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Camden Council provides ‘help at home’ devices to vulnerable hospital leavers

05/12/22

Mark Say Managing Editor

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Two old people wearing Oysta Pearl+ devices
Image source: Oysta

Camden Council has been rolling out the use of digital devices to support vulnerable residents returning home from hospital.

It has been working with supplier Oysta to provide the Oysta Pearl+ devices linked to the IntelliCare cloud platform to about 100 residents so far who were medically fit for discharge but require further support from social services.

The council ran a 12-month pilot with 50 residents from July 2021, following which it decided to use the devices more widely.

It is now giving them to some patients leaving three NHS hospitals in its area.

Oysta Pearl+ includes a falls sensor, an SOS button linked to an alarm receiving centre, and can provide status alerts. Messages goes to Camden’s Careline, prompting responses from care teams.

The company said that residents given the device have returned home on average three days sooner than those waiting for a social care assessment, and that the pilot saved an estimated 630 bed days, equating to £252,000 in costs. The devices cost £100 each.

Returning home faster

Cllr Anna Wright, cabinet member for health, wellbeing and adult social care, said: “These ‘help at home’ devices have allowed people to return to their own homes faster, with the confidence that they have technology based support at the touch of a button.

“Using these devices, linked to our Careline team, not only provides peace of mind to the individuals and their families but allows the hospital social work teams to develop a plan to support people with what matters to them.

“But it’s more than just an alarm; our residents can talk directly to our teams through their devices, who also receive alerts in situations such as someone having a fall, allowing us to send a team around to help.”

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