TELEHEALTH
AS FAR BACK AS 2013, PRESCRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE STATED THAT ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY, ROBOTIC DISPENSING AND TELEHEALTH WOULD NEED TO BE HARNESSED TO CONTRIBUTE TO A HEALTH SERVICE FIT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. NOW, A FANTASTIC NEW TELEHEALTH INITIATIVE IS HELPING TO CONNECT OLDER PEOPLE IN SOUTH LANARKSHIRE - AND BRINGING FUN INTO THEIR LIVES!
VIDEO CONFERENCING BUILDING COMMUNITIES
T
here’s no doubt that the Scottish Government has been extremely supportive of technologies for
home-based care. In fact, thanks to the work of organisations such as NHS24 and the Scottish Centre for Telehealth and Telecare, Scotland already has a high degree of expertise in this area.
Now, thanks to a great new initiative that’s part of South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s Building and Celebrating Communities (BCC) programme, people in their golden years are revelling in the magic of the silver screen - as it forges vibrant, virtual communities across South Lanarkshire.
BCC is focussed on empowering and helping, where necessary, communities build on their strengths, create connections and interdependencies through telehealth facilities such as video conferencing.
The latest video conferencing technology is being used as part of an initiative at some local authority and independent sector care homes across the area with residents linking in with each other for online get-togethers, ranging from sing-alongs to group exercise.
The work is paving the way for virtual clinical consultations and support between residents and services like Dietetics, Pharmacy, Out-of-hours and Community Mental Health teams.
Yet for most, who grew up without television, the cutting edge
developments are bringing a sense of togetherness and fun into their lives - reminiscent of simpler times.
‘I come from a generation where families would gather round in living rooms for a chat and perhaps a song before television was so accessible,’ said Ian MacFarlane (74), a resident of Kirkton House Care Home in Blantyre. ‘The widespread availability of TVs has often being blamed over the years for the loss of that golden age. But that all seems to have come full circle - it’s the screen that’s bringing folk back together again. It’s just magnificent!’
Eight care homes across North and South Lanarkshire were linked up recently for a group sing-along and chair-based exercises, led by a fitness expert from South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture. The live activity link was broadcast on big screens or tablets.
The group session, involving 93 residents, 33 staff members and one relative, follows on from other similar live links - and has further whetted the appetite of residents.
‘I enjoy being in Kirkton as there is a sense of community here,’ added Ian. ‘But being connected to each other and seeing other folk in a similar setting is great. It’s reaffirming in a way and we feel part of a wider network thanks to the screens.
‘There’s some great banter developing between homes and there’s even a chap in this home who plays the mouthorgan. He ‘duels’ and plays along with a resident from another
Pictured in the screen are residents Cathy Young and Gordon Burleigh (right and left) with South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership Director of Health and Social Care, Val de Souza (centre)
Blantyre’s Kirkton House Care Home residents Ian MacFarlane and Betty Grenfell (top row far left and right) are joined by Telehealth Assistant Amy Burns as they are linked up to Rutherglen’s David Walker Gardens.
home - all via the video link. It’s great to see.’
‘Recently we’ve been singing I belong to Glasgow and Flower of Scotland along with other homes,’ added Betty Grenfell, who is also a resident of Kirkton. ‘It’s really exciting when we link up.’
The programme is led by NHS Lanarkshire’s Telehealth team in conjunction with a variety of partners including Technology Enabled Care, South and North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnerships and Scottish Care.
‘The initiative is at its early stages,’ said NHS Lanarkshire’s Telehealth Manager, Morag Hearty, ‘but the results we’re seeing now bode extremely well. As well as aiding staff training and inter-home communications, one of the wider aims is to really establish the links between homes and clinical supports. From some of the work we’ve carried out so far, as with other established areas of telehealth, we know benefits include ease of accessibility and helping residents maintain their own independence without having to leave their homely
setting for routines checks, where safe and appropriate.
‘The value of the other activities should not be underestimated, however. By linking up the care homes and creating these wider, virtual communities the technology is allowing people to remain connected and even forge new relationships.’
‘The ground-breaking work being carried out via Telehealth and in South Lanarkshire’s eight care homes bodes well for the future of care and support,’ says Val de Souza, Director of Health and Social Care at SLH&SCP. ‘But this work is clearly paying dividends here and now - allowing the strong sense of community that already exists within our care homes to flourish, expand and interconnect. This also clearly demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that the care we provide is not only woven into the very fabric of community life, wherever possible, but also enables that very sense of connection and community to grow in its own terms and pace.’ •
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