At Telegrafik, we are committed to bringing real added value to care for elderly and vulnerable people by guaranteeing safety for them and peace of mind for their families on a daily basis. In several French departments (mainland and overseas), we are deploying projects aimed at making our solutions available to senior citizens free of charge on a trial basis for several months, in order to make our services accessible to as many people as possible. It is against this background that Rosa M. chose to protect her mother-in-law with Otono-me and told us about her experience as a caregiver.
Rosa M. – daughter-in-law of Jacqueline D., protected by the service since April 2019, in the department of Aisne
Ms M., you have had the Otono-me system in place for mother-in-law since April 2019, following a call for projects with the Aisne funders conference: can you describe Ms D.’s situation, tell us what her initial needs were, and why you chose this type of technology?
– My mother-in-law already had a remote alarm as her disability means that she falls a lot, but she had to press a button. However, we knew very well that with her illness, she would sometimes forget to put on her wristband or would not press the button at all while she was on the floor. When I was offered this system where I could see from a distance on my phone whether she was in the house or if she had gone out, and what time she came back, it was great! We don’t have to go round all the time to check on her, we can look at the situation on the phone and we can see that everything is OK.
It’s really taken the burden off of us.
How does your mother-in-law feel about this new service?
– She’s taking it well, because she sees it makes our lives easier. At first, she was a bit reluctant because she felt like she was being spied on but as I told her, “they’re not cameras, I just know you’re there and that you’re moving around”. She realised it was for her own good. My mother-in-law says that when we call her to ask her if everything is OK, sometimes she pushes the button and they are kind to her, so really there’s not a problem!
And what does this service offer you in your role as a caregiver? How do you use it? Would you recommend it to others?
– We’re happy, and I would recommend it! When we come across people who need this type of system, I don’t hesitate to tell them about it. I don’t know if you’re implementing it in the Saint-Quentin area? Because I have a friend who would be interested… With coronavirus, I’ve seen some vulnerable people who would really benefit from hearing about your system.
Remotely, even when you’re on holiday, you can see that everything is OK. Of course, we call regularly, but sometimes on holiday we don’t pay attention to the time, “oh no, I didn’t call my mother!” But you go on the app and you can see she’s in her room, she’s already in bed, so everything is OK. If the worst comes to the worst, we can call her when we see that she’s been in the same room for a long time, if we find it a little strange. It’s really good! I use the app a lot.
If, later on, your mother-in-law were to go to a retirement home, would you it to be equipped with this type of system as well?
We’ll make sure she’s at home, or look at other solutions, but she won’t go into a retirement home. There are certainly some good ones, but you really need to have the means for them. Normally in a retirement home there are regular comings and goings, so there’s no need for detection. But it’s systems like yours that help people avoid having to go into retirement homes! By coordinating with doctors and home carers, we don’t need a retirement home. Today, you are no safer in a room in a retirement home than in a room in your own home. With this system you can really see that things are changing… Today, even in the case of people who are bedridden and need caregivers to assist them several times a day, technology lets you see right away if there’s a problem. These days, you can avoid retirement homes.
Do not hesitate to contact us to answer your questions and study with you your needs: :
05 82 95 50 52 ou contact@telegrafik.eu