practical living
that peace of mind and allows them to see
which residents they need to be seeing
more often. If somebody’s more prone
to falling, they can track that resident in
real time and see if they’re up and about
and moving around or if they’re safe in
their bed. It will send a notice immediately
that a resident has stepped out of bed,
particularly at night, if that resident is at
a high risk of falling. The technology’s
flexible in terms of what alerts you can set
up. Each room can be set up individually,
depending on each resident’s needs.
AW: The other benefit is that is gives us
the ability to look retrospectively if there
has been a fall. We’re able to log on to
the system and have a look at what was
happening prior to the fall.
The idea behind that is that we can get a
better idea of what happens for particular
people [in the lead up] to their fall. Are
there particular things that they happen
to do? Do they move in a particular
direction? All of those kinds of things we
might be able to use to predict falls in the
future, and therefore provide better care
for that person.
What role will staff play in relation to this
technology and how else could it affect
their day-to-day work?
AW: We’re taking the most collaborative
approach we can. We’re well aware that
it’s our staff who will be in control of
this technology and making sure that
it’s successful. We’re starting regular
attendances at the aged-care home where
we will be rolling out the technology,
and working with staff to identify where
it might fit within their day-to-day work.
[We’re learning] what kinds of issues they
might have in using it, and hearing their
feedback in terms of how we can make the
technology most effective in terms of the
day-to-day care. It’s a real opportunity to
bridge some of that gap between research
and practice by going with staff on that
journe