Affordable and timely homecare services for all

• Author: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission)
• Pages: 52-53

SOCIAL INNOVATION: INSPIRATIONAL PRACTICES

SUPPORTING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES

52

© Garage48, 2017

CareMate was the winner of ‘Idea Garage: Estonian Wellbeing 2017’

Af‌fordable and timely homecare

services for all

CareMate

Problem addressed

The Estonian population is ageing – ref‌lecting an overall

European trend. The proportion of people above 65-years-

old has now reached almost 20% of the total population in

Estonia. Health and care services are traditionally provided

by local governments, which need to meet increasing

demands with constrained resources. People in need of

homecare services therefore struggle to f‌ind quality support

at an af‌fordable price. In 2016 alone, around 40% of people

reported an unmet need for homecare services due to

f‌inancial reasons, which is among the highest rates in the EU.

Innovative solution

CareMate is innovative in its ability to connect and match

supply and demand for care, with a very local focus,

allowing it to support both people in need of care and local

municipalities in need of service providers. This initiative

is a peer-to-peer online platform established in 2018

that is structured as a social enterprise and connects care

workers with people in need of homecare services.

Users select the type and the length of service they

need, and an available carer who lives nearby. Various

care services such as washing and ironing, personal care

or assistance with medical visits are available. People in

need receive the fastest possible response at a relatively

low fee per service. This arrangement means that carers

themselves do not spend as much time driving from client

to client and can provide their services to more people

than was previously the case. The platform also gives

carers the f‌lexibility to decide on their working schedule

themselves. All carers are either already trained or are

required to complete appropriate training provided by

the platform. The courses are also available to family

members who want to extend their knowledge on how to

care for their relatives.

Key results and benef‌its

Over the last year, there have been 500 sign-ups for care,

with 200 actual clients who paid and received services. At

the same time, 200 people underwent CareMate’s training

and were hired as caregivers. Approximately 200 active

Estonia