A device for the elderly to trigger a call to an emergency contact?

bubieyehyeh

My mum has a acticheck system. Base station connects to broadband via ethernet. Watch bracelet connects to base station when at home or via her mobile when out and about. She can trigger it by pressing a button. It rings a number of contacts or a 24/7 call center if no friends or family are available. Works well no monthly fee but annual charge for replacing the electronics in bracket which includes a battery.

p00hsticks

My late mother had a pendant alarm from Taking Care - she had the 'go anywhere' version which included a GPS tracker and Fall detector

Elderly GPS Tracker with Automatic Fall Detection | Taking Care

She never had to use it in earnest but the fall detector did trigger a few times if she dropped it while getting dressed.

If the fall detector is triggered or she pressed both sides of a button on the pendant the call centre is notified and would speak to mum through the pendant to find out what the problem is and if necessary call the named contacts or emergency services. cost was around £30 a month. The pendant only needed charging every few weeks and there was a back up one to wear while that was happening

She also had a Doro phone which has a 'emergency ' button on the back which when pressed would call a list of three pre-programmed numbers in turn until one answered. The problem with that was it required her to keep it with her, switched on and charged.

elsien

that was the problem with my mum. Finally persuaded to take the phone up the garden with her and when she overbalanced (doing something she shouldn’t) it was out of reach. She didn’t have the upper body strength to get herself up again. Seriously thinking of suggesting getting her some weights.

B0bbyEwing

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075679#Comment_82075679

I was round visiting a few weeks ago. I was doing something for her but I was aware of her movements out of the corner of my eye so I started watching discreetly to see what she was doing … and still couldn't fathom it.

So in the end I said - what are you actually doing? Just let me know & I'll sort it for you.

"No, it's nothing, it doesn't matter" … yet she carries on.

Now bearing in mind she's really not mobile at all (another story - which is hopefully going to be treated if she can get seen (NHS wait time!)), we have like a small dog bed thing in the corner of the living room that's on legs. It's only maybe 2ft wide.

But instead of moving it to get to where she 'needed' to be, she was trying to stride over it. All of this, to wipe the cupboard door faces.

So then I could see why she probably falls over so much.

Oh and apologies for the short replies earlier. I was at work on break. I've read the responses & all that are still in the thread are appreciated.

victor2

I have two elderly relatives who both use their computer daily, so we created a utility that automatically logs any usage of the device. If there is no activity over a 24 hour period an email is sent out to designated people who then try to contact them. Both also have "lifeline" alarms they can use, but it's a good little extra service to back that up.

I believe there are devices like smart sockets which something like an electric kettle, or any device used regularly, can be plugged into, and the same approach works, where a lack of use alerts somebody.

No use for emergencies, but non intrusive and allows some independence.

PCNAppealer01

I'm currently paying £20.99 per month for one through PPP for my mother-in-law, the Taking Care one mentioned above. It's a watch or necklace with a base unit and will call them or notify them I think if it detects a fall. The call centre keep details for the key safe on the front of the house in case the emergency services need to gain access. We will be stopping it soon but only because she refuses to wear it!

victor2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82076791#Comment_82076791

They do work. I know/knew two people who have used them in a real emergency and an ambulance was summoned even before the relatives on the call list were contacted.

Had a few false alarms from accidentally setting the alarm off while in the garden and not hearing the call on the base unit, so the call list was used, which started with me. Fortunately, I was able to phone the neighbours and confirm the person was actually busy in the garden, blissfully unaware of what she had done!

Had one relative who refused to have such a unit and had a fall. He spent the night on the floor before being able to summon help. Ended up in hospital and now has one! Last renewal was £185 for a year. Doesn't have a fall sensor in it, as they do get tripped quite often IME. He is VAT exempt on such devices, as many people with medical conditions are.

returnofghandi

I did a bit of research in March for my 80 year old mother and made this list which may help a bit or give ideas:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zlwo0jeks6yu24aq1vmua/Personal-alarms.docx?rlkey=rquslnj0vbohnljxpqon1z3j7&st=bdptdhmx&dl=0

Of course prices will probably have changed since then 😔. HTH

littlemoney

Some councils provide care alarms free of charge. Worth asking.

monious

One thing you might consider is CCTV but this is very invasive in terms of privacy.

So an alternative is to use the Alexa supported products from Amazon, this starts with a speaker that allows you to "drop in" but if you use plugs and lights you can save the elderly person having to get up to do something in the first place. Then you can create routines like "bedtime" which turns on and off a whole bunch of devices and then turn off those it turned on after say 20 minutes.

If they have a habit of leaving hall and bathroom lights on and then get up to go and turn them off you can set up a routine that turns the bathroom light off every 30 minutes or as often as you want, or by the person saying Alexa Bathroom off"

One useful product from Philips as part of their Hue lighting starter pack is a motion detector, if the relative as part of their normal day goes via the hall or a certain part of their property you can set an Alexa routine to do something if they don't detect something for say 8 hours. That something might be to turn on a switch that has a CCTV camera, so their privacy is kept unless there is an issue.

Another routine might turn off same set of plugs if motion is detected.

These Plugs can turn lighting switches and plugs on and off by voice command or by routine.