How intelligent home care solutions can combat the shortage of care professionals

The growing number of elderly people in western societies poses a challenge to the healthcare industry. Already in recent years, there has been a shortage of care professionals, and it is expected to get worse.

Today, there are 100 000 unfilled positions in the care sector in the UK, which equals an 8% vacancy rate. The world health organization estimates a healthcare workforce gap of 14.5 million people by 2030.

By monitoring seniors and enabling them to live at home independently and safely for a longer time, intelligent home care solutions can help relieve some pressure from the challenged care industry.

Table of contents:

1. Monitor seniors’ activity to spot illnesses and emergencies
2. Meet the devices each home care solution should include
3. How to get started with your home care solution

Monitor seniors’ activity to spot illnesses and emergencies

With the help of different IoT devices, home care solutions can monitor seniors’ activity and recognize irregularities that can indicate short-term emergencies as well as long-term illnesses. For instance, a lack of activity can indicate falls, while changes in habits can point to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

By monitoring this activity, home care solutions are able to considerably reduce GP appointments, emergency calls, and unnecessary visits from care professionals.

Meet the devices each home care solution should include

To optimally monitor seniors in their homes, different IoT devices are required:

• A gateway
  
  Any IoT solution needs a gateway for collecting and processing the data gathered by the sensors. The Squid.link gateways are secure, mature, and certified white label gateways that are the perfect fit for any home care solution.
  
  

• Motion sensors
  
  Motion Sensors are essential to any home care solution. The sensors monitor the seniors’ movements inside their homes and give valuable activity data. When the sensors detect activity, care professionals don’t need to spend time checking up on patients unnecessarily and interrupting their daily routines.
  
  
• Window/door sensors
  
  Attached to doors and windows, the Entry Sensor can track how often seniors leave the house or let in fresh air at home. It can also be attached to medicine cabinets or fridges to track medication adherence or eating habits so that caregivers don’t have to physically be there to monitor a senior’s medication or diet.
  
  
• Emergency buttons
  
  With the Panic Button around their wrist, seniors can call for help whenever they need it. For instance, your home care solution can enable them to alert relatives or caregivers and thus provide an additional layer of security. The care professionals in turn know immediately when there is an emergency and can focus their help where it is needed.

How to get started with your home care solution

If you are looking to launch a home care solution, you have different possibilities depending on your resources. You can develop the solution yourself, or you can opt for white label devices and/or software.

Onics provides a large variety of white label products for the home care market. All devices are Zigbee-certified, thoroughly tested, and ready for market launch. The Squid.link gateways make it easy for you to develop your software on top of the hardware platforms.

Alternatively, you can opt for a complete care solution.

Get more inspiration for your home care solution.