Welcome to our bionic home

Failing health and acute care needs mean many older people need looking after away from home. But now, thanks to the availability of sophisticated technology, people can continue to live in the comfort of their own homes.

Jennifer Hollamby discovered what is on offer.

AT first the Matthews’ home looks like any other house.

Tucked away, close to the vast new Tesco in Greenacres, it’s a neat little First Choice Homes property with little to set it apart from the surrounding houses.

But step over the threshold and look around and it’s clear that this is plain old bricks and mortar kitted out with some of the most sophisticated technology around.

Welcome to the bionic home.

At 62, Wilf Matthews has a heart condition and extensive arthritis, which means he is not too steady on his pins. But the outlook is anything but gloomy for this former dustbin man.
Wilf makes good use of the pendant, a button he keeps around his neck, which connects him to a 24-hour First Choice Homes (FCHO) helpline with one touch.

If Wilf is in trouble and his wife Janet is not around, a reassuring voice will boom out of his intercom and check that he’s OK.

If not, the helpline worker will contact the Adult and Community Services rapid response teams who will head straight for Wilf’s house.

This is Wilf’s particular lifeline, but the technology raises its game as individual clients develop greater needs.

One of the gadgets available is a fall detector, which can be worn around the neck or attached to the clients’ waistband and detects changes in their position which suggest they have taken a tumble and duly alerts emergency response teams.

Wilf said: “The equipment we use is an absolute lifeline for us.” And it’s small wonder Wilf and Janet are impressed.

Before homes like Janet and Wilf’s began to resemble something from the world of science fiction, older people had to rely on an army of carers or move away from their family and friends to be looked after.

But the Government has now woken up to the emotional upheaval and huge costs involved in such outmoded schemes and has embraced the very 21st century concept of helping people to stay in their homes for as long as possible.

Other equipment includes hi-tech bed mats which are connected to a timer and will detect if someone has been out of bed for a certain amount of time, or can go off straight away if somebody could put themselves in danger while they are out of bed.

Also available are flood detectors, for someone who might leave a tap on, and pill reminders, which remind clients to take their medication.

Clients can also make use of a bogus caller button if they suspect there is a trickster at the door.

John Holland, who manages these types of assistive technologies for the council, said: “Alarms will go through to a helpline first and they might either ring the rapid response team, or can it just go through to a mobile phone of a close family member, depending on which support system the client has opted for.”

And the marvels of technology don’t end there. Wilf and Janet’s home has window sensors, which will alert them immediately if someone tries to enter the house.

Janet said: “Before we got these sensors fitted to the windows, we were robbed. It was a terrifying experience. These new security features have given us piece of mind.”

And while the home looks cosy and neat inside, in actual fact it’s more like a tough bunker.

“I can switch the window sensors off if I’m going to clean the windows but I always put them back on again afterwards.” said Janet.

“If someone touches the windows a really loud alarm goes off and we also have a sensor in our bedroom which shows us exactly which window in the house they have tried, so we know where they are.”

And security comes right to the heart of the couple’s bedroom, when their television doubles up as a CCTV.

“If there’s someone skulking around outside, we can switch the TV on and it will show us what’s happening.” said Wilf.

“It’s usually just our cat mooching about, but having it there makes us feel 100 per cent secure and content.”


How you can get help

Anyone with a need can qualify for these types of technologies and people can refer themselves. It costs £18 for a one off installation and £1.35 a week monitoring charge. A response charge will be brought in after the New Year.

Anyone who would like to find out more can phone 0161-628 5384. People can also take a look at the equipment available between 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday in the Link Centre, Union Street.


Doctor links via webcam

NEW systems which link patients up to a nurse or GP via a webcam in their home, so they don’t have to leave the house, could be up and running by early 2010. Equipment fitted into their home will allow them to measure things like their blood pressure and relay the results back to the surgery.