Bristol - July 9, 2009

Ocean Blue Software is about to bring healthcare services, security, entertainment, neighbourhood social networking, call centre advice, and other services to the elderly and vulnerable in the comfort of their own homes. The system, called Nexus TV™, is based around a digital television with a set top box and a remote control, devices that are familiar to everyone. It is capable of delivering healthcare savings of around £5 billion each year to the NHS, other health care providers and families by providing an alternative to residential care that allows the vulnerable to retain their independence. Ocean Blue has set up a growing consortium of partners and will start trials of the technology in early 2010.

Medical benefits include automatic alerts reminding users which medication to take, and when. They will be able to order repeat prescriptions by scanning a barcode with the remote control and sending it to their dispensing chemist. It will also be possible to send photographs to clinicians for advice, and there will be direct links to doctors' surgeries and NHS Direct.

Cameras will be connected to Nexus TV to screen callers, and a local social networking service, based on an interactive message board, will enable people to stay in touch with those around them.

Entertainment services will include Freeview digital TV, talking TV guides and menus, and downloadable audio books. The technology will also support the development of 3rd party software applications, as Apple does with its iPhone, opening the door to a wealth of additional entertainment, games, education, and other services.

Access to local services of all kinds, from taxis to food stores, will be available using a dedicated database, accessed via the television. Shopping for home delivery will be easily accessible too, optionally making use of barcodes scanned with the remote control.

"This is about exploiting technology to give the elderly and vulnerable every possible comfort and security where they most want it - in their own homes," said Ken Helps, CEO of Ocean Blue Software. "At the same time, it addresses one of the greatest challenges for the British economy – how to finance support for an ageing population. Nexus TV offers a true win-win solution."

Ocean Blue is part of OpenHub, a consortium aiming to reduce government spending by 50 per cent by 2019, making £100 billion available.

Related references; 

1. Age Concern estimates 394,000 elderly people to be in residential care with the average housing fee for a single room in a private residential home being £24,492 per annum, costing the NHS and patient families more than 9 billion pounds per annum. Of the 394,000, approximately 248,000 have some or all costs met by the NHS.

2. Half of all people aged 75 and over live alone (the figure has reached 50% for the first time since the year 2000) - General Household Survey 2006, table 3.3 (GB), ONS, 2008.

3. Just over 1 million older people (11%) in England always or often feel lonely - One Voice: Shaping our ageing society, Age Concern and Help the Aged, 2009.