There has been a lot of doom and gloom in the news recently about the strain hospitals are facing. Waiting times in A&E are the longest they have been in a decade (read more at BBC news.). The UK has an increasingly ageing population which require more hospital visits and longer stays in hospital beds.
Bed-blocking, where patients are unable to leave hospital due to social care costs or a lack of organised care despite being medically cleared, continues to be a problem across the country.
In June 2017 is was revealed that bed-blocking had risen by 52% in three years. Statistics from the report included:
- Patients in England experience around 177,000 days worth of delays – effecting more than 5900 beds a day in April 2017.
- The tally of total delayed days had risen from 116,261 in April 2014 to 177,137 three years later.
- Estimated actual beds blocked rose from 3,875 a day in April 2014 to 5,905 in April this year.
According to the report 36% of all social care-related delays in April, or 23,900 days-worth, were linked to patients lacking a home care plan.
Here at Lifeline24 we believe that the application of a Personal Alarm for the elderly will be part of the solution to this growing problem.
Personal Alarms for the Elderly
One increasingly popular method of keeping people out of hospital and in the comfort of their own homes is the Lifeline Alarm system. The system works through personal alarms for the elderly or disabled, usually a lifeline pendant worn around the neck or wrist.
If they need medical assistance they can press the red button on their pendant and know that help is on its way. Pressing the help button will send an alert to our 24/7 Care Team who will be able to call for help, either by phoning the user's emergency contacts or the emergency services.
This means that the alarm user can remain independent at home, safe in the knowledge that our Care Team are there to answer their distress call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Relieving the Strain on Hospitals
Many of our customers buy their alarm from us after coming out of hospital after a fall or health problem. Our personal alarms for the elderly often help them stay out of hospital in the long term, which is both good for them and good for hospitals.
Lifeline Alarms are already helping 1.7 million people stay safe at home and they can do the same for you or your loved one. The Lifeline Alarm is quick and easy to install and is simple for our customers to use.
To order your personal alarm for the elderly you can either visit our website, or call us for free on 0800 999 0400. A member of our customer services team will be happy to help with any questions you may have.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in January 2015 and has been updated to include up-to-date facts regarding current NHS issues.
