Kochi: Families with elderly citizens could soon avail services of trained bystanders to take care of their aged parents or relatives for a few hours while they could go about their jobs.
The Kudumbashree Mission is planning to launch the 'instant bystander' project as part of initiatives under the “Age-Friendly Ernakulam” project of the District Panchayat implemented by NGO MAGICS.
“Under the initiative, Kudumbashree workers with proven credentials will be trained in extending basic medical care to the elderly. The district panchayat will set up a training centre at Maradu for the purpose,” its Ernakulam district co-ordinator Tanie Thomas said. The charges levied will be on an hourly basis with an upper limit of eight hours a day. “The charges are yet to be fixed, but we’ll make sure they are nominal,” she said.
“Also an alarm button will be deployed at the houses of terminally-ill elderly persons, which, upon pressing, would send out alert messages to volunteers and help will reach in 15 minutes.”
