Traditionally Telecare is the combined use of home alarm and sensors to provide a means of manually or automatically signalling a monitoring centre, which can then arrange an appropriate care response to the Telecare service user.

In 2004 Telecare came the the attention of the public when the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced  funding for a "Preventative Technology Grant" at the time of the Annual Spending Review.

In July 2005 the Department of Health published "Building Telecare in England" to provide guidance to local authorities to adopt telecare services using the grant which comes into effect from April 2006.

However Telecare is not new it has been running in the UK for over 25 years, by the use of social alarms. As a result of the activities of social alarms service providers, over a million people in the UK currently benefit from basic telecare services.

Telecare services are known by various  of names, including social or community alarm, careline or lifeline services. A telecare console is linked to the client's telephone line that enables the client to get near instant help, at the touch of a button, even if they are unable to speak.

By definition Telecare is responsive to incidents and occurrences that may prove dangerous for the client. It has been proved that it can reduce the consequences of falls in the elderly and help prevent adverse events in persons with Dementia. The use of Telecare can help deliver a range of benefits including:

• Reduce the requirement for residential/nursing care
• Reduce the burden placed on carers
• Reduce Intermediate care after hospitalisation
• Reduce acute hospital admissions
• Reduce accidents and falls in the home
• Support hospital discharge and intermediate care

The result of using Telecare is substantial cost saving for the care provisioning services both in the community and in the hospital.

Recently the telecare package has been broadened to include telemedicine which involves monitoring the vital signs and health of clients in their own homes and environmental controls. The addition of environmental controls provides a strong preventative or proactive aspect to Telecare and together they deliver a truly smart home solution.

In short Telecare is enhanced by the addition of environmental controls.

• Portable radio transmitters (help buttons)
• Console connected to the telephone with automatic dial features
• Sensors connected to the console (Gas, Smoke, Movement, Water leak)
• Response centre or Family and Friends to monitor the calls.

In case of an emergency (a fall, chest pains, suspected intruder, etc.), the user simply calls for help by pressing the button on the radio transmitter or the system can decide for its self after a sensor is operated to call automatically.

So basically its a Personal Emergency Response System. For me details refer to Amber Community