£10M to develop large-scale demonstrator of telehealth in Scotland

17 Mar 2011 | News
A four year project will set up a demonstration of telehealth in action, showing how it can improve care whilst prompting the development of new markets

The Scottish government and the UK Technology Strategy Board are to jointly fund a £10M telehealth project, showing how various stands of technology can be brought together to form the basis of products and services that will make it possible for old and disabled people to live independently in their own homes.

The key objective behind the demonstrator is to help break down the barrier between new healthcare technology and its implementation and use in the public and private sectors. It will also show how cost savings could be made alongside improved public and private provision, while opening up new markets.

The Scottish Assisted Living Demonstrator is likely to be the first of a number that will be established across the UK by the Technology Strategy Board under the Dallas programme - Demonstrators of Assisted Living Lifestyles at Scale. The demonstrator will involve at least 10,000 older people and people with disabilities. This is the first joint project between the Technology Strategy Board and the Scottish Government.

Further details of the programme will be developed over the next year with the project going live from April 2012. The programme is being run through the Technology Strategy Board’s Assisted Living Innovation Platform (ALIP), which aims to advance the technology needed to meet the demand for independent living from the expected increase in the numbers of people suffering from long term conditions and age-related disability.  

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