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In a bid to help prevent hospital admissions and shorten hospital stays, NHS organisations and local authority providers are working together in South West England to provide assistive technology to residents.

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB); Sirona care & health; North Bristol NHS Trust; University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust; and local authority providers are using technology-enabled care (TEC) to enable more people to live safely and independently at home.

The devices provided to people include pendants and pagers to alert others immediately if someone needs help; special plugs to prevent baths overflowing or being too hot; clocks and gadgets that remind people to take medicine or have a drink to prevent someone getting dizzy, dehydrated, or confused; and voice-controlled speakers and screens that let someone control their environment and speak to friends and family.

The collaborative effort has established a consistent approach to TEC referrals. When a patient is successfully referred for TEC, it is installed in the person’s home within 48 hours. This streamlined process helps patients get home sooner, where they are likely to recover more quickly, and frees up a hospital bed for someone who needs it.

Samuel Jeynes, Digital Project Manager at BNSSG ICB, said: “Introducing a consistent process across all trusts and areas across BNSSG has meant that many more people are now benefitting from what has previously been available but not universally accessible. The project has removed barriers and inconsistencies from previous processes, making it easier for staff to enable successful TEC referrals.”

Since introducing the pilot on four wards at the Bristol Royal Infirmary in April 2023, and rolling it out more widely in 2024, over 500 successful referrals for TEC have been made across BNSSG.

Cathy Daffada, Associate Director for Integrated Discharge at North Bristol NHS Trust, commented: “Since rolling this pilot out at Southmead Hospital in Autumn 2024, we have made around 100 successful referrals for TEC. I am delighted to see this initiative is already benefiting so many patients, helping people get home sooner and enabling faster recovery in the community.”

According to the partnership, TEC provision, either on its own or as part of a wider package of care, helps people live independently for longer within their own communities. TEC helps get patients home when they no longer need hospital care, which frees up hospital beds and, in most cases, helps patients recover more quickly.

Kathleen James, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist for Care of the Elderly and Frailty, shared how the assistive technology is benefiting patients.

She explained: “The TEC project has increased staff’s knowledge and awareness to the many benefits that TEC offers with supporting our patients home, where we know they recover best. We now have a streamlined referral process in which staff, patients and their relatives have increased confidence that they can be helped to live independently at home and are supported to leave hospital.”

Sirona care & health’s Assistive Technology Service receives all the referrals across BNSSG. The team then visits people who have been referred to discuss and install the technology, which supports them on their return home from hospital.

Shania Uzzell, Assistive Technology Service Lead for Sirona, said: “We have seen firsthand how the technology can benefit individuals by increasing their safety and confidence in being at home. It also provides comfort to families knowing they can call for help if they need it.

“We also provide awareness sessions within hospitals so staff know about the technology and how it can support people to return home sooner. We hope more and more people will be referred into the service so they can live independently in their home for longer.”

The lessons learned from this work will be used in partnership with the ICB to develop a better understanding of how TEC can continue to be used more widely and proactively across the BNSSG.

A previous report from the TSA and PA Consulting discovered that 97 percent of adult social care leaders agree that TEC is an important way to respond to “the tidal wave of demand and complexity” they face, but that  80 percent say building a case for investment to achieve their goals remains a key challenge.

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