Atea: Smart care, the Scandinavian way

By Signe Hansen

Across Europe, care settings are struggling to uphold the high standards of care for the elderly in the face of a rapidly ageing population. Care technology has long promised to ease the pressure, yet implementation has been uneven. In the Stavanger municipality of Norway, a pioneering partnership with Sensio and Atea shows what is possible when innovative technology, long-term systems integration, and a willingness to rethink workflows come together to create calmer, safer, and more efficient care.

Stavanger municipality’s collaboration with Sensio and Atea is grounded in a simple but pressing reality: its existing nurse-call system was outdated, and the municipality needed a more efficient way to handle the care of its nursing home residents. The introduction of Sensio’s digital supervision and sensor technology gave just that, benefiting both staff and residents. “After some time, you learn to trust the alerts, and that creates a calmness in the work,” says Kristine Skjøthaug, from Stavanger municipality. “The old alarms in the corridors are gone, the atmosphere is quieter, and it feels more like a place where people actually live. That is good for both staff and residents.”

Atea, Norway’s largest supplier of health and care technology, helps municipalities integrate new technologies. Photo: Daniel Tengs

For Atea, Norway’s largest supplier of health and care technology, the role is to tie it all together. As a system integrator and long-term partner to some 150 municipalities, Atea ensures that technology does not become fragmented but instead forms a coherent, reliable support system. “We want to be the municipality’s partner on the journey,” explains Endre Valdersnes, director for care technology at Atea. “With Sensio as our most important partner, we bring the pieces together so that the technology works across services. That way, municipalities don’t have to juggle 15 or 20 different agreements with smaller providers.”

Photo: Daniel Tengs

An older population needs younger solutions

The Norwegian care system faces mounting strain as the number of elderly rises steadily, placing increasing stress on the people and systems in place to provide care. In many municipalities, the daily reality is still governed by outdated technologies such as pull-cord alarms and round-the-clock physical checks, leaving staff overburdened and residents disturbed. The need for digitalisation has never been more pressing.

“There has to be an organisational change,” says Valdersnes. “It’s not just a technology project. If you want to realise the benefits, the whole care home has to work differently – processes, routines, and trust in the system all have to change.”

Without such transformation, new technology risks becoming just another tool on the shelf. With it, however, radical change can be achieved.

Photo: Morten Munthe

Technology that prevents falls and builds trust

At the heart of Stavanger’s work is Sensio’s RoomMate sensor, used across several hundred care settings in the Nordics and the UK. The technology has been well proven since 2016 and is transforming everyday life in care facilities.

“We have the best and most-installed fall sensor in Europe, with over 20,000 RoomMates installed,” says Anne Roland, Sensio’s Norwegian country director. “If staff are alerted the moment a resident gets up from bed, they can prevent a large proportion of falls. In some places, we see reductions of falls of up to 85 per cent.”

But it is not only about preventing accidents. Families rest easier knowing that their loved ones are cared for. Residents sleep through the night without unnecessary disturbances, while staff are able to focus their energy where it matters most. “Instead of doing three physical checks at night, you can supervise digitally without waking the resident,” adds Roland. “That means better sleep and better days.”

A strong partnership with Atea and Sensio has reformed the care system in Stavanger municipality. Left to right: Anne Roland, Sensio, Kristine Skjøthaug, Stavanger municipality, Endre Valdersnes, Atea. Photo: Atea/Sensio

Care without intrusion

The result is not only improved safety but also increased insights. RoomMate and Sensio can provide data on how often or for how long residents are lying in bed, getting out of bed, going to the toilet, etc; all without any intrusion upon privacy, as the RoomMate sensor performs anonymous supervision. “A very simple but powerful real-life example of how this may inform caretakers is if Sensio’s solutions capture that a resident is going to the toilet more frequently, it may indicate a urinary infection,” Roland points out.

The sensor systems also allow Stavanger to distribute staff more effectively. Instead of spending time on routine checks, health professionals are directed to where they are actually needed. The data from the sensors makes it possible to prioritise acute situations, while ensuring that residents who need personal contact receive it. “It gives us a completely new way of organising staff,” says Skjøthaug. “We can allocate time and attention much more precisely, which both relieves pressure on the workforce and ensures higher quality care for those who require it.”

Preparing for the future of care

While the change in Stavanger shows what is possible, the reality is that many municipalities across Norway, as well as care settings in Europe, still lag behind. Both Sensio and Atea stress the need for clearer national direction.

“We need the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) and the health authorities to give a stronger recommendation to digitalise,” says Skjøthaug. “Otherwise, too many municipalities risk missing out on the benefits that are urgently needed.”

Valdersnes agrees: “This is not just about individual municipalities. It’s about how society adapts to a demographic shift where more people live longer and want to stay at home. To succeed, we need to move technology from institutions into private homes, and that requires national clarity and commitment.”

In the meantime, Sensio keeps working to refine products in collaboration with municipalities and care settings in Europe and provide solutions to the many nations facing similar challenges.

Sensio and RoomMate in short

Founded in 2009, Sensio is a leading Nordic provider of digital care technology, dedicated to empowering care staff and enhance resident outcomes by helping people live safely and independently for longer. A key innovation is RoomMate, a 3D sensor system that enables digital supervision without cameras, ensuring privacy while increasing safety. RoomMate can prevent and detect falls, monitor movement, and alert staff instantly, reducing unnecessary night rounds and freeing time for meaningful care. It is widely used in care homes in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and the UK.