As part of a commitment to adult social care, St Helens Borough Council is trialling a range of new smart assistive technologies to help support residents to live independently in their own homes for longer.

A technology-enabled hub has been created at the council’s Brookfield Support Centre to showcase some of the assistive technology to staff, partners, and residents staying at Brookfield. The support centre provides intermediate care for people who have been discharged from hospital, or admitted from the community, but are not quite ready to return to their own home.

The assistive technologies at the hub can help improve mobility and support people with dementia, as well as reduce falls and social isolation.

Equipment ranges from assistive lighting and automatic medication dispensers to one-pot kettles and self-draining sinks to help people with reduced mobility. Pillow shakers and sensors help alert to danger and prevent falls.

Smart water bottles help to increase fluid intake, and one-button computers offer a simple and safe way to communicate with loved ones to reduce social isolation.

The hub forms part of a new, award-nominated practice model that aims to put people at the centre of their care and use new and innovative ways to help people live independently at home for longer.

The ‘reablement – home first’ approach focuses on empowering individuals who may have had a spell in hospital to regain the confidence to perform everyday tasks for themselves.

Commenting on a recent visit to see the assistive technology hub at the Brookfield Support Centre, Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council Cabinet Member for Integrated Health and Social Care, said: “There are currently 38,500 older adults in St Helens Borough who are supported by the local authority everyday – whether it’s to live independently, or with dementia and long-term needs care – with around £70 million of the council’s overall budget spent on social care every year.

“To meet these challenges and the growing demand for social care as a council working with you, for you – we need to look at not only ways of modernising the service but to become more cost effective which offering this equipment to residents will achieve, while enabling them to live happier, healthier lives in their own homes which is ultimately where they want to be.”

St Helens Borough Council’s approach to AI and technology-enabled care has been shortlisted in the ‘Transforming and Innovating Public Services’ category at the iNetwork Innovation Awards.

Councillor Keith Laird, Cabinet Member for People, Performance and IT, added: “AI and assistive technology, like that on display at Brookfield, has the potential to improve lives and ease pressures on public services like Adult Social Care, for which demand is ever growing.

“Research shows that people live well for longer when they can maintain independence by living in their own home. That’s why it’s important that we explore innovative ways like the latest digital technology available to us to enable our residents to continue living independently for longer, safe in the knowledge that support is available to them when they require it.”

A digital brochure is now available on the council’s website to signpost people to equipment which they can purchase independently, with advice and support also offered to residents and families during interactions with adult social care and integrated staff.

Other councils across the UK are also trialling assistive technology to improve the quality of life for residents.

For example, Redbridge Council is leading a pilot project aimed at reducing falls among elderly residents by introducing assistive technology solutions. The local authority is partnering with Care City and working with technology suppliers to introduce fall detection and prevention technologies across care homes, extra-care facilities, and residents’ homes in collaboration with the local falls team and reablement services.