Following the success of the pilot project in nursing homes in Karna and Berga, the safety-creating technology will now be introduced in all nursing homes in the municipality. Ekhult Nursing Home is one of the homes now starting to use digital assistants.
The digital examination is performed via an application on the phone.
During 2022 and 2023, the Municipality of Linköping tested the safety-creating technology in two of the municipality's nursing homes. Technology, combined with changing ways of working, can help employees know where there are immediate needs for support and assistance, by raising an alarm. The pilot project was successful and the technology has now been purchased to be introduced into all nursing homes in the municipality. This project is one of the many reasons why Linköping won an award at the iCapital Awards and was named the most innovative city in Europe.
Ecolt First Nursing Home
Ekhult nursing home is one of the first to now use safety-creating technology. Here, the old alarm system was replaced with the new one in just a few weeks. Now every apartment has a security camera and every resident has an alarm. Ebba Holmström, operations manager at Ecoult Nursing Home, tells how it went.
﹘ It actually helped us a lot. The biggest gain as I see it is at night. Ekhult is intended for people with dementia who may have difficulty distinguishing between day and night. When we were on night patrols, they would wake up and find it difficult to fall back asleep, or they would think it was morning and wanted to get up. Now we have digital supervision, which means they are not disturbed and that we receive an alert if there is any activity inside the apartments. This, in turn, has a positive effect on your mood for the rest of the day.
Ebba Holmström, Director of Operations at Ecoult Nursing Home.
Digital assistants
Wilma Waldt is one of about 20 employees at the nursing home in Echoult. She has worked here for 2.5 years and is enjoying her time. Since the introduction of new technology, she has been pleasantly surprised.
﹘ Many of us were anxious about change and it was difficult at first. But things are going really well, better than I imagined. “We now have more control over our residents and can be where we are needed most,” says Wilma.
Recruiting in healthcare can be difficult, and Ebba Holmström believes employees were initially worried that technology would compete with them.
﹘ But it is not. Iba says this is an assistance that will make things easier for employees.
RoomMate security camera is located in every apartment.
Text and photo: Evelina Ristrup
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