A photo of Sharon

News

30th January 2008

The BBC highlights United Response's work on Telesupport.

United Response's work on telesupport was featured on BBC 1 Breakfast News this morning as part of its special series on the future of social care.

The piece highlighted how telesupport, a new integrated telephone/video system being pioneered by United Response, is helping people live more independently as well as creating opportunities for new friendships.

Read the full news piece on the BBC website (this link takes you directly to the story on the BBC website).

The story was also featured on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme. You can go to their site to listen again (this link takes you to the Radio 4 listen again page).

Sharon and Emma

Sharon Carden and Emma Muryani both use telesupport and starred in this morning's piece. Sharon, who has learning disabilities, lives independently in her own home, but needs support from United Response to do her shopping and other activities.

Sharon said: "Telesupport is brilliant. It's really helped me with my shopping. My support worker used to have to come over to help me put my list together, but now I do it myself. I go into the kitchen to see what I need and then tell them on the telesupport."

Sharon also uses telesupport to keep in touch with Emma. The two have become lifelong friends. Sharon said: "I like calling Emma on the telesupport phone. It's better than calling her on a normal phone because I can see her face and so we can have a good giggle together. We talk about the things we have done and arrange when to meet up. It's also helping me stay in touch with the people I used to live with, before I moved into my own place. I used to find keeping in contact difficult, but it's really easy now we've all got telesupport."

Access

A 24-hour form of support, telesupport can be accessed from their people's own homes. Through the use of a telephone linked to a touch screen, people are able to see and speak to a support worker or friend over a phone, whenever they choose.

United Response’s partner in the project is Aupix, who specialise in solutions that incorporate telecommunications and video technology. Aupix have created a completely tailored solution for the telesupport project which ensures it is truly user friendly for people with learning disabilities or mental health needs.

United Response is currently piloting the scheme in West Sussex. Initial findings show that, in addition to the flexibility of the service, telesupport provides additional benefits including visual support for those who find verbal communication challenging and also assist with specific mental health conditions – helping people with schizophrenia to manage their “voices” for example, in a way that just isn’t possible with an ordinary telephone.

Although telesupport must never replace essential face to face support, it is proving to be a highly valuable part of an overall “care menu”. It is very flexible, so can fit around the schedule of the person requiring support, and their own preferences regarding privacy. Telesupport user themselves have identified opportunities outside of the simple support provision. Many urged United Response to consider it as a social tool, a better way to keep in touch with each other and to provide peer to peer support.

This would reduce dependency on services and increase independence. They were also hopeful that families would be able to access telesupport, particularly when they lived geographically some way apart. One person also hoped that one day one could be installed in GP surgeries, so that they could consult on medication without always having to travel distances at some difficulty.

United Response is currently seeking funding for a fuller telesupport pilot.

- Ends -

For more information please contact Sarah Bartlett or Jaime Gill in the United Response Press Office on020 8246 5237/ 020 8246 5122 or email

Read an earlier press release about telesupport.

Notes to editors:

United Response is a national charity that works with people with learning disabilities or mental health needs – including some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

We provide everything from 24 hour care to a few hours of support a week. United Response is community based, working in many localities across England and Wales.

Our mission is to support people with learning disabilities or mental health needs to take control of their lives. We design our care and support around each person and work with them to achieve real inclusion, independence and citizenship for all. We support people across the whole spectrum of learning disability and mental health and have developed a range of specialisms in working with people with the most complex needs, particularly person-centred active support.

We are working towards a society where people with learning disabilities or mental health needs are equal participants and have access to the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

We have won several awards for our pioneering work and for being a top employer. In 2007 alone, we were highly commended by the Charity Awards for our “Good To Great” approach to providing support, while the Charity Times named us one of the best six charities to work for in the UK. We are experts in the development of accessible communications.

United Response was founded in 1973 by chief executive Su Sayer. We are a top 100 charity, supporting more than 1,500 people throughout the UK at any one time and employing more than 2,000 staff.