Member Article

Global tech pioneers celebrate 65 year anniversary

Global market leading technology company, Tunstall Healthcare, is celebrating its 65th anniversary of improving people’s lives by helping them live more independently using technology.

To mark the occasion, the mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones CBE, opened the newly transformed Innovation Centre at Tunstall Healthcare’s headquarters in Whitley Bridge, Yorkshire with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Alongside the ribbon cutting, the UK anniversary celebrations will include tea and cake for staff, and a charity raffle to raise funds for Dementia UK. Celebrations will also take place across Tunstall’s global regions, including the Nordics, Spain, France and Benelux, DACHME and Australasia.

Tunstall has been at the forefront of technology innovation for the health, housing and social care markets since 1957. Originally founded as a small television repair shop in Doncaster, the company has experienced exponential growth which now employs around 3,000 people to support more than five million people across 19 countries, including those living with dementia, learning disabilities, physical disabilities and long-term health conditions.

Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster CBE, said: “It’s been a pleasure to visit Whitley Lodge, where Tunstall has been based for more than 35 years, and to open the new Innovation Centre. I started my career at Tunstall in the accounts department before moving into local government in 1974.

“Tunstall is the global leader in technology and innovation, and in Yorkshire it’s a heritage brand which is steeped in history and technological development milestones. Whilst driving innovation and development in TEC, Tunstall is also a hugely important part of the local economy and employs more than xx people locally.”

Peter Nicklin, Chairman of the Board of Tunstall Healthcare, commented: “We’re extremely proud to be celebrating our 65th anniversary, and commemorating the achievements which have seen us become a global leader in our field. Our pioneering software, hardware and services enable new delivery models which transform services across the care continuum and empower people to live independently for longer and with an improved quality of life.

“As we celebrate our heritage, we’re also looking to a digitally enabled future that promises to more effectively meet the needs of our societies. We’ve made significant investment into the development and testing of a new digital platform which will ensure that our innovative solutions continue to improve the lives of our service users for many years to come.”

Established by Norman Tunstall and Jack Byers, Tunstall Byers was the first organisation to use technology to enable older people to summon help in an emergency, and to transmit alarm calls over the public telephone network. The business also pioneered the introduction of telecare and telehealth in the 2000s which created the technology enabled care market as it is today. According to recent data from FarrPoint the current market could save the UK more than £14bn in the next decade if it is expanded effectively1.

Gavin Bashar, UK Managing Director at Tunstall Healthcare, added: “After two difficult and unprecedented years in global history, we’re working to meet the surge in demand for technology within the health and social care space, and build upon the collaborations generated during the pandemic. We hope that our vital equipment, services and support will shape a system that is better able to serve people in such a fast-changing world.

“Innovation is in our blood and although health, housing and social care services have experienced immense pressures and new barriers to effective care delivery, we’ve never stopped looking to the future to create new ways of improving the lives of millions of people around the world.”

In 2021, Tunstall Healthcare announced its new intelligent care offering, Tunstall Cognitive Care®, a market leading innovation that will use advanced AI in combination with technology in the home to detect whether someone’s health could be about to deteriorate, spot a potentially undiagnosed condition, or resolve an immediate social care need.

The business also invested in its leadership team with the appointments of Gary Steen as Group Chief Technology Officer to lead the innovation and development function globally, and Peter Nicklin as Chairman of the Board.

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