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A smart door-sensor scheme aimed at preventing “lonely deaths” has monitored more than 100 households in a Kwun Tong public housing estate, with all alerts followed up and the elderly residents confirmed safe.
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Jointly organized by the Lok Wah South Care Team and the Lions Club of South Kowloon Hong Kong, the program installs Internet of Things (IoT) sensors on the front doors of elderly residents living alone and considered to be at higher risk.
If no door movement is detected for 48 hours, the system automatically sends text-message alerts to designated emergency contacts and Care Team volunteers, prompting a welfare check.
Organizers said on Wednesday that the system had generated 226 alerts between its launch and June 30.
Under a tiered response mechanism, volunteers first call the resident. If there is no answer, they conduct a home visit, check with neighbors and refer unresolved cases to the Housing Department.
All residents involved were eventually confirmed safe, and no unattended deaths were recorded.
Most alerts were caused by unexpected hospital admissions, overseas travel or trips to the mainland that had not been reported in advance.
In one case, volunteers were alerted after 76-year-old Cheung failed to answer his phone. Further inquiries found that he had been hospitalized with a heart condition, allowing the team to follow his condition until he was discharged.
Addressing privacy concerns, Kwun Tong district councilor Lee Ka-hang said the devices, which are provided free of charge, do not record personal information or track residents’ movements. They monitor only whether the door has been opened.
The Care Team hopes to extend the “Lok Wah South model” to other communities and is encouraging elderly residents to report travel plans in advance to reduce false alarms.
