Faro Council is to run a pilot project to help elderly residents by installing tele-assistance equipment in their homes.
In October, the free of charge service will start to be commissioned in a partnership between the Council and Helpphone, a Porto-based company.
The spend will be around €6,200 and will see equipment installed for 30 elderly people at no cost to the Council.
With the new tele-assistance service, elderly citizens will be given an alarm button that connects to the company's service centre. User information is displayed on screen and emergency services can be called up without delay.
"This service provides security and tranquility to the elderly while preserving their independence. They know that at the press of a button, they can summon help," said the local authority.
In order to benefit from this new service, senior citizens should go to the Elderly Support Office of the Municipality of Faro, located in José Afonso Square, where they can fill out the necessary application form with equipment being allocated on a case-by-case basis.
The HELPPHONE Home Tele-assistance service is a permanent service based on a telephone answering centre designed to respond to any emergency situation using a fast and secure communication system without the need to dial a number.
Specially trained operators respond to alarm calls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
As well as the alarm button, the home-based control unit acts as a sensitive two-way communications device, allowing the operator to talk to the customer.
The user's data includes contact information for family and friends and relevant medical history.
This system first was available in the Algarve in 2004 from Carealarm, based in Lagoa, using UK manufactured units.
In 2009, the Portuguese Red Cross and Vodafone Portugal launched Mobile TeleAssistance, a similar 24-hour hotline service designed to improve the quality of life, health and safety of its users. This service incurred a charge of €26-per-month.
The Azorean government launched a more sophisticated version, that included GPS, in June 2017.
