National Broadband Network

An Introduction to the NBN and Personal Alarm Systems

By Paul Moroney, Customer Solutions Manager, Product Management and Industry Relations, NBN Co Ltd

NBN Co's goal is simple – deliver Australia's .rst national wholesale-only, open access broadband network to all Australians, regardless of where they live. Their aim is to reach 100 percent of Australian premises with a combination of fibre, fixed wireless and satellite technologies. Around 93 percent will be connected to high-speed broadband by .bre, but because Australia is so large, they’re using fixed wireless and satellite technologies to connect remaining hard­to-reach places and remote communities.

NBN Co's network and products are capable of supporting medical alarms. The company provides the wholesale inputs in order for telephone and internet service providers to build a telephony service which is able to support medical alarms and other legacy services. The company has undertaken testing of medical alarms at an aged care facility in Victoria. Several models of medical alarm were tested by placing calls to the central monitoring centre.

Potential Environmental Hazard

From Perspectives of People with central Vision Loss Who Reside in Sydney

By Abbas Riazi Phd, Lecturer, University of Medical Sciences, Iran | Catherine Bridge PhD, Associate Professor, University of NSW, Australia

Many older people are living in potentially hazardous environments. People 65 years and older are at risk of more serious injury and illness among population and they use emergency and accident departments higher than young. Many factors are in association with home accidents for older people for example poor housing conditions, living alone, chronic illness, visual impairment, hearing disability and inactivity.

People with visual impairment are faced with many dif.culties in their home environment related to steps, doorknobs, handle, taps, windows, slippery surfaces and poor lighting. Moving to a new home may be another stressful life change for people with visual impairment. The new home may be potentially hazardous and disorientating.

This study focused at the perspective of people with visual impairment, AMD in particular, to see what is the home environment hazard from the view of this group of people who live in Sydney Australia.

The researchers concluded that:
There is considerable difficulties inside and outside of the home among participant with vision impairment. Environmental modification and use of appropriate assistive devices may reduce difficulties and risk of hazard outside of the home.

About the Authors:
Abbas Riazi PhD Lecturer, Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Catherine Bridge PhD Associate Professor, Centre for Health Assets Australia (CHAA), University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Boldly Going ...

on a Mission to Develop a New International Standard

By Chris Bryg, ILC Tasmania

Everyday our safety is protected by a multitude of standards covering issues such as building, electrical safety, product design and manufacture, and organisational systems. Standards address risk factors that threaten safety and affect quality. They provide information for manufacturers about design requirements and testing procedures of products and systems.

When it comes to the safety of people with disabilities and their carers, there are few standards around the world covering products (assistive technology) used for support during personal hygiene activities e.g. chairs/seats, benches and rails for showering and toileting. While Australian, Japanese and British Standards exist for speci.c product types, there is no national or international standard encompassing the range of products falling in this category. However, an international standard is currently in development.

Chris Bryg of ILC Tasmania, shared with us his journey about this important development.

Up, Up and Away

Lifting solutions for Bathing, Pools and Vehicle Access

By Ruwani Siriwardne, OT, ILC NSW | Esther Huber, OT, ILC NSW

Selection of the most appropriate assistive technology, to facilitate new ways of performing daily tasks, is vital for enabling people to maintain and improve their independence and quality of life.

This article focuses on three everyday situations - bathing, swimming and driving or travelling in a vehicle - where there is a need to carefully select assistive technology for transfers to maximise the enjoyment, safety and participation in these activities. A more general article on safe and independent transfers using hoists can be found in Independent Living Vol28 No4.

We need to consider factors affecting the ability to transfer such as the functional capabilities of the individual, physical considerations related to an individual’s disability, the physical and social environment and the motivation and personality of an individual.