Housing & Care 21 expands digital support services across the UK
Housing provider sets new standard for retirement housing
Housing & Care 21 is setting new standards in supported housing with the expansion of digital care services in 100 of its developments in the UK.
The investment, in partnership with Appello, is part of an overall plan to deliver the best modern care and support services possible for its residents.
Following the success of the first Appello digital care system in 2015, Housing & Care 21 has committed to an extensive programme of installing digital solutions in all of its developments over the next few years.
We decided not to invest in analogue systems going forward as these are yesterday’s technology
Sixty developments are already live, with a further 40 planned for installation by April.
The retirement housing and extra care developments will all benefit from a digital call system that replaces the more-traditional analogue system.
Residents will have faster call connection times to Appello’s 24/7 emergency Careline services, reduced from around 90 seconds to four seconds on the new digital system.
Feedback from developments already in possession of the new digital systems has been positive, with 83% of residents stating that they feel greater reassurance from the reduced connection speeds.
Committed to innovation in the housing market, Housing & Care 21 has partnered with Appello to design and develop a modern tablet that replaces the traditional alarm units.
A collaborative approach has been valuable to Housing & Care 21, coupling its indepth knowledge of the trends and needs of residents with the technology design and monitoring capabilities of Appello.
This joint innovation brings many advantages to the digital system, including the improvement of social inclusion with video-enabled room-to-room calling, better security, and a less-intrusive lifestyle monitoring of residents.
Housing & Care 21 has been particularly pleased with how these benefits contribute towards its goal of providing a high-quality living experience for residents, with more than half of those surveyed saying they felt their wellbeing had improved as a result of the installation of smart living solutions.
Tony Tench, chief operating officer at Housing & Care 21, said: “Appello has provided a number of services to us for many years now, including call monitoring.
We are committed to providing a more-contemporary service, fit for modern times, and going digital allows us to look at new service models
“We are very much working in partnership with Appello and there has been a willingness on both sides to push for an appropriate digital solution to address the growing challenge of caring for older people in their homes.
“At Housing & Care 21, we decided not to invest in analogue systems going forward as these are yesterday’s technology. We are committed to providing a more-contemporary service, fit for modern times, and going digital allows us to look at new service models.
“Currently, a retirement housing environment can seem quite intrusive, especially as part of our service typically includes contacting residents to make sure they are okay.
“A digital system will allow us to provide a lifestyle monitoring arrangement where people’s normal routines are understood and supported discreetly, with an absent-until-needed service.
“In the future, we’re looking to invest more heavily in digital platforms. We’re spending more year-on-year and we have established a programme that will see around 40 new installations delivered over the next 12 months.”
Tim Barclay, chief executive at Appello, added: “Housing & Care 21 has really set a benchmark for other housing organisations, demonstrating how beneficial digitisation is for residents and for housing providers in enabling the best care and service possible.”
