Innovation

Background: Across the world, informal (unpaid) caregiving has become the predominant model for community care: in the UK alone, there are an estimated 6.5 million caregivers supporting family members and friends on a regular basis, saving health and social care services approximately £132 billion per year. Despite our collective reliance on this group (particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic), quality of life for caregivers is often poor and there is an urgent need for disruptive innovations.

An array of technology-based interventions has increasingly become available to support family caregivers, primarily focusing on health and well-being, social isolation, financial, and psychological support.

Introduction: Stroke causes disability that affects the life of patients, their relatives and the society in general. Global healthcare policies, suggest the sooner possible discharge of stroke patients from hospitals, but the transition to home is a stressful experience for family caregivers who are suddenly faced with the responsibility of homecare provision.

In 2012 it was estimated 800 people fell daily in the West Midlands and fall detectors were an under-used resource. A fall detector does not prevent a fall but sends an alert so that someone knows a person has fallen making a difference to living independently by restoring confidence. There is a direct correlation between recovery and how long people lie on the floor after a fall; the speedier the response, the lower the risk of hospital admission and the shorter the length of hospital stay and subsequent support requirements on discharge.