Agency to pilot tech scheme to help elderly residents

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Tuesday, 12 March 2019 11:38

By Carmelo Garcia - Local Democracy Reporter

A government-backed agency has chosen Herefordshire to devise and pilot a new technical solution to improve the lives of elderly residents.

The Digital Catapult will support Herefordshire Council to create a new system to detect and report falls, by using new technologies that are possible due to improved connectivity in the county.

Those backing the scheme hope the system will give elderly residents greater confidence to remain in their own homes for longer but also to assist the responsiveness of care home staff to support their elderly residents living in their care.

If successful, the system could eventually be rolled out nationally.

The Digital Catapult’s Future Networks Lab was created to support the adoption of new technologies and selected the county as the pilot area due to the extent of superfast broadband coverage that has been delivered under the council’s Fastershire broadband project.

Economy and communications cabinet member David Harlow said: “Its great recognition of Fastershire’s achievements that the Government and Digital Catapult feel confident enough to look to pilot a brand new connectivity dependent system in the county.

“With 87% superfast coverage and a new ultrafast full fibre network being deployed across the country, hopefully this is just the start of Herefordshire becoming recognised as an area able to support greater societal and economic innovation.”