The Government Delegation in Lleida welcomed this Wednesday the signing of an agreement between the municipalities of Sant Guim de Freixenet and Talavera, in La Segarra, and Montgai (Noguera) and the company Senior Family Health, for the launch of a trial pilot of an advanced teleassistance service.
30 elderly people participate in the project, ten from each of the villages, who for three months will have at their disposal a smart watch equipped with a help button and health sensors, which is also capable of detecting falls or location. , among other.
Apart from the elderly, the service is also aimed at chronically ill people and victims of gender violence, among others.
The firm was run by the mayors of Sant Guim de Freixenet y Talavera, Francesc Lluch and Ramon Trullols and the first deputy mayor of Montgai, Elisabet Darbra, and Josep Méndez, representing the company that developed the project of the advanced teleassistance service. After signing the agreements, the devices were handed over to the three local representatives.
The agreement contemplates the free transfer to each of the three municipalities of 10 bracelet devices and access to personalized attention through a center where telecare calls will be received.
One of the owners of the company promoting the project, Josep Méndez, has highlighted that the service’s differential feature is that it offers “permanent” coverage, both when users are at home and when they are away.
The device also includes geolocation and monitors vital signs, such as blood pressure, temperature and oxygen saturation and, if changes are detected, it sends an automatic emergency notification to the alarm center.
The wrist devices have a single button that, once activated, generates a call to the emergency center, which only the emergency center can complete, and to family members, with whom users can communicate through the device itself.
This system also allows issuing reminders for taking medications and detecting unusual inactivity of users, in this case, with the corresponding notification to family members.
Méndez has also added that apart from older people, who are the bulk of the recipients, the service is also useful for other types of users of other ages who carry out activities in the natural environment or who suffer from chronic diseases.
It has also highlighted its usefulness as a protection tool for women in situations of sexist violence so that “they do not feel alone and so that they can quickly activate emergency protocols.”
The pilot test will last three months. Once this period has ended, the parties will meet to evaluate the provision of the service during the three months, determine its continuity and establish its conditions, if applicable. The intention of the project promoters is to make it available in the rest of the municipalities.
The Government delegate, Montse Bergés, who has been accompanied by the director of the Territorial Services of Social Rights, Eugenia Puig-gròs, and the Director of Equality and Feminisms, Elena Fuses, has highlighted that these new technologies applied for the purposes of health provide an important individual and collective benefit because “they allow the life of vulnerable people to be improved, especially in rural areas, and increase protection against cases of sexist violence, among others.”
The mayors of Sant Guim de Freixenet and Talavera and the deputy mayor of Montgai have pointed out that this service is very necessary in the rural world, especially in small municipalities, where the population is increasingly aging.