New SMART house demonstrates latest technology

An exciting new SMART house which has been fitted out to demonstrate how modern technology can be used to help older people and those with disabilities to live in their own homes will be officially opened at a special ceremony at Tremorvah Industries on Thursday (February 7).

June Hackett, Chair of the county's Wheelchair Users Group, will perform the opening ceremony which will also be attended by Richard Glanville, Acting General Manager of Tremorvah Industries, and Trevor Drage, Preventative Technology Project Manager, who designed the new £50,000 SMART house.

Also attending the event will be staff from Tremorvah Industries, County Councillors and representatives of the County Council's Department of Adult Social Care, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust, Cornwall Partnership Trust and the Supporting People service.

The SMART house has been designed as a mock up of a normal house, with a lounge, a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.

Aimed as a training and awareness raising facility for health and social care staff, carers and service users, the house has been fitted with examples of the latest assistive technology currently in use in the county.

This ranges from simple devices which enable an individual to turn on a tap to more complicated systems which can control door entry and windows or activate lights, pagers and alarms.

"Assistive technology is a product or service designed to enable independence for older or disabled people," said Richard Glanville, Acting General Manager of Tremorvah Industries.

"The SMART house contains a wide range of equipment, including push button pendants which raise an alarm via a local monitoring centre or activate a pager if someone falls.

“It has also been fitted with specially designed equipment which sounds an alarm if someone gets out of bed and does not return within a pre-determined time or if they leave the house within certain times of the day."

"Other innovations include motion sensors which can turn on lights and equipment which can activate a voice message to warn the occupant that they are approaching a potential hazard or to remind them they need to do something."

The SMART house is one of the latest innovations at Tremorvah Industries, which is run by the County Council's Department of Adult Social Care.

As well as providing Assistive Technology equipment, the countywide facility also supplies a wide range of mobility equipment, including stairlifts, wheelchairs, platform lifts, electric wheelchairs, bathroom and kitchen aids and electric scooters.

Following the official opening staff from Tremorvah Industries will be staging a series of training sessions to demonstrate how the equipment can be used.

Nigel Walker, the Executive Member for Adults, said: " I urge everyone, whether or not they have a disability, to visit the SMART house.

“It is a real eye-opener into what is both available and affordable to make life both easier and safer.”

"These practical uses of technology are accessible, practical and, most important, reliable. They will provide peace of mind not just to the service users, but o those who care for them, whether in a professional or personal capacity.

"And this is just the beginning. In Cornwall we have been chosen to pilot the evaluation of an advanced assistive technology, including telecare and telehealth, initiative.

“We need to link Smart House and other health-monitoring technologies to show how we can make far better and more productive use of professional time and expertise in supporting people to continue to live safely at home, rather than have to move into residential care.”