The two organisations have signed a £2.35m deal with Wealden and Eastbourne Lifeline under which staff from both will be able to make referrals.
Dee Christie, the county's operations manager for occupation therapy and sensory services, told SmartHealthcare.com that such technology has several benefits for clients. "Telecare can help them feel safer and more independent, and can also provide reassurance to their family," she said.
Older people will be the prime users of the service, but it will also be available to others, such as those with long term conditions. "In the longer term, I'd want to think about that even more," said Christie.
The service will be available across West Sussex, and will include the provision of fall detectors, movement devices able to check if someone getting up from bed at night returns within a set period, medication dispensing reminders and devices able to check that the likes of gas and water taps are turned off. Initially, it is likely to provide equipment and services to hundreds of clients, rising to thousands in the future.
"Our first ambition is to get a good baseline across the county. We've had pockets of good practice up to now," said Christie.
Pilots have shown good results, she added: "The most common thing was that people said they felt so much safer." She said they had the same response from families, who were "able to stand back a little".
Use of telecare elsewhere has also allowed a reduction in the number of hours of care needed for each user, which could save money.
Staff
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