Seoul City Expands IoT Non-Face-to-Face Care Service for Elderly Living Alone to 10,000 Households

Currently 7,500 Households Installed... Proactively Responded to 135 Crisis Situations Including Hospital Transfers Over 3 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 10th that it will expand the 'Vulnerable Elderly Safety Management Solution Project,' which provides non-face-to-face care services by installing Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the homes of elderly people living alone, to a total of 10,000 households by the end of the year.

This initiative aims to fill the care gap for the elderly caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the closure of welfare facilities and a reduction in face-to-face services, thereby minimizing blind spots in elderly care. Installation has already been completed for 7,500 households initially planned for this year.

Since 2018 until July of this year, through this project, Seoul has detected 135 dangerous situations such as discovering elderly people who had fallen at home and transporting them to hospitals, or finding dementia patients wandering outside and safely escorting them. Among the elderly using the service, there has been not a single case of solitary death.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that these results were all thanks to IoT sensors detecting prolonged inactivity and alerting, and the prompt response of care support workers.

Data detected from elderly households is monitored in real time using dashboards at each implementing agency and metropolitan institution, as well as the mobile devices of the responsible care support workers. If no movement is detected for a certain period or abnormalities in temperature, humidity, or illumination occur, care support workers immediately check and can quickly respond by reporting to 119 (emergency services).

Additionally, high-risk elderly individuals who are reluctant to receive visits due to social disconnection, voluntary seclusion, depression, or who have difficulty with phone check-ins due to visual or hearing impairments can have their safety confirmed through real-time movement monitoring.

For more detailed information about the project, inquiries can be made to the Dasan Call Center (02-120), the elderly welfare department of the respective autonomous district, or the local community service center.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of Welfare Policy at Seoul City, said, "In the prolonged COVID-19 situation, we aim to minimize blind spots in care for vulnerable elderly people through non-face-to-face care services using IoT technology." She added, "In line with the post-COVID era, we will proactively establish and settle a smart welfare service care model, and in the long term, open a smart welfare foundation with improved non-face-to-face care service technology."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.