care to extend beyond the four walls of the house, to include anywhere in the great outdoors.
It's tough for individuals to think about not being able to take care of themselves, but that point may come. Helping vulnerable independent people understand the possibilities of what might lie ahead and adapting the home, together with their daily life, with the technology now, may smooth the path for the future. Proactively planning future care needs could begin with something small, such as a telecare sensor for the home, or getting used to wearing and using a personal telecare device. Consciously adding telecare technology to the home as early as possible may be the key to retaining an individual's choice and ability to remain in that home when their vulnerabilities increase.
p. 44 - www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
