CCTV in care homes could save NHS £370m a year, campaigners say

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Installing CCTV safety monitoring in every care home could save the NHS £370m a year, campaigners have said.

Andrew Geach, owner of Shedfield Lodge in Southampton, told the Daily Express he had saved the NHS £50,000 this year by installing CCTV, which had avoided the need for a 999 call on all but three of 119 occasions. The Express said if the savings were repeated in all of the UK’s 11,300 care homes it would save the NHS more than a £1m a day.

“It’s a mind-blowing figure but it’s real money which could be ploughed back into social care,” Andrew said.

“Most who suffer unwitnessed falls end up coming back to homes in the early hours with no injuries at all. With safety monitoring, everyone wins.”

Shedfield Lodge has installed 21 cameras in all of its communal areas, including exits and outside areas.

“Safety monitoring is good at picking up abuse but this is not all about abuse,” Andrew said.

“Only once in seven years have I had to use it for that reason.

“We use it to save the NHS time and money and crucially stop residents being taken unnecessarily to A&E.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of those in care should be the highest of priorities.

“We will consider any schemes which have the potential to help reduce pressures on the NHS and improve people’s lives.”

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