Tag Archives: Older care

Telecare aimed at families worried about elderly parents – if it works

March 5, 2013   Carers, Older care, telecare

Telecare could be the future of elderly care – if it works

A package aimed at families worried about elderly parents is being launched at a time of growing doubt about the efficacy of telehealth

elderly people

Help at Hand will soon be followed by similar services but research has suggested no benefit for telecare users. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Telecare arrives on the high street this week with the launch by O2 of a package aimed at families a bit worried about Mum or Dad. For £99 down plus £20 a month, a person gets a mobile device that connects to a 24/7 support centre, makes calls to four pre-set numbers, and sends an alert and GPS location when it thinks they may have fallen or wandered outside a programmed zone.

The launch of Help at Hand, to be followed soon by comparable products from other companies, marks a watershed in the assistive technology market. Until now, telecare has been available largely only through local councils and/or via landlines. This offers a mobile solution direct to the consumer.

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Elderly being diagnosed with ‘acopia’ a disease that does not exist

March 4, 2013   Carers, Older care

Elderly patients diagnosed with ‘acopia’ – a disease that does not exist

Elderly patients often do not receive proper treatment because they are subconsciously ‘written off’ and diagnosed with ‘acopia’, a condition that does not exist, a former Government adviser on the elderly has said.

 

Patients from the wartime generation typically do not want to “make a fuss”, he said, and so do not demand better care

10:37AM GMT 04 Mar 2013

Professor David Oliver said that subconscious ageism within the NHS often meant the elderly are not correctly diagnosed and instead sent to care homes for treatable illnesses.

One study found serious conditions such as strokes, heart disease and Parkinson’s were being missed. Patients were instead diagnosed with ‘acopia’, which only means ‘failure to cope’.

Patients from the wartime generation typically do not want to “make a fuss”, he said, and so do not demand better care.

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Scheme helps patients home from Hospital

March 3, 2013   Carers, hospital, Older care

Home from Hospital scheme helps ease patients back into everyday life

10:00am Sunday 3rd March 2013 in News

Kempton Cannon and Home from Hospital co-ordinator Sally Hinds at his Addingham bungalow Kempton Cannon and Home from Hospital co-ordinator Sally Hinds at his Addingham bungalow

For pensioner Kempton Cannon, returning to his empty house after a spell in hospital was set to be a daunting prospect.

The 90-year-old former painter and decorator, of Addingham, was anxious about how he would cope back home living alone.

But now, as a ground-breaking project expands across the whole of Bradford and Airedale for the first time, a package of help and support is available to Mr Cannon and hundreds of patients like him.

Set up a year ago, Home from Hospital is an initiative designed to ease adults of all ages safely back into everyday life after discharge from hospital.

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