How is the Technology Obtained?
In general obtaining the best Assitive and Telecare Technology is not as simple as shopping on the high street or Internet. However, if a person can identify the technology that meets their need then it can be, but this rarely happens. Why? Because in most cases there is one or more of the following problems: lack of awareness of available technology; difficulties in choosing the best technology when presented with a choice; the technology is expensive; difficulty reaching experts who can effectively help make the choice and advise on good use of the technologies; or, that apparently there is no available technology that meets the need.
In this section of the ACT website we aim to tell you about how purchase of AT can be funded, how you can get help with choosing equipment, who are the local agencies in council, NHS and commercial services active in South Yorkshire.
TELECARE
Telecare does not only consist of the devices put into a person's home. It requires a monitoring centre or service to receive alert calls from the service user and somebody to respond to the service user in need of assistance.
If the person in need of telecare is living in their own home in the community or in supported housing schemes (sheltered or extra care housing) they may be able to have telecare provided. You should contact your local authority to see if they can provide the telecare, if not, in 2007 it is likely that the only other choice is private purchase.
Local authority & Housing Providers:
Currently, most local authorities offer a basic level telecare service, which is a community alarm system. A person is normally supplied with a pendant button and alarm unit. When the pendant is pressed, it automatically connects to a call monitoring centre. A member of staff can then talk and listen to the person at home through the alarm unit.
Although, policies differ between local authorities, there is normally a small weekly charge for this service (between £2.50-£4 in South Yorkshire) and in most cases there is no charge for the installation of the equipment. The weekly charge generally covers the alert monitoring and call out visits. Each local authority has different rules about who they will supply and how much they charge. Contact your local community alarm service for more details (see below).
People may be eligible for funding to get a community alarm system free of charge, through the Fair Access to Care System (FACS). If you think you or someone you look after may need support to live at home, you may ask your local authority to visit you/them to assess your/their needs as part of a Community Care Assessment. A trained member of staff will come to talk about any difficulties or problems you/they may be experiencing to identify your/their care needs.
Local authorities in South Yorkshire are in the process of developing more advanced telecare services, which includes other types of products described on this website (such as fall detectors, flood detectors, health monitoring etc). However, these types of services are not yet widely available in South Yorkshire. There are increasing number of examples around the UK where more advanced telecare services are being offered. Please contact your local authority to see what is available to you in your area.
Private Purchase
Most people will receive telecare through their local authority. However, telecare services can be purchased privately. Telecare companies provide pendant and alarm unit systems and offer different types of telecare products and monitoring services. Some offer their own monitoring service while others do not, in which case they will advise you to contact your local authority. For more information on privately purchasing telecare, details of some companies are provided below.
Local Authority Contacts (South Yorkshire)
Sheffield City Council: City Wide Alarms
0800 203 0983
Doncaster MBC Community Alarm Service
01302 736000
Barnsley MBC Central Call
01226 775671
Rotherham MBC RotherCare
01709 371897
Telecare Company Contacts
Tunstall Group Ltd
http://www.tunstall.co.uk/4_3individualhomes.htm
01977 660479
Initial Attendo
http://www.initialattendo.co.uk/
01254 688688
Tynetec
http://www.tynetec.co.uk/index.html
01670 352371
Funding
Fair Access to Care (contact local authority)
User Organisations/Charities
Help the Aged [http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/]
Age Concern [http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/] provide a fact sheet: Disability equipment and how to get it' [link: http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/fs42.asp]
Disabled Living Foundation [http://www.dlf.org.uk/]
Ricability [http://www.ricability.org.uk/] is an independent research charity which provides information on community alarms Scope [link: http://www.scope.org.uk/]
Local authority contacts (South Yorkshire)
Sheffield City Council: City Wide Alarms
0800 203 0983
Doncaster MBC Community Alarm Service
01302 736000
01226 775671
01709 371897
Assessment Information
Currently there are no standard procedures when it comes to being assessed for telecare. Your local authority may identify telecare products which may be suitable for your individual needs based on a Community Care Assessment or referral from a social worker, Occupational Therapist or GP.
Commercial/Product Links
Day to Day Living Products
Initial Attendo - http://www.initialcommunitycare.co.uk/
Tunstall Group Ltd - http://www.tunstall.co.uk/
Just Checking Ltd - http://www.justchecking.co.uk/
British Telecom - http://www.bt.com/homemonitoring
Alertacall - http://www.alertacall.com/
Easylink UK - http://www.easylinkuk.co.uk/
Living Independently QuietCare - http://www.quietcaresystems.co.uk/
Tynetec Ltd - http://www.tynetec.co.uk/
Cirrus Communications Systems - http://www.cirruscom.co.uk/
Viewpoint Connections Ltd - http://www.viewpoint-connections.com/
ECLIPSE NURSECALL SYSTEMS LIMITED - http://www.nursecall.co.uk/
Falls Products
Initial Attendo - http://www.initialcommunitycare.co.uk/
Tunstall Group Ltd - http://www.tunstall.co.uk/
Easylink UK - http://www.easylinkuk.co.uk/
Tynetec Ltd - http://www.tynetec.co.uk/
Vivatec Ltd - http://www.vivatec.co.uk/
Getting Help in an Emergency Products
Aid Call - http://www.aidcall.co.uk/
Initial Attendo - http://www.initialcommunitycare.co.uk/
Tunstall Group Ltd - http://www.tunstall.co.uk/
British Telecom - http://www.bt.com/homemonitoring
Easylink UK - http://www.easylinkuk.co.uk/
Tynetec Ltd - http://www.tynetec.co.uk/
Cirrus Communications Systems - http://www.cirruscom.co.uk/
Network Communication Systems Limited - http://www.nsgroup.co.uk/
ECLIPSE NURSECALL SYSTEMS LIMITED - http://www.nursecall.co.uk/
Home Safety Products
Initial Attendo - http://www.initialcommunitycare.co.uk/
Fireco - http://www.firecoltd.com/
Tunstall Group Ltd - http://www.tunstall.co.uk/
British Telecom - http://www.bt.com/homemonitoring
Easylink UK - http://www.easylinkuk.co.uk/
Tynetec Ltd - http://www.tynetec.co.uk/
Vivatec Ltd - http://www.vivatec.co.uk/
Cirrus Communications Systems - http://www.cirruscom.co.uk/
Monitoring my Health Products
Initial Attendo - http://www.initialcommunitycare.co.uk/
Tunstall Group Ltd - http://www.tunstall.co.uk/
Easylink UK - http://www.easylinkuk.co.uk/
Tynetec Ltd - http://www.tynetec.co.uk/
Vivatec Ltd - http://www.vivatec.co.uk/
Cirrus Communications Systems - http://www.cirruscom.co.uk/
A&D Instruments, Ltd. - http://www.aandd.net/
Products for Care Providers
Supplier(s) Website
Aid Call - http://www.aidcall.co.uk/
Initial Attendo - http://www.initialcommunitycare.co.uk/
Silent Alert - http://www.silent-alert.co.uk/
Tunstall Group Ltd - http://www.tunstall.co.uk/
Easylink UK - http://www.easylinkuk.co.uk/
Tynetec Ltd - http://www.tynetec.co.uk/
Eclipse Nursecall Systems Ltd - http://www.nursecall.co.uk/
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Obtaining Assistive Technology(AT) depends on many things, access to professional help, your age, available finances, the type of technology needed, the cost of the needed technology and to some degree the diagnosed health condition. For AT as a whole the situation is complicated to describe; although for some specific technologies and health or social situations it can be quite straightforward. The following is mainly intended for people who have not already been referred by health or social care workers for AT.
Because AT is seen as providing both health and social care benefits historically both care sectors are involved in providing AT to meet identified needs. Even so private purchase of AT is quite common where an individual identifies a need and some technology that meets that need - and of course where they can readily afford the technology. A recently growing example of largely private AT purchases has been mobility scooters.
Finance
One key aspect of obtaining AT is who is going to pay for it? The possibilities are local authorities (social care), health care trusts, charitable organisations, insurance or of course the person or their family themselves. Some information on finance may be found from the useful links pages of our website. Which ever source it is, justifying the purchase will happen and typically the justification will be as big as its relative cost. Except when the person or family themselves are paying, justifying the purchase will generally be documented and involve various amounts of work and professionals to reach the goal of obtaining the AT.
Back to assistive technology ^^
The journey to obtaining AT
The process of successfully obtaining AT in all cases will follow the following route:
An individual or one of their carers realises
that technology might help with a task
↓
They look for possible technology and/or help
↓
They find some AT that meets the need and
that can be afforded
↓
They get and use the AT
↓
As time goes by they check that the AT is still
working and useful (aiming to replace it if it is not)
AT care professionals believe for most AT it is essential to make an informed choice. Making a purchase of AT without could be harmful, e.g. if some walking exercise is useful for the health of an individual a mobility scooter may not be the best idea and at least using it only for longer journeys may be a sensible idea. The opposite is also possible, that is, a new and often to be repeated physical movement could be harmful to an individual after a while. AT care professionals have experience in recommending AT and avoiding harmful consequences and so someone who needs AT should seek help. Today care professionals do not tell a client what they must have, but what their choices and any consequences are (but what can be afforded can of course limit choice). If you wish to know more about good assessment see AT Assessments.
Good commercial suppliers of AT will also have a similar approach to health and social AT care professionals. The former tend to have better knowledge of their products, while the latter groups tend to have better knowledge of choices and health and social care consequences. While all these people are generally much better informed about AT than the average new client, it is not guaranteed that particular individuals offering AT services will know all possible choices, so some investigation of what your choices are can be worthwhile.
Back to assistive technology ^^
How does someone get professional help?
Some groups of people will routinely be referred to AT care professionals. For example: children born with disabilities; people who become severely disabled through injury; people who become registered partially sighted or blind through eye disease; elderly people who loose mobility through stroke or heart disease. Most care professionals called ‘Therapists' and some staff in Special needs schools have at least limited knowledge of AT, but will be able to make a referral for AT provision. But if someone has not been referred by the system then how do they get help from the AT professionals?
The two most obvious places to start for people not at school are GPs and Social Services. GPs are likely to refer potential AT users to Occupational Therapy or, if there is one, to a Rehabilitation department, in their local hospital. People with specific disabilities such as communication may be referred directly to a Speech & Language Therapist. However the GP may be aware of social service provision of AT in which case it may be suggested that the person should approach their local Social Services.
Recently community health and social care agencies - i.e. councils and primary care trusts - have been given a greater obligation to work together to provide better support for people with disabilities. Because it's still relatively new each council and primary care trust pair in a locality have established their own way of providing this support and service. So individuals would have to look at their web sites, information resources or indeed approach the local social services to find out what the situation is. Some patience and persistence may be required. And if the needed help isn't available locally, there may be the possibility to get referrals made to agencies outside of the local area.
The Barnsley AT service is already available across the Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham areas in South Yorkshire. Referrals from outside these areas can be made to the service, although the issue of finance of the work to be done will be an issue.
For school age children and young adults special needs school staff will be the lead worker, and in many cases the advocate, for acquiring AT for individual people. However their aim is to ensure sufficient AT to enable the pupil to take part in education - e.g. this can include use of computers and other ICT, mobility and communication. Pupil's needs that are purely domestic - like being able to open and close doors, windows, curtains, etc. are outside their scope.
To date older people, i.e. over 50's, living in the community and slowly acquiring disabilities are largely not reached by electronic AT services. This is partly a failure of all those involved to face the need. With central government's drive to meet future needs from future resources more use needs to be made of AT to enable more older people to stay in their own homes longer. Provision of Telecare alone will not be as successful as combined ATT. Hopefully this will focus minds and efforts to meet the former aspirations.