- Title: "I'll see you soon!" Video calls a lifeline for Spanish care homes
- Date: 22nd April 2020
- Summary: VALVERDE DEL MAJANO, SPAIN (APRIL 21, 2020) (REUTERS) VIEW IN FRONT OF ORTERUELO NURSING HOME / EMPTY CHAIRS AT ENTRANCE OF ORTERUELO NURSING HOME NURSING HOME RESIDENTS WEARING FACE MASKS SEATED AT TABLE WITH TABLETS IN FRONT OF THEM TABLET BEING TURNED ON AND "CONECTYAYOS" PAGE APPEARING VARIOUS OF RESIDENTS SPEAKING TO THEIR RELATIVES VIA THE "CONECTYAYOS" APPLICATION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CREATOR OF CONECTYAYOS, RAUL VIDAL, SAYING: "It's very simple. The careworker will turn on the tablet and the resident only has to tap the button and type in first name, last name and second last name and then hit the join button. That's how the connection starts." VARIOUS OF VIDAL DEMONSTRATING HOW TO USE THE CONECTYAYOS APPLICATION VARIOUS OF RESIDENT SPEAKING TO RELATIVE VIA CONECTYAYOS APP ON A TABLET CARER SPEAKING TO RELATIVE OVER RESIDENT'S SHOULDER RESIDENT INMACULADA PEREZ WAVING AS SHE COMMUNICATES VIA CONECTYAYOS (AUDIO COMING FROM TABLET (SPANISH) "Take good care, I will see you soon.") (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CREATOR OF CONECTYAYOS, RAUL VIDAL, SAYING: "The truth is we were very surprised, especially at first, about the number of people using the application. They could see that residents and family members were managing to communicate and you can see the happiness that generates in them." VARIOUS OF RESIDENT JUANA LLORENTE SPEAKING VIA CONECTYAYOS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NURSING HOME RESIDENT, JUANA LLORENTE, SAYING: "We used to come to the sitting room to eat. Now they bring us food in our rooms, breakfast, lunch and dinner." NURSING HOME STAFF WEARING DISPOSABLE PROTECTIVE SUIT AND FACE MASK AND FACE SHIELD PUSHING FOOD TROLLY IN HALLWAY STAFF WEARING DISPOSABLE PROTECTIVE SUITS AND FACE MASKS SERVING FOOD TO RESIDENTS IN THEIR BEDROOM STAFF MEMBER WITH DRINKS TROLLY TAKING GLASSES INTO ROOM STAFF SERVING DRINK TO RESIDENT AS OTHER TWO RESIDENTS SIT NEARBY VARIOUS OF STAFF MEMBER WEARING FACE SHIELD AND FACE MASK SERVING FOOD STAFF MEMBER WEARING FACE SHIELD AND FACE MASK SERVING RESIDENTS IN THEIR ROOM STAFF MEMBER PUTTING BIB ON RESIDENT AND ASKING HIM IN SPANISH IF HE WANTS WHITE, RED OR RIOJA WINE RESIDENT WAVING IN DIRECTION OF CAMERA STAFF MEMBER LEAVING A RESIDENTS ROOM VARIOUS OF EMPTY DINING AREA STAFF MEMBER TELLING A RESIDENT TO PUT ON A FACE MASK AND POINTING AT OTHER TWO RESIDENTS WEARING FACE MASK VARIOUS OF RESIDENTS WEARING FACE MASKS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NURSING HOME NURSE, ANA GARCIA, SAYING: "We have felt a bit abandoned. We have not been able to refer all the patients we would have like to in order to find out what was happening to them because the hospital in Segovia has been over-burdened. We are a home that is not endowed with intravenous or analytical medications or x-ray facilities, in many cases we have given palliative care and looked after people rather than curing them because we did not know clinically what they might have." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NURSING HOME THERAPIST, TERESA GALLEGO, SAYING: "It's better now than what we have been through. Let's hope that when there is a resurgence of the virus we can keep it under control better, and that it is not so serious. And that's it, I hope it doesn't happen again." VARIOUS OF RESIDENT MENDING FACE MASK SIGN READING IN SPANISH "EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE" (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JESUS ESCRIVANO, 94-YEAR-OLD RESIDENT, SAYING: "The deaths that took place in the Civil War, for example, when parents killed children and children killed parents to defend what? Spain against Spain? This (pandemic) is the same. It has come upon us without us knowing what will come next. So many lives have been lost and will continue to be lost." RESIDENTS IN TV ROOM WITH PLENTY OF SPACE BETWEEN EACH OTHER DAILY OFFICIAL NEWS CONFERENCE ON TV SCREEN / RESIDENT WATCHING CHESSBOARD / RESIDENT WATCHING TV EMPTY CHAPEL FLOWERS AND CANDLE ICONS ON WALL OF CHAPEL EXTERIOR OF ORTERUELO NURSING HOME EMPTY YARD EMPTY BENCHES
- Embargoed: 6th May 2020 15:48
- Keywords: COVID-19 Spain conectingyayos coronavirus nursing home tablet
- Location: VALVERDE DEL MAJANO, SPAIN
- City: VALVERDE DEL MAJANO, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001CAKQKW7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Dining tables stand empty at the Oteruelo care home for the elderly north of Madrid, where the coronavirus pandemic has obliged residents to eat meals in their rooms and substitute family visits with video-link chats on donated tablet computers.
"Look after yourself, I'll see you soon!" a man's voice can be heard saying as resident Inmaculada Perez waves at the screen.
One of the world's worst outbreaks of the virus has infected many of Spain's roughly 400,000 nursing home residents and cut others off from their families, who cannot visit for fear of bringing infection to the old and infirm.
At Oteruelo, employees in protective suits now bring plates of meatballs for residents to eat alone at lunchtime.
"We used to come to the sitting room to eat. Now they bring us food in our rooms, breakfast, lunch and dinner," said resident Juana Llorente.
With the spread of the virus showing signs of peaking in Spain, staff said the situation had improved, but the strain on the hospital in the nearby town of Segovia meant they could not send all patients there for diagnosis.
Lacking resources like intravenous medicine or radiography facilities, "in many cases we have given palliative care and looked after people rather than curing them because we did not know clinically what they might have," said nurse Ana Garcia.
The video calls were introduced by local businessmen headed by Raul Vidal, who donated 50 tablet computers to 25 nursing homes and gave them free access to a videoconferencing platform.
The "Conectayayos" initiative - a play on the Spanish term "yayo" meaning "grandpa" - is supported by the local town hall and two local companies including events organiser Trackter which now works disinfecting home like Oteruelo.
Vidal says the platform, based on an interface tool freely distributed by Google, places no limits on the number of participants, unlike programmes like WhatsApp.
It requires no login details or telephone number, saving staff time in setting up accounts, he said, and is designed to resist hacking.
After a traumatic time for care homes, therapist Teresa Gallego struck a note of cautious optimism.
"It's better now than what we have been through. Let's hope that when there is a resurgence of the virus we can keep it under control better, and that it is not so serious," she said.
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