Berriak

A Bizkaia Provincial Council delegation led by Provincial Minister of Social Action Sergio Murillo travelled to the United Kingdom at the invitation of the University of Oxford to share Bizkaia’s implemented Long-Term Care Transition Plan with the British Government and academic institution experts.

Over the course of the day organised by the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing directed by gerontologist and demographer Sarah Harper, Bizkaia presented the etxeTIC service to help individuals remain in their own homes in the best practices section. The programme is a free, pioneering public service implemented by the Provincial Council combining relational and technological services that are both in-person and remote, organised out of a day centre hub. Other best practices models from Belgium, Canada, and the United Kingdom itself were also presented. 

EtxeTIC’s roll-out moves forward

The expansion of new generation etxeTIC daytime care centres in Bizkaia is moving forward. Three years ago, the project was presented following an innovative public purchasing process with prior market consultation. The first etxeTIC support centre for individuals to remain in their own homes was Etxaniz in Bilbao, which opened its doors in 2021. It was followed by the opening of the centre in Etxebarri and, between the two, now more than 400 dependent individuals are benefiting from this service in their own homes. These individuals have home care ecosystem support plans that include personalised actions both for dependent individuals and their caretakers, which are complemented with support technologies, tablet, and activity wristband that help monitor and prevent risks with periodic monitoring. The actions implemented in both centres combine the online and in-person modalities with occasional check-ins at the centre. In turn, another 25 individuals receive care from a day centre itself.

The next incorporations to the etxeTIC model will be located in Zalla, Basauri, and Mungia, which are all currently in the construction stage.

As such, the Bizkaia Provincial Council is moving forward with the roll-out of this new etxeTIC support service for individuals to remain in their own homes at an incremental but steady pace. The programme was outlined in Provincial Decree 173/2021, dated 21 December, as key to supporting at-home, long-term care from a nearby community centre using the potential of new technologies as care facilitators, combining them with in-person care from daytime care centres.