Telecare in Scotland has delivered over £11m cost savings and saved over 80,000 hospital bed days, according to a report from the Scottish Government's Joint Improvement Team (JIT).

The report, which evaluates the national Telecare Development Programme (TDP) in Scotland, indicates that community-based health and social care models using telecare are delivering economic benefits and making effective use of health resources.

Since 2006, a TDP fund of £8.35m has enabled local care partnerships to develop, extend and mainstream telecare solutions in accordance with local priorities.

The TDP has delivered savings of £11.15m by providing telecare equipment to 7902 people over 2007-2008. Over 81,000 bed days have been saved by facilitating hospital discharge, reducing unplanned hospital admissions and avoiding the need for people to enter care homes.

The study found that 93% of the service users questioned said they felt safer as a result of having the telecare service in place, while 75% of the carers questioned confirmed that telecare had reduced the pressures on them

Alan Bell, Communities & Information Manager at West Lothian Council, said: "The results confirm the potential of telecare to transform care provision and reflect the benefits we have witnessed first-hand. Mainstreaming telecare within West Lothian has improved quality of life for older people and their carers, and the cost savings realised have been reinvested into further healthcare provision."

David Kelly, Managing Director Scotland and Ireland at Tunstall, added: "The study has confirmed that telecare delivers real qualitative benefits and improved outcomes, and a tangible improvement to the quality of life of service users and of those who care for them."