Innovative care for the elderly
"Obviously you have to go to KOMMEK, that's where you find out what's going on". So said an excited exhibitor who I stood and talked to in our booth at the KOMMEK trade fair this week. It sounded promising, as it was the first time I was there, and had high expectations for both interesting talks and seminars. Who doesn't want to know what's going on?
Certainly, the fair program showed a multifaceted content, with everything from governance seminars, the changed financial role, how to turn loss into sustainable profit and presentation of this year's Growth Municipality. In addition to these program points, this political year was several political debates in which both the Alliance and the Red Green, albeit with different word choices, agreed that efficiency and quality are key words for a continued well-functioning public sector in Sweden.
Among all the seminars that were offered during the days, I chose to focus a little extra on those who dealt with the elderly care. I myself have worked as a care assistant in the elderly care for several years, and it is an area that is very warm to me. The older people are living longer and together with their relatives are also demanding higher, while resources are scarce.
In order for elderly care to work, municipalities are therefore challenged to think new ”how can we offer good care and care with new conditions to relate to"? An example that was presented was a project about technology in the home, where the elderly can communicate with relevant staff via a computer screen. They also learned to use tablets to keep in touch with relatives, or to find other elderly people in the same situation via Facebook and thus increase their social life. Through this approach, the elderly were involved in their care planning. They were given the choice to either test new working methods and tools, or they could choose the traditional way. Over half chose the innovative way of using technical aids in the home. By realizing the innovative ideas, the elderly became more involved in their care, they felt an increased sense of security and that the resources could be used more effectively for the elderly who needed to meet physical staff.
By daring to test new things, and sometimes daring to fail, development can move forward. This, in turn, can lead to increased efficiency and improved quality. By sharing their lessons, not all individual organizations and businesses need to reinvent the wheel. A conversation with a fair visitor just before the fair closed, the days summed up well: "I have talked to many different people from different organizations and they have shared how they work. It has given me many tips and ideas, now I will go home and adapt them to my business ”. So, of course, he was right, the excited fair participant, at KOMMEK it happens.