NOC meets with Alex Norris MP

Our team had the chance last week to meet virtually with Alex Norris MP last week to talk about our latest innovations and the progress we are making as a service.

Alex is the MP for Nottingham North and Shadow Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety.

Alex is already familiar with the development of assistive technology in Nottingham from his time as Portfolio Holder for Health and Social Care at Nottingham City Council. We were delighted to be able to recap on this and share recent developments.

We spent time showcasing the current Nottingham on Call service provision, looking over the detail on our existing offer to 11,500 households in Nottingham and beyond, and talked through the out of hours call handling offer.

We then focused on our latest service initiatives. It was important for us to talk through the Nottingham on Call GO, the personal care alarm that enables our customers to raise an alert in times of crisis wherever they are in the UK. We covered our dedicated support for hospital discharge and re-ablement, which has supported over 140 patients to leave hospital during the COVID-19 crisis and demonstrated real reductions in ongoing care costs. We also spoke about the ‘Safer Walking’ pathway, which enables vulnerable people to access their local community safely and independently. 

Alex was also keen to learn about a number of initiatives that we are currently progressing, including proactive care monitoring and video-based welfare checks. These have the real potential to enhance a person’s independence and outcomes, while delivering efficiencies to the health and care sector.

Following the meeting, Alex said: "Over the last decade I've watched Nottingham On Call evolve from an interesting concept, to one that is now a fundamental part of the lives of many thousands of Nottingham people.

“As technology continues to evolve and assistive technology fully enters the digital age, the possibilities extend further. From being able to use your pendants outside of the home, to activity tracking that will help turbocharge personalisation of care, the possibilities are endless.

“We're entering a period of greater integration of social care and health. This service should be an anchor part of this, allowing people to have their care needs met whilst living independent lives."

We would like to thank Alex for his time. We look forward to welcoming him back when social distancing measures allow, to experience first-hand the support and assistance we are able to deliver here at Nottingham on Call.