Support and security at home can be provided via technology as well – new solutions for home care

22.12.2021 11.29Updated: 2.3.2022 13.44

Do you or does one of your loved ones need help to make living at home convenient, safe and pleasant? Remote home care, drug distribution robots and security services help being in contact with clients, remind them about taking their medication and detect dangerous situations. And it is not only about technology - discussion and meaningful encounters are also important aspects of remote care. New technological solutions for supporting living at home are being explored in Western Uusimaa.

The greatest benefit of these technologies is that they can increase people’s feeling of safety and facilitate independent living. 

“Almost all of our home care clients now have safety phones with which they can alert help at the press of a button in the event of a fall, for example. Some clients have the phone hanging on their neck or attached to a wristband,” says Medical Engineering Specialist Mika Fiskari from the Espoo Digital Development unit.   

In addition to safety phones, in the future we may be able to introduce more and more technologies that help to detect dangerous situations, such as location-based alarm wristbands, door alarms, fire alarms or things like stove guards that let home care staff know if a stove is heating up.  

A video meeting with a home care worker can be an important encounter 

According to Mika Fiskari, residents often become home care clients when they are prescribed many different types of medication and taking them all becomes complicated. In these types of situations, one possible solution is remote home care, provided that the client or the persons taking care of their matters agree to it. Remote home care provides help and support for things that the client can manage independently at home with just a small amount of assistance. 

In Espoo, remote home care services have been provided to residents, especially older people, who need support for living at home since 2018. Remote home care means that the home care client is provided with a tablet that the client’s designated home care worker can then use to hold video calls with the client. Using the same device, the home care client can also make video calls to loved ones of their choosing. 

Remote home care does not require the client to possess any IT skills. The video calls can give off an alarm and start without requiring the client to press anything on the device. During the calls, the designated worker talks with the client, helps them take their medication and monitors the client’s condition and nutrition. In addition to this, the calls may also include things like short exercise sessions. 

“Discussion and meaningful encounters are important aspects of remote home care: in Espoo, we have made a point of ensuring that the clients are familiar with the workers, for example. This can be an important form of support for residents, as some of them suffer from loneliness or anxiety. The video call feature can also be offered to loved ones,” Mika Fiskari says.  

Drug distribution robots will be put to use 

In 2022, we will start using drug distribution robots in Espoo and Hanko as well as Karkkila and Vihti (Karviainen). We are also currently in the process of looking into what kind of tools will be available in the future and which of them could benefit you, your loved ones and professionals.  

New home care technologies have been developed in the Western Uusimaa Social and Health Services Programme. 

Western Uusimaa wellbeing services county

  • Wellbeing Services County