Individualised telecare and electronic assistive technologies to support vulnerable people

Telecare services are now available across the UK but few have the technical expertise necessary to prescribe and provide the bespoke solutions that may be required to support more complex cases. This paper describes a range of innovative approaches to extending the application of existing telecare systems to cater for the needs of people facing different physical or cognitive challenges. They include new, easy‐to‐operate alarm switches, interfaces for bed/chair occupancy and property exit alarms, and a range of hybrid arrangements that can result in automatic alarms for the management of various environmental emergencies. Examples are provided for hypothermia, hyperthermia, poor air quality and noise alarms.