Lisnaskea-based company, McElwaine SMART Technologies and Dublin company, Valentia Technologies have announced collaboration on the delivery of a leading-edge system for health and social services that will enable elderly persons to enjoy an improved quality of life in their normal home environments throughout the whole of Ireland.

Valentia's CareMonXª Home Appliance system, in conjunction with McElwaine's newly-opened monitoring and response centre in Lisnaskea, will provide elderly clients with a range of integrated healthcare and social services via a simple-to-use, touch screen appliance that will be installed in clients' homes.

The monitoring and response service will utilise a Bosch telecommunications platform and homecare monitoring devices. A University of Ulster team is also involved in developing new telehealth system components.

This cross-border collaboration is the first of its kind in the development of focused healthcare services on an all-island basis.

Speaking at the announcement of the collaboration initiative between Valentia Technologies and McElwaine SMART Technologies, Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Mr Michael McGimpsey MLA, said:

"I am delighted to attend the announcement of this joint initiative for a new highly-innovative approach to healthcare and social services delivery for elderly persons in the community. Apart from it being an important business opportunity in its own right for these companies, it is very encouraging to see companies from the Republic and Northern Ireland actively collaborating to bring new services to this market. It is also positive that these services will be equally deployable and relevant on both sides of the border, enhancing the potential for seamless delivery of healthcare and social services delivery throughout Ireland."

McElwaine SMART Technologies Chairman, John McElwaine, said: "McElwaine SMART is proud to be at the forefront of cross-border collaboration in healthcare and social services. We are excited at the potential which the combined technologies and services of McElwaine SMART and Valentia can offer to elderly persons along the border region and across Ireland. Elderly persons want to remain independent in their normal living environments for as long as possible and we are happy that we will enable this to happen, while also using some of the most advanced technologies currently available anywhere in the world for this purpose."