The innovation involved creating a central support service for elderly people who need care and monitoring. For this purpose, a Call Center operates on a 24-hour basis with properly trained staff composed of social workers and psychologists, who have direct access to each elderly person's file and respond to the elderly person's emergency calls by telephone.
Innovation Summary
Innovation Overview
The innovation was created to benefit elderly people who are chronic sufferers, live alone, and/or far from health and care facilities. In the event that the elderly face a problem, the 24-hour service immediately sends help, in the form of a volunteer neighbor, a member of the person's family, an ambulance, the Immediate Action, or the Fire Department.
The service includes the 24-hour monitoring of the elderly through special devices such as home monitoring devices with fall detection and panic buttons, outdoor tracking, and locator devices which are given to the elderly and installed in their homes. The innovation is thus a telecare social service that aims to support independent living at home for people at risk due to age, health problems or social isolation. It offers personalized attention that can improve safety conditions, reduce the feeling of loneliness in everyday life, strengthen independence, and detect and prevent dangerous situations.
The Call Management Center has properly trained staff, who have direct access to the file of each elderly person and consists of social workers and psychologists and responds immediately to any need of the elderly person. If an elderly person is unable to respond, the service immediately sends help through the previously mentioned individuals or agencies.
Innovation Description
What Makes Your Project Innovative?
It belongs to the category of actions concerning the use of new technologies in order to serve the elderly in their daily lives. Its innovative character results from its main objective, which is to improve the quality of life of senior citizens through the development and use of age-sensitive ICT (ICT: Information and Communication Technologies) solutions. This innovation is provided to 3.000 elderly people, selected through specific criteria.
What is the current status of your innovation?
Τhe innovation is fully operational today, providing 3,000 seniors with an emergency notification service as well as 24-hour service and communication with psychologists and other health professionals.
Innovation Development
Collaborations & Partnerships
ICT experts, Experts from public sector in Health, Municipalities, and citizens (elderly people).
Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries
Citizens (elderly people): 6,500
Innovation Reflections
Results, Outcomes & Impacts
The innovation allows to save lives in case of emergency, report emergency cases, and calls and communication with experts from the health sector.
Challenges and Failures
Among the main challenges of the innovation is to expand the service after 2023.
Conditions for Success
Commitment of Stakeholders is a key element for the success of such an innovation.
Replication
Other Regional Authorities have adopted the innovation.
Lessons Learned
People at risk due to age, health problems, or social isolation require support at home. We must offer them a personalized attention that can improve safety conditions, reduce the feeling of loneliness in everyday life, strengthen independence, and detect and prevent dangerous situations.
Status:
- Evaluation - understanding whether the innovative initiative has delivered what was needed
- Diffusing Lessons - using what was learnt to inform other projects and understanding how the innovation can be applied in other ways
Innovation provided by:
Date Published:
27 November 2023