“The machines are very good, but I prefer that people come to see me”

He says he doesn’t like Christmas. “I don’t even want to see her… these are a few days that make me sad. Two years ago my sister died, and my mother died on Three Kings Day…”, she says antonia torres drenched in tears this woman of 77 years old, neighbor of Sabadell, lives alone and has no children or family take care of her. For this reason, the workers of the Home Care Service (SAD) municipal attend her One hour a dayand is also connected to the telecare service of the Barcelona Provincial Council permanently. This year, applying a social innovation and service transformation project, they have filled the house with sensors.

The idea is to be able to detect if she turns on the heating, if she showers, if she eats… and prevent any risky situation, since she spends more than 20 hours a day completely alone. “Now I’ve gotten used to them… but if I could choose, Instead of so many slot machines, I prefer that more people come to see me at home“, he confesses.

Antonia has lived alone in an apartment in Sabadell for more than 40 years, ever since she divorced her husband. “Before, I was very brave, I went everywhere by myself…now I can’t,” she explains. Since she retired, this woman has become increasingly dependent on social care. “It all started with a very strong back pain that I had“, he explains. The doctor gave him an appointment for social services, which in turn assigned him the help of a woman who cleaned his house for an hour a week. Then, a fall that ended up with a broken wrist it made her unable to do daily tasks. “The girls have been coming to take a shower for more than ten years,” she says. Antonia is a beneficiary of the SAD: she has one hour of weekly attention to clean her and buy her the pre-cooked food with which she eats. “I can’t cook anymore,” she explains.

Antonia’s case shows very well how necessary the home care service for the elderly. He receives a retirement pension that does not reach 700 euros. A woman took advantage of her trust and bought her the apartment in which she has lived for 40 years. “She messed me up,” she explains. He lives in a fourth floor, and when she goes upstairs she ends up exhausted and suffocated. She has had several falls. “But they always end up lifting me,” he explains. Who raises it are the technicians of the telecare service. Its most emblematic sign, the necklace with a red button that Antonia has placed around her neck. “You push the button, they call you, and they come for you,” she explains. A service that appreciates. “At least I know there is someone who cares about me”.

play ludo

But Antonia would prefer not to depend on this service and to have more hours of personal attention at home. “It’s just that they only give me an hour a day. If they were here for longer, they could do things well, calmly, sit here, play ludo…”, she imagines. She knows other friends who have women at home 24 hours a day. “But I can’t afford it,” she says.

Regrets that the SAD workers have to go in a hurry. She even remembers that a family worker who was taking care of her fell down the stairs. She never saw her again. “They make them go in great haste, and besides, every day comes a different one and without warning of the hour,” he complains. A symbol of precariousness of this service and the high staff turnover. Antonia has already closed the door in their faces on several occasions. “They don’t notify me that they are coming and I find people I don’t know at all. I don’t know if they are from the town hall or if they pretend to be them to take advantage of me,” she exclaims.

To reduce the risks that Antonia may find herself at home, the Barcelona Provincial Council’s telecare service is improving detection and prevention. For this they bet on the artificial intelligenceand after installing a smoke and gas leak detector, now they have filled his house with motion and temperature sensors connected to a Wi-Fi router.

Antonia calls them the ‘bugs’. “They are everywhere: At first I was scared because I thought they were recording me, but it’s not like that, they don’t see anything at all“, he explains. It is the ‘Tot in a sensor’ project, which allows non-invasive measurement of temperature, humidity, light and acceleration. A pilot project in which Antonia and 99 other people in the same situation have participated in Sabadell, Badia del Vallès and Ripollet. The idea is to extend it to 2,000 more homes in 2023, 3,000 in 2024 and 3,900 in 2025.

Detect routine changes

“It is a home security complement. It allows us to establish patterns to detect changes in habits and possible risks: physical, mental, emotional deterioration. If someone doesn’t move, he spends more time in bed, if he doesn’t shower or doesn’t turn on the heating… We can act predictively because many older people do not ask for help“, they explain from the Provincial Council.

During the pilot plan, they detected that a man slept in an armchair instead of in his bed. The telecare service called him and it turns out that it hurt a lot to get out of bed. The issue was resolved by buying him an articulated bed.

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This is just one of the Provincial Council projects that use digitization in the absence of caregivers in homes. The supramunicipal entity plans to allocate two million euros to carry out works in more than 3,000 homes to adapt kitchens, doors or bathrooms, and plans to facilitate 177 geolocators for older people living in rural areas. “They are people who have orchards, they are isolated, they leave the house a lot and they can fall or become disoriented,” sources from the agency point out.

“It is a group that worries us about their vulnerability and we must guarantee that everyone, regardless of their family situation, is guaranteed safety and care at home,” he stresses. Lluisa Moretdeputy of the Area of ​​Equality and Social Sustainability of the Provincial Council.