TANN: Wales

Welsh telecare consultancy and support organisation T-Cubed have announced that the Welsh Assembly Government have purchased a 12 month ‘All Wales’ subscription to their Telecare EPG online equipment prescription guidance website, launched earlier this year. This will enable all 22 local authorities in Wales, and their respective telecare service delivery partners, to benefit from access to the guidance and other related resources to help them determine the most appropriate equipment to meet the needs of their clients.

More information on the T-Cubed news item here.

Disclosure: The Telecare EPG was developed in partnership with me (KD) and members at CUHTec, University of York, and is independent of equipment providers.

The positives and negatives of ageing are to be examined in a new £3M, five-year study, looking at health & well-being including changes in memory in later life and factors which could promote ‘healthy ageing’. The project, led by Professor Bob Woods from Bangor University’s Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), will survey 5,000 people aged over 65 in Anglesey and South Gwynedd, Neath and Port Talbot.

The research will examine changing attitudes to retirement, leisure, health, activity, nutrition and exercise. Ideas on methods of care and support will also be canvassed. A university spokesman said: “As the population ages we need to be able to ensure that as many people as possible enjoy their later years, and that those who become ill, receive diagnosis of dementia or other age related mental impairment, their family and carers, are supported in the best, most cost-effective means.”

It is unclear at the moment whether the survey will consider the role that telecare and other assistive technologies could have or is already having on helping support individuals to live a healthy and more independent life in their own home whilst also offering care commissioners more cost-effective options to managing their needs.

The research project is funded by the Economic & Social Research Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

More info available here: Major five year survey to report on positives and negatives of ageing

Wales has aspired to provide free homecare services to older and disabled people for a number of years but has recognised that such a policy is likely to increase demand, and is also unaffordable. Consequently, each local authority has been free to set its own charges for services including domiciliary care, day care and meals services, with some councils imposing a maximum charge that can be levied to the 14,000 people who currently pay for the services. This charge ranges from £16.20 per week in Rhondda Cynon Taff to £200 per week in Neath Port Talbot – an amazing post code lottery.

From April 11^th, the Social Care Charges Bill (Wales) comes into force which will allow each council to charge a maximum of £50 per person per week for all community-based, non-residential social services. This will include telecare if this service is being offered as an assessed community service available only to FACS-eligible service users.  It will result in a significant loss of income to the already hard hit social services budgets but the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) will compensate the local authorities for this from a £10.1 million pot. It is unclear how this scheme will cope with further pressures caused by an ageing population with complex needs, and from people leaving private providers in order to take advantage of council provision.

It is clearly an opportunity for telecare, community equipment services and other low-tech interventions to support independence without the need for conventional support services, thus reducing demand. In particular, an early introduction of telecare into reablement services will help to reduce or delay the entry of people into long-term care. If local authorities have the vision and the resources to offer quality telecare services at an early stage then it could be a win-win situation for service users and for commissioners.

More information on this story here: Maximum £50 weekly charge for home care services in Wales.