Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Alexa: help us look after our elderly better, please
HI-TECH health equipment designed to ensure Premier League footballers are properly hydrated could be trialled in West care homes.
North Somerset Council is looking at a range of tech solutions to improve care - including Amazon’s Alexa devices and kit once considered by pub giant Wetherspoons to let it know when a thirsty punter’s glass needs refilling.
The authority is investigating uses of new assistive technology, to cope with the continued staffing squeeze the sector faces.
Amazon’s Alexa devices are being piloted in the Tamar Court home in Worle, near Weston-super-Mare.
Gerald Hunt, the council’s head of commissioning, said the technology could improve the health and wellbeing of elderly residents and allow care to be more responsive to individual needs.
He said: “Demographics are changing. Unless care is delivered differently, we won’t have enough people to deliver it.
“We could use Alexa to remind residents to take their medication, or programme it to say ‘it’s 21 degrees outside, make sure you have enough to drink’.
“Alexa listens but we’re also looking at some American technology that will prompt a conversation, ask how you feel.
“We might be able to prioritise visits by carers differently, so Mrs Bloggs might be able to have three visits instead of four one day if she’s well, or she could have more visits the next day. We’re also putting in a bid to NHS England so we can monitor the hydration and nutrition of care home residents.”
He said that same technology was used by elite athletes, including Manchester City FC players - and it could expose bad practice, for example if care home staff give residents too little to drink so they do not have to take them to the toilet.
Mr Hunt said a study in Kent found residents were 80 per cent less hydrated than the wider population.
He added: “We are looking at some quite transformational changes. We may be an enterprise partner for some of these companies.
“We’re exploring ideas. They won’t all work. These are pilot schemes.
“I think we’ve found a unique selling point in the way we coordinate these services.”
The technology could be used in care homes or in people’s houses if they receive domicillary care.
Speaking at a meeting of North Somerset Council’s adult services and housing policy and scrutiny panel on Thursday, Councillor Reyna Knight said: “Alexa is almost like a companion. It responds to the voice. I think the social care team have done a marvellous job. North Somerset is at the forefront of this investment.”