David Bain thanking Linda Sheldon
At our meeting on 12/02 Linda Sheldon brought us up to date with the latest developments in medical alarms. In particular she addressed her work with Freedom Alarms and their joint venture partners Wellington Free Ambulance and HHL.
Linda has worked in many health care roles over the years but loves working liaising with customers for Freedom Alarms. Wellington Free Ambulance is the largest free to patient ambulance service in the Southern Hemisphere and the joint venture partnership provides significant benefits to Freedom Alarm users. The service is primarily aimed at providing a rapid medical response to people with a diagnosed need. Freedom alarms receives referrals from GPs and other health professionals. Users have a wide age range, the alarm is based purely on the level of disability.
Freedom alarms has approximately 3000 clients in the Wellington and Wairarapa areas. There are approximately 2000 alarm activations per year, with around half treated at home and half at hospital.
There are many benefits to using an alarm both to the user and to society at large. Timely intervention when needed is key. This reduces recovery times and allows people to live in their own homes longer. This in turn reduces the pressure on rest home spaces. The service provides a triage assessment ensuring the efficient use of resources. Finally the alarms provide peace of mind for family members.
The service must meet international standards. It uses equipment manufactured in New Zealand. Alarms are transmitted using the GSM network with battery backup that will last 2 days.