Proactive and preventative technology enabled care (TEC) has a vital role to play in ensuring that individuals have the opportunity to enjoy the best possible quality of life in their own homes, whilst also providing support and reassurance for family, carers and friends.
Jane’s story
Jane lives in the London Borough of Sutton who operate a proactive and preventative TEC service through Medequip Connect, and for her it has been life changing. Jane lives with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition which varies significantly from person to person, and describes a problem with how the brain receives and sends information to the rest of the body. It can also involve additional symptoms like fatigue and pain.
Jane’s ongoing symptoms are many and complex. She is often non-verbal, is on occasion bed-bound and relies on a wheelchair when able to leave the house. She can suffer from full body tremors for extended periods of time, is easily fatigued and sometimes requires catheterisation when having difficulties passing urine. Speaking or concentrating for too long can provoke her condition and cause flare up episodes.
Identifying the issues
When the Medequip Connect proactive and preventative team first began monitoring Jane through their specialist ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre), she was living with her parents. Prior to moving in with parents, Jane, who is in her mid-forties, had been living independently to a certain point. Her FND had deteriorated over time and the resultant heath, safety and financial considerations meant she had moved back to live at home with her parents.
Jane’s parents, who are pensioners themselves, were providing all of Jane’s care and funding everything themselves using their pension, as they were unaware of the support they were entitled to. Initial engagement with social services led to the installation of proactive and preventative TEC in the home, which was where the Medequip Connect team first became involved. When Jane’s monitoring systems had been in place for a short period of time, the team identified a change in kettle usage through the smart plugs, which activated a welfare check. This in turn resulted in weekly welfare checks speaking mainly to Jane’s mother, as Jane was struggling with speech. Learning about Jane and the situation she was living in with her parents rang alarm bells for the wellbeing of all.
“Talking with Jane’s mother, our initial concern was that Jane had very limited support and finances, and also that her parents’ health was in danger of declining due to the stress of the situation, which would impact further upon Jane and the entire family,” said Leigh-Estelle Brown, who is the Senior Operator for Medequip Connect’s Proactive and Preventative Team at the ARC.
Signposting for practical support
The Medequip Connect team were able to signpost Jane’s parents to access Sutton Carers’ Centre to advise on Jane’s entitlement for DWP support. As a result, Jane began to receive Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in her own right, helping her to be more independent and relieving the financial strain on her parents.
The team also signposted Jane for a blue disability badge, which proved invaluable when she was taken out for appointments or recreational activities, so important for her mental health. It also helps her to attend appointments without experiencing transport and parking issues, keeping her treatment and health on track.
Improving quality of life for all
Staying in close contact with the family through welfare checks, the Medequip Connect team was alerted to raise points of concern regarding Jane living in a ‘microenvironment’ due to her parents not being able to consistently help her down the stairs unaided. The case was escalated for social services engagement to assess the potential for Jane to move to her own flat with appropriate proactive and preventative TEC in place supported by daily care visits.
Building on the relationship established between the team and Jane’s family, they were able to provide reassurance regarding the Medequip Connect service and how this would continue to work when Jane lived more independently, according to her expressed wishes. Helping Jane to have her own space, the Medequip Connect team supported the family every step of the way, working to relieve her parents’ concerns and anxieties to move Jane forward.
Just a year after the first contact with Medequip Connect, Jane now lives in her own flat with appropriate ADL equipment in place, which helps her stay as independent as possible whilst keeping her parents fully in the loop, giving them peace of mind.
A detailed Occupational Therapist investigation means Jane has been prescribed the equipment she needs to help her around the property, keeping her independent and also helping others to assist her when she is unable to do so herself. She now has carers calling four times a day, which has removed the strain of her ongoing physical care from her parents. This supports their continued health and wellbeing and enables them to spend quality time Jane and be available for her without additional stress.
Jane’s support
For Jane, proactive and preventative TEC installed includes a smart plug on her bedroom TV and motion sensors in her bedroom and hallway. These feed back to the Medequip Connect ARC, using advanced AI to detect any changes in habits and alert to changes in her condition, monitoring that Jane’s movements are normal, flagging up any alterations in patterns of locomotion.
With FND, people can and do have sudden changes in mobility. Jane has had occasion to press her alarm on a couple of occasions, and Medequip Connect’s responder service has attended to support, with full and detailed knowledge of her condition and the challenges she faces. Regular welfare checks by the team with Jane and her parents provide added reassurance for the family.
Going forward
The Medequip Connect team continues to pay attention to how the lives of those they support are evolving, going forward. “Great cooperation with Jane’s family has helped us to secure a successful and practical solution for all. Jane has her independence, her parents are closely involved and now have the opportunity to enjoy contact with their daughter without financial and emotional stress,” stated Leigh-Estelle. ”In addition, Jane has two children, one of whom is autistic and a daughter who is pregnant; we have been able to signpost the family for additional support there too to avoid this impacting upon Jane’s own health and finances.”