Care Technology Service reaches significant milestone

The Care Technology Service has welcomed its 10,000th user and has saved millions.

Essex County Council’s Care Technology service has reached its 10,000th user since its launch in 2021. The service helps people in the county live safely and independently through the use of care technology.

This technology mainly includes monitoring and alert equipment like alarm systems, medication dispensers and GPS location trackers. It offers residents receiving care, their carers, family and friends the reassurance that help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Since its launch, the service has made total savings of almost £31 million. The monitoring and response service has attended 4,089 response visits and helped 1,995 people who have fallen. It has also avoided further costs and pressures to the NHS and hospital, by preventing ambulance call outs and hospital stays.

The technology can be a lifeline for many, one resident that uses the service said: “It’s boosted my confidence right up, before I was too frightened. I lived three months in bed. I was too frightened to get out of bed because I was frightened of having a fall but now I don’t worry about it because I get out and can get about and live normally again.”

At present 1,892 care professionals, within and outside of the council have been trained to prescribe care technology across Essex.

Councillor John Spence, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said: “Our mission is to enable people to live the most fulfilling lives they can. Through the use of this technology, we are assisting older and frailer residents to stay in their own homes while also ensuring that their carers and loved ones are more comfortable with them doing so. Our ambition is to continue progressing this work, to reach as many people as possible.”