Hi, my mother (81) has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. We had suspected it for the last 2 years as we recognised the signs. She lives 45 minutes away and I would like to start planning for the future.she comes to stay regularly so sees our 2 teenagers; good for her and them. At present she’s very independent, getting the bus into town and is involved with local community groups and forums. However she had a bad fall at Christmas with a head injury , has agreed to wear a pendant but inside her clothing as it gets in the way! I’m thinking of another device which has a wider radius with a tracking device and fall sensor. Does anyone have experience of using one of these or could recommend one?
Does anyone have experience of a tracking device?
- Thread starter Hazel D
- Start date
Hello Hazel D and welcome to Talking Point.
I don't have any experience of tracking devices but I hope someone else will.
There's an article in the Alzheimer's Society magazine which might be helpful:
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20239/febmar_2018/1308/gps_devices
I also searched on the Alzheimer's Society website for tracking devices (put in at the top of the screen where the magnifying glass is) and it came up with a list of articles which might be of interest.
I don't have any experience of tracking devices but I hope someone else will.
There's an article in the Alzheimer's Society magazine which might be helpful:
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20239/febmar_2018/1308/gps_devices
I also searched on the Alzheimer's Society website for tracking devices (put in at the top of the screen where the magnifying glass is) and it came up with a list of articles which might be of interest.
My wife (PWD) wears a watch type tracking device, which although it's quite bulky, she seems to tolerate okay. The wrist strap comes as either removable (like a normal watch strap), or "lockable" - it clicks into place and you have a little gadget that allows it to be undone.
I don't think it can detect falls but it tracks location using either GPS or the mobile phone signal (GSM). So, if she were to go missing, we can call the central monitoring desk and they can see where she is (provided either of the location signals are present).
You can also agree a geo-fencing range, so that if the person say, is fine walking to the local shops, neighbour etc, but would get lost if the ventured further, then once the device goes beyond that range, it alerts the centre. They would then ring the nominated contact and give the current location. We don't currently use this facility but it could be useful for many.
We got this provided for free via a local carer support organisation, who work in partnership with our county council. I believe it would cost around £500 plus monthly monitoring fee, if you have to purchase yourself.
I did give details of the supplier on a previous post but was told this is not allowed, so if you do want more information, you may need to send me a private message.
Hope this helps
Phil
I don't think it can detect falls but it tracks location using either GPS or the mobile phone signal (GSM). So, if she were to go missing, we can call the central monitoring desk and they can see where she is (provided either of the location signals are present).
You can also agree a geo-fencing range, so that if the person say, is fine walking to the local shops, neighbour etc, but would get lost if the ventured further, then once the device goes beyond that range, it alerts the centre. They would then ring the nominated contact and give the current location. We don't currently use this facility but it could be useful for many.
We got this provided for free via a local carer support organisation, who work in partnership with our county council. I believe it would cost around £500 plus monthly monitoring fee, if you have to purchase yourself.
I did give details of the supplier on a previous post but was told this is not allowed, so if you do want more information, you may need to send me a private message.
Hope this helps
Phil
My mother had something which sounds exactly like what Phil has described. She had the option of a bracelet, pendant or a sort of tag you put in your pocket. The council provided it via their Linkline service, my mother's care agency organised it. They set up a geo-fencing zone so that she could leave her flat but not leave the gardens (she was not safe to be out alone). As far as I remember it had to be removed and re-charged every day so the carers did that for her. Because she had dementia, the service was free. However, it was not that useful as she kept removing the device and leaving it in the flat...
We used Trax when it first launched.
Mum would have never tolerated a pendant or a bracelet, not in a million years. But she never went anywhere without her handbag. We charged it during the day when we were with her. Before we left her we discreetly dropped the device into an outside pocket of her handbag that she never rummaged in.
It retained its charge all night. It had the geofencing stuff as described above and was very reasonably priced at the time - likely more now. No major issues with it.
See image here: https://twitter.com/DazeInOurLives
Mum would have never tolerated a pendant or a bracelet, not in a million years. But she never went anywhere without her handbag. We charged it during the day when we were with her. Before we left her we discreetly dropped the device into an outside pocket of her handbag that she never rummaged in.
It retained its charge all night. It had the geofencing stuff as described above and was very reasonably priced at the time - likely more now. No major issues with it.
See image here: https://twitter.com/DazeInOurLives
