The Ministry for Active Aging has launched a public consultation on Assisted Tracking Devices on a voluntary basis, with the aim of helping dependent and vulnerable individuals, such as individuals with dementia, who find themselves in difficulty and require some kind of help immediate.
This was announced during a news conference by the Minister for Active Aging, Jo Etienne Abela. It was explained how one of the effects of dementia is that a person loses the orientation of where they are and can find it difficult to go back to a familiar environment. He stated that although the mobile is a ‘tracking’ system, it can be switched off, lost or difficult to operate.
He explained that therefore there is a vast selection of devices that can help in this regard, and most of these devices also include various functions such as that of tele-medicine, where the device recognizes and records vital parameters (such as blood pressure and sugar level) as well as unusual behavior that can mean the beginning of a crisis in the individual.
Minister Abela reiterated that the purpose of this public consultation is to gather the opinion of individuals, their relatives and professionals who work in this sector. He continued that there are many countries that have introduced this device including the United Kingdom, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, Switzerland, America and Slovakia. He mentioned here that the Slovak Government has invited Malta to visit a region where this device is being used in order to see the benefits of this service.
The Minister concluded by saying that while he appreciates the concerns and prejudices regarding privacy, ethics and digital security, he believes that the benefits of such systems should not be dismissed. Therefore the Ministry invites and wishes an open discussion on this subject. The public is invited to register their opinion on the website publicconsultation.gov.mt no later than 15 July 2023. They can also send an email to: onlineconsultations@gov.mt.
