“A camera will be installed in the TV set of the elderly person, and communication sessions will be carried out at prearranged times,” Deputy Mayor Merike Martinson told Postimees, explaining that the system would not be used for around-the-clock monitoring.

Similar to systems already in use in Sweden and Finland, the setup would make it easier for social workers to have face-to-face meetings with the approximately 1,000 Tallinners on the care list, Martinson said.

Unlike video conferencing via computer, a device unfamiliar to many elderly people, the system would be operated with the help of a TV remote.

Martinson said, however, that the project would be feasible if foreign development funds would foot the bill. If it had to be financed from the city budget alone, its implementation would be far trickier.

Steve Roman