technology through them like the old answering machine . If we get no voice response , we ’ ll send for emergency assistance . But if we do get a voice response and the client ’ s fine , we ’ ll just say hello , and have a chat , very social call , and then hang up and then move on .
So these are three great new solutions that we haven ’ t had access to up until the last three or four months that we ’ ve been testing them .
Besides testing out new devices and systems , what initiatives does the centre support ? The initiative is really about training . We have five different sections of the Experience Centre . One of them is training , particularly for other health professionals and other care providers . We offer workshops to other health professionals to come in and actually learn all about the different technologies that are available . And we can share our experiences with those health professionals . We can also support those companies with the technology as well . We have a very good business-to-business relationship with many small to medium-sized care providers who don ’ t have accessibility to the technology that we have available . So we will support those guys in the background to deliver this technology to their clients as well .
What drives Feros Care to explore new systems and devices ? We ’ re totally engaged with technology to support our clients moving forward .
We ’ re always looking to what our clients are going to need in the next five years . [ For example ] while we know currently about 80 per cent of our clients over the age of 75 have mobile phones , they traditionally like to text message . We know that many clients or loved ones of ours that are over 70 years of age have a smartphone . So we need to know that , moving forward in the next five years , the technology is going to change dramatically and we need to make sure the solutions we offer our clients are the solutions that best suit the clients ’ needs and that the clients are actually comfortable to use .
What future plans does Feros Care have for the hub and also in terms of its engagement with the technology more broadly ? The future plans are to continue to develop more solutions and to move into the NDIS space to support clients in disabilities , as well as ageing , because many of our technologies move across both spheres .
The education is probably one of the biggest factors that we are moving forward into , and we ’ re also moving into assistive technologies .
So that is another big part of our business where we can actually deploy assistive technologies and other smart assistive technologies . More things like the wheelie-walkers and aids . We can dispatch that nationally through our partnership throughout the country . ■
Managing incontinence in aged care
71 % of aged care clients are incontinent and numbers are set to double by 2030
Watch videos by clinical experts to help manage your clients at continencexchange . org . au / videos or call the National Continence Helpline 1800 33 00 66
Supported by funded by the Australian Government under the National Continence Program . Managed by the Continence Foundation of Australia . agedcareinsite . com . au 35