ELDERLY County Durham people are to benefit from technology designed to keep them safer in their homes.
About 100 elderly people are being given an assortment of smart sensors, which can detect a crisis situation and alert the control centre.
These include fall and collapse sensors, which send an alarm to the centre without the person having to press a button, and light sensors which switch on a bedside light when the person gets out of bed.
Heat sensors can be used in the kitchen or lounge to detect low temperatures for clients at risk of hypothermia, or high temperatures to detect whether a fire or cooker has been left on.
The project is an extension of a pilot scheme in Teesdale.
Project officer Pam Mills said: "Although older people usually want to stay at home, they are often admitted into residential care because they are considered unsafe to leave alone. New technologies have the potential to help reduce risk in such situations and allow a person to be rehabilitated in their own home.
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