GPS Trackers Recommendations

[crazyerduck]

Hi all,
My dear father has early onset FTD so still young and mobile and out and about. He's started to get confused in timings, and was picked up by medics this week when lost and wandering all night. His local council do not provide GPS trackers (apparently some do) and he lives alone. We're worried he will get lost and it won't be possible to find him so a tracker seems like a good idea but we're worried 1) he might forget to wear it 2) he won't remember to charge it.
Does anyone have any recommendations on trackers which might not need to be charged as often / easier to not take off?
Thank in advance

 

[NotTooLate]

Hi...
I don't have a tracker yet... but my kids are thinking about I bet! I do have an iPhone and on that there is an app called, Find My Friends. This allows my son and daughter to keep a track of me 24/7. It was strange at first, but it makes sense. If I move out of my place, they know and I get a text, 'You Ok?' I don't go out much, to the park about 5:30 most mornings, to take Finn for his walk. I got stuck in my wheelchair on day, it helped then!

 

[Sirena]

My mother's tracker was provided by the council and her carer charged it for her, but it was still of no use because as soon as the carer left, she took it off. She saw anything 'new' as a mysterious foreign body so it wouldn't have made any difference if it was clipped to her belt or a bracelet or pendant, she would have removed it. If it was hard to remove, she would have broken it! If he always carries his keys with him you could try clipping a tracker to those as it may go unnoticed (my mother was well past the point of reliably carrying anything). Or as Richard says, an app on a phone could help if he reliably carries a phone.

 

[crazyerduck]

Thanks both, @Sirena I did see a few people have it provided by the council, his council won't unfortunately, do you know the name of the brand/tracker that your council use? Such a shame it wasn't of any use in the end!
@Richard and Fin thanks for the tip, that app does seem good, shame my father doesn't have an iphone but I explored a few Android apps last night and going to trial an app called Life360 - may help as long I guess as he keeps the GPS on. Glad it's been useful for you and your family, do you get to see where they are too

 

[Jackimags]

I bought my hubby who has FTD a Doro 580 Secure mobile. If I text a code to the phone it comes back within about one minute a google map reference which is very accurate. It also has 4 quick shortcut buttons and a panic button on the back which will ring number A first and then B C and D in turn. The only time he goes out on his own is to take our cocker spaniel for a walk but I can always check where he is without him knowing

 

[crazyerduck]

Thanks @Jackimags, how did he remember to take it with him, did you put it in his pocket before he left the house? Sounds like a great tool if they remember to take with them

 

[Jackimags]

Thanks @Jackimags, how did he remember to take it with him, did you put it in his pocket before he left the house? Sounds like a great tool if they remember to take with them

As I put the dogs lead on I put the phone and the poo bags in his pocket!!

 

[nitram]

As I put the dogs lead on I put the phone and the poo bags in his pocket!!

Unquantified risk of poo and phone both going in bag and then in bin provided???

Saving grace is you would most likely be able to locate bin before it was emptied and retrieve phone.
Doubt if, unlike normal bins, many people rummage through these bins.

 

[Jackimags]

Unquantified risk of poo and phone both going in bag and then in bin provided???

Saving grace is you would most likely be able to locate bin before it was emptied and retrieve phone.
Doubt if, unlike normal bins, many people rummage through these bins.

Not happened yet!!!

 

[nitram]

Not happened yet!!!

Always a first time!

 

[crazyerduck]

Thanks @Jackimags, I don't live with him so it might be tricky, I'm glad you found something that worked for you It's def peace of mind to know where they are just in case x

 

[Linbrusco]

Im from New Zealand. We get no funding for trackers, but this is the dilemma we are in too.
Dad 81 has mixed dementia and lives behind me, but I work 4 days.
Hes a creature of habit. Hasnt caught public transport on his own since he retired 18 yrs ago, so Im not worried about risk of wandering ... yet.
Doesnt walk anywhere other than his local club 10 mn walk but across 2 busy streets.
Its hard to pre organise a taxi as you will never know when he wants to go and he could be gone anywhere from 2 hrs to 8.
Memory Team want me to get him a pendant or wrist tracker.
Well 1) how do I ensure he puts it on when no one is there to oversee it
2) hes as much said he wouldnt wear one as its “ jewellery” .
He wont even wear his emergency alarm at home
Then they suggested a medic alert bracelet that needs another person to help get on and off.
Believe me Dad would find a way to get it off.
A phone was suggested. Hes never had a mobile phone and wouldnt consider carrying one as he wouldnt know how to use it.

That left a tracking device in his shoes.
If Dad can see it or feel it, he would remove it.

 

[Cjoy]

Hi
I got the SOS GPS tracker, so in theory if my mum got stuck or had a fall then she could press the button and I would also be able to locate her. We got this after mum had an angina attack while out and struggled to get home. However, she has never used it. She has a place where she keeps her house keys and because the SOS keyring needs charged she just never uses it (although she swears blind she uses it every time she goes out). She also does not like anything that identifies that she has a problem, and I think that is also why she does not use it.
I would thoroughly recommend the SOS keyring, as it is great, easy to use, however, whether it is used by the person that needs it is quite another thing!

 

[JanetC]

Hi We too got a SOS /GPS Tracker for mum, from the Unforgettable website. It's a personal alarm with two way calling and GPS tracker. Mum was getting confused and disoriented while out so this has proved to be invaluable to us. Although mum forgets she can press the SOS for help, we have set a safe zone on it which triggers an alert to my mobile if she goes out of a set radius. We can track her at any time if need be. It's definitely given us piece of mind. She wears it on a lanyard around her neck along with her front door key as that was another problem - she kept locking herself out! Thankfully she has got into the habit of putting her lanyard on every morning ( for now at least!)

 

[nitram]

She wears it on a lanyard around her neck along with her front door key as that was another problem - she kept locking herself out!

If she has the key obviously visible beware of her also carrying anything that gives her address, her name and a contact phone number to use in an emergency is all that is required.
There are unscrupulous people out there.

 

[JanetC]

Hi nitram
Thanks for your concern. Luckily she doesn’t carry anything with her address on and hides her lanyard under her clothing. Thankfully she still remembers to do this. As you say there is always a worry.........

 

[myss]

I bought my hubby who has FTD a Doro 580 Secure mobile. If I text a code to the phone it comes back within about one minute a google map reference which is very accurate. It also has 4 quick shortcut buttons and a panic button on the back which will ring number A first and then B C and D in turn. The only time he goes out on his own is to take our cocker spaniel for a walk but I can always check where he is without him knowing

Hi We too got a SOS /GPS Tracker for mum, from the Unforgettable website. It's a personal alarm with two way calling and GPS tracker. Mum was getting confused and disoriented while out so this has proved to be invaluable to us. Although mum forgets she can press the SOS for help, we have set a safe zone on it which triggers an alert to my mobile if she goes out of a set radius. We can track her at any time if need be. It's definitely given us piece of mind. She wears it on a lanyard around her neck along with her front door key as that was another problem - she kept locking herself out! Thankfully she has got into the habit of putting her lanyard on every morning ( for now at least!)

Both of the description of the tracker in these posts sound like the same one I got my dad too and it was also invaluable to us.

Most times he wandered, we had a half idea as to where he could be but there were a couple times when he wandered and got lost and we would have had to call the police if it weren't for the tracker. At that time, dad always carried his wallet and his keys so the one we got was attached to his keys and when he was home, it was placed on the charger. There was another that looked like this: slim tracker (and was cheaper than that!) that I was going to purchase to slip in his wallet if the first one failed.

After a while though it became apparent that he was forgetting to take his wallet and keys and now requires an escort any time he goes out, so we don't use the tracker. I can recall at the time so others did say that perhaps the tracker could be put in the hem of a favourite jacket, cardigan, etc that the person wears but then you have the issue of having to charge it.

 

[crazyerduck]

Great, thanks @Linbrusco @Cjoy @nitram @myss @JanetC as well for all your suggestions! The SOS GPS tracker looks great, at the moment as he lives alone I'm worried he won't charge it so I think the phone app is the best thing at the moment based on everyone's feedback as he currently remembers to charge his phone, although this one you mentioned @myss https://www.techsilver.co.uk/product/small-gps-tracker-dementia-child/ does look like it requires minimal charging and I could charge it when I visit monthly.
I visited him and added an app called Life360 to the phone, seems to be good so far, luckily GPS is switched on by default normally on his phone - phew!

Dad still has capacity in some respects, and was ok with me adding it to his phone, but I'm never sure he does fully understand, so I assume no one had an issue with adding a GPS tracker o their partner/family member/friend if it's in their interest in case of wandering?

Thanks all!

 

[Doodles87]

Both of the description of the tracker in these posts sound like the same one I got my dad too and it was also invaluable to us.

Most times he wandered, we had a half idea as to where he could be but there were a couple times when he wandered and got lost and we would have had to call the police if it weren't for the tracker. At that time, dad always carried his wallet and his keys so the one we got was attached to his keys and when he was home, it was placed on the charger. There was another that looked like this: slim tracker (and was cheaper than that!) that I was going to purchase to slip in his wallet if the first one failed.

After a while though it became apparent that he was forgetting to take his wallet and keys and now requires an escort any time he goes out, so we don't use the tracker. I can recall at the time so others did say that perhaps the tracker could be put in the hem of a favourite jacket, cardigan, etc that the person wears but then you have the issue of having to charge it.

Hi, may I ask if there is a monthly charge with this tracker as I've found some so expensive.

Thanks
Danielle

 

[myss]

Hi, may I ask if there is a monthly charge with this tracker as I've found some so expensive.

Thanks
Danielle

We paid in full for the tracker and were only playing monthly for the sim card number for tracker of around £5.