The 174 Raizer chairs were provided to care homes through the Digitising Social Care programme at Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System.
Laura Gibney, manager of Collinson Care Home in Luton, said: ‘We have found the chair really useful. I attended the training initially and have then trained my staff how to use it, it is really easy to use and assemble, and we are extremely pleased.'
In the 12 months since the chairs were delivered, South Central Ambulance Service saw an 18% reduction in ambulance callouts for Milton Keynes care homes – potentially saving them £3,753, while also freeing up time to respond to other emergencies.
The Raizer chairs avoided 15 emergency admissions over 365 days – saving £80,475.
Preventing these ambulance calls, emergency admissions and A&E attendances saved the system an estimated £163,295 in total, with the potential to free-up 816 hospital bed days a year.
The chairs have also helped reduce care home staff workloads with one staff member commenting: ‘Without the Raizer chair, care home staff would typically use a hoist to lift a fallen resident. Hoists can cause a lot of discomfort and anxiety for people being lifted, especially if they have dementia, so this is better for the patient and staff.'