Published: 20 March 2008
Funding for Telecare in Scotland
An additional £8m to develop interactive care services for vulnerable people in their own homes has been announced by the Scottish Government ( ScotGov).
Over the next two years, local health, housing and social care partnerships will benefit from extra funding to expand Telecare programmes which allow people leaving hospital to live with greater independence and safety at home.
The National Telecare Programme has already saved 1,800 hopital bed days and 6,900 care home bed days, worth nearly £3m to NHS Scotland.
In recognition of their innovative approaches to Telecare, partnerships in Highland, Inverclyde and West Lothian have received extra funding for Housing Demonstrator schemes providing a range of housing solutions for care at home.
Minister for Public Health Shona Robison will visited the Royal Northern Infirmary in Inverness to see first-hand an early discharge facility currently available in Highland.
Ahead of the visit, Ms Robison said:
"Leaving hospital care can be a difficult time. It is important to reassure people who are anxious about what lies ahead and make them feel safer and more secure.
That is why I am delighted to announce an additional £8 million for the development of Telecare services across Scotland over the next two years. These services will help support people to live independently, while providing peace of mind that help is at hand”.
Telecare covers a range of devices and services that harness developing technology and are available to people in their home to help them live with greater independence and safety.
Examples include devices that trigger a response from a call centre, such as falls monitors or motion sensors.
Responses may range from a phone call to the person, to alerting a local carer or neighbour or social service, to alerting emergency services if appropriate.
The National Telecare Programme will receive £4m in 2008-09, with a further £4m earmarked for 2009-10.
Highland, Inverclyde and West Lothian are receiving an additional £150,000 from this year's Telecare budget to run their Housing Demonstration projects.
ScotGov claims that Telecare Development Funding has been responsible for a minimum of:
· Around 1,300 additional people able to maintain themselves at home with support
· 66 delayed hospital discharges and 140 emergency hospital admissions avoided, with 1,800 hospital bed days saved
· 74 care home admissions avoided and 6,900 care home bed days saved
· 1,250 nights of sleepover care and 107,000 home check visits saved
Associated with these impacts are efficiency savings of around £2.9m.
Further information
ScotGov – Health and Community Care
Telecare – JIT (Joint Improvement Team)
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Planning for an Aging Population in Scotland
Care at Home is Cheaper
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