Telecare
Telecare technology is now delivering benefits across the public sector - and savings for the public purse of more than £38 million to date
The use of electronic devices has been helping to monitor and improve the health, safety and quality of life of often very vulnerable members of society for many decades.
Thought to have originated in Australia in the 1950s, the application of what is now generically called Telecare has enabled millions of people around the world to continue to live independently and safely at home, rather than being hospitalised or taken into care homes or other similar institutions.
An industry that began with the provision of simple pull chord devices to raise a general alarm - in the event of a fall for example - has now mushroomed with technological developments opening up a huge variety of opportunities, not only in health and social care but also by many other agencies such as the police and security services and the criminal justice system.
Telecare equipment can be broken down into four main categories – devices that help predict problems, devices that reduce the chance of problems occurring, devices that mitigate harm and devices to confirm personal safety.
Many of the most exciting applications stem from the boom in miniaturising previously large and sometimes cumbersome pieces of equipment, making them highly portable, mobile and simple to use by individuals.
This has made a huge impact in the healthcare arena, with Telehealth now a major component of Telecare. For example, the remote monitoring of pulse, heart rate, blood pressure or blood sugar levels is enabling heart disease patients to return home where they send data into hospitals and clinics.
Here it is assessed for any out of the ordinary levels. Round the clock remote monitoring enables much earlier diagnosis of problems and the instigation of the necessary action.
Meanwhile sensors in the home are now routinely used to detect a range of events such as epileptic fits, falls or when a person has not returned to their bed at night, again allowing service providers to take swift action.
Impressive savings
To assist public sector organisations to make the most of Telecare, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) established a four year Telecare framework agreement for the supply of telecare and telehealth products and services.
These EU compliant arrangements mean that public sector organisations using them save the time, money and worry associated with running their own procurements, while also enjoying the reassurance of a robust supplier selection process.
The framework provides swift and easy access to more than 2,800 products and services from 13 participating suppliers, accessible via an easy-to-use, online catalogue.
Full guidance is provided on how to use the framework agreement, including advice on how to run a further competition to drive further efficiencies and value for money, while products are independently market tested and evaluated.
As many readers will be aware, some aspects of NHS PASA’s activities have been integrated into Buying Solutions following moves by the Department of Health to promote greater procurement efficiencies and improved value for money for the public sector purse.
As part of these new arrangements management of the Telecare framework agreement has passed to Buying Solutions with the existing arrangements and terms and conditions remaining unchanged.
To date more than £80 million worth of transactions have taken place resulting in savings to UK public sector organisations of more than £36 million.
The framework agreement won the CIPS 2007 Best Public Procurement Project award, acknowledging the extensive research that had taken place to understand the market dynamics and identify new and innovative solutions.
Real benefits
Stakeholders are convinced that the framework agreement delivers real benefits for their organisations.
Said David Behan, Director General for Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships at the Department of Health: "By avoiding the need for each individual organisation to undertake a full EU tender process, we estimate that each purchasing organisation has saved up to £50,000 and between nine and 12 months of time.
“This time and money has therefore been focused, more effectively, on supporting preventative technology and the mainstreaming of telecare services."
Added Jeremy Porteus, National Network Lead at Care Services Improvement Partnership: "The Telecare framework agreement provides an excellent opportunity for local authorities, health trusts, housing associations as well as third sector organisations and their partners to rapidly deploy telecare and telehealth solutions to support people safely in the community."
Meanwhile Vance Gallagher, Telecare Project Manager at Cheshire County Council said, "Using a collective approach via the Telecare framework agreement has enabled us to reduce the time of the service implementation by avoiding the costly and time consuming route of European tendering."
For details about the Telecare framework agreement including a profile of each supplier and the range of products and services available, please follow this link or contact: