Wiring Accessories
Smart solutions for assisted living
As an ageing population continues to put a strain on health and social care, Marie Parry, Group Marketing Manager for Scolmore Group, looks at the issues surrounding assisted living and the part that the electrical industry can play in providing solutions in this growing sector.
A
ccording to the Office for Budget Responsibility, by 2065, 26% of the population of England and Wales
will be more than 65 years old, up from 18% today, increasing the cost of health and social care. While our increasing longevity is something to
celebrate, the economic, social and political implications are very significant. As the population ages, the incidence of chronic disease is on the rise, in particular the prevalence of dementia. Dementia is one of the main causes of disability later in life, ahead of cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke. There are currently 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million this year. This will soar to 2 million by 2051. Because we are living longer, traditional
arrangements for supporting those with the long-term health issues that come with age are unsustainable. The construction industry has a central role to play in how we cope with this pressing issue. For example, the way we design homes now and in the future will help people with different levels of mobility and capability to remain in their homes. Current thinking is to integrate traditional building technologies with new and emerging ones. There are enormous potential benefits from using mobile devices and services that operate seamlessly with home-based solutions,
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supporting users to manage conditions inside the home. This is where the concept of assisted living comes in. Assisted living includes approaches, services, solutions, capabilities and related technologies that help elderly people and those with chronic conditions to live active, independent and dignified lives with maximum personal control
Smart homes For construction professionals, the challenge is
to integrate new and emerging technologies into the design of buildings. Buildings that manage this feat are described as 'intelligent' or 'smart'. Which technologies are used depends on the building type and function; those used in smart homes aim to enhance occupants' lifestyles or quality of life. The smart home market is undoubtedly on
the rise in the UK, with 47% of UK homeowners considering investing in smart home technology. Rapidly growing and in high demand, smart technology is becoming a common part of our everyday lives. One of the most important ways to harness the power of a connected home is to enhance assisted living. The assisted living market is estimated to be
worth £10.1 billion – a figure that not only demonstrates the size of the problem, but also the potential for the electrical contracting and wholesaling industry to work towards designing,
supplying and installing products which will facilitate the continued independence of the growing aged population. The potential for smart technology to transform assisted living is a crucial development for the care sector. The appeal of smart home technology in
assisted living is simple: elderly citizens, people with disabilities and other persons who are less able to live alone can be empowered by being given the tools to help them continue to live independently and safely. Rather than crossing a dark room to turn on a
switch for example, automated technology can be set up to trigger the coming on of lights once there is motion detected in the space. Rather than fiddling with an array of different controllers for heating, a centralised app on a smartphone or tablet can control the entire house at once. If a person suffers from Alzheimer’s or dementia, alerts can even be sent to a phone if a window is left open overnight. In this way, people are given back the ability to do simple tasks that may have become unmanageable before. Smart home technology is even able to
provide 24-hour non-invasive home monitoring, allowing the families of those needing assistance to be alerted if there is something amiss. For instance, if lights in the kitchen haven’t been triggered in over a day, a family member or carer
lContinued over September 2015 electrical wholesaler | 29
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