Mobile devices to alleviate loneliness in hospitals

Some 1200 mobile devices have been distributed to hospitals, Health pavilions and medicalised hotels in the city so that isolated patients can speak to their families. In addition, the devices will also enable data exchanges between healthcare facilities.

26/04/2020 13:19 h

Ajuntament de Barcelona

The devices include high-performance tablets, mobiles, modems, computers and screens for holding videoconferences.

These devices are being distributed among Barcelona’s main hospital centres (Vall d’Hebron, Hospital de Sant Pau, Hospital del Mar and Hospital Clínic) and their respective Health pavilions (CEM Guinardó, CEM Claror Marítim and the INEFC), and “medicalised” hotels.

Bringing families together 

The aim is to alleviate the lack of family support resulting from the lack of visits and to enable patients to discuss their state of heath more regularly with their loved ones. In milder cases, the devices will be for recreational use.

In addition, the devices will provide access to patients’ records and enable exchanges of data between Health pavilions and medicalised hotels and their reference centres.

The City Council and the Catalan government, working with the Barcelona Health Consortium, are managing the distribution and installation of devices they have received as donations from big telephone operators and telecommunications companies.