Mum's had a fall
Discussion
As above, my mother (late 70's, bad hips, losing mobility etc.) texted yesterday to say "not to worry, but I've had a fall". Attached a photo of herself with a rather bruised nose, and casually mentioned that this wasn't the first time, it was the second in the space of a week...
Dad (nearly 80, diagnosed with prostate cancer a year ago) is also now less steady on his feet. I doubt they are ready to start thinking about moving to assisted living or similar just yet - we're stubborn folk so will need to bash ourselves up pretty well before seeing sense
I got to thinking about these fall/personal emergency alarms, the button things that they can keep about their persons and press if they have an issue like this again. Age UK seem to offer these, are there any better options? Also in general, how does this work - if they have a fall and need help, they press the button and someone comes to help them?
Dad (nearly 80, diagnosed with prostate cancer a year ago) is also now less steady on his feet. I doubt they are ready to start thinking about moving to assisted living or similar just yet - we're stubborn folk so will need to bash ourselves up pretty well before seeing sense
I got to thinking about these fall/personal emergency alarms, the button things that they can keep about their persons and press if they have an issue like this again. Age UK seem to offer these, are there any better options? Also in general, how does this work - if they have a fall and need help, they press the button and someone comes to help them?
No someone in a call centre calls you at 2am. You pay £20-30 a month for this service. I guess if you don’t answer they must then call 999 they aren’t just going to hang up are they.
Apple Watch does similar but they call the emergency services. And need charging every day so probably not ideal.
Apple Watch does similar but they call the emergency services. And need charging every day so probably not ideal.
My late MIL had one, she didn't like it in case she fell and accidentally set the alarm off!!
They do work though, trigger the alarm and a voice comes through a speaker. Depending on the response from the household, they get they'll call someone registered, in order on the list, family, neighbour, carer etc, failing that then an ambulance.
They do work though, trigger the alarm and a voice comes through a speaker. Depending on the response from the household, they get they'll call someone registered, in order on the list, family, neighbour, carer etc, failing that then an ambulance.
BoRED S2upid said:
No someone in a call centre calls you at 2am. You pay £20-30 a month for this service. I guess if you don’t answer they must then call 999 they aren’t just going to hang up are they.
Apple Watch does similar but they call the emergency services. And need charging every day so probably not ideal.
OK, so have I got this right - they have to nominate a friend or family member for the service to contact in an emergency? And that's what the monthly fee is for?Apple Watch does similar but they call the emergency services. And need charging every day so probably not ideal.
Check if the local authority have a scheme, ours (in Scotland if it makes a difference) does though you do still pay a subscription iirc.
Works very well; pendant to wear and "base unit" that connects to the phone line. Staff can talk to the person and have a list of people they can call such as a trusted neighbour and family.
There is also a team of mobile staff who can respond; trained & with equipment to help up or call ambulance if they deem necessary.
Works very well; pendant to wear and "base unit" that connects to the phone line. Staff can talk to the person and have a list of people they can call such as a trusted neighbour and family.
There is also a team of mobile staff who can respond; trained & with equipment to help up or call ambulance if they deem necessary.
Mum has one - it’s provided by west Herts careline.
Iirc it’s £25 a month.
2 people nominated as people to contact. If no answer, they’ll call an ambulance.
They can speak through the speaker on the unit to talk to her. If it goes off and she doesn’t respond - they call an ambulance first.
They also supplied a key box which only they know the code to for the emergency services.
It’s very useful - been used half a dozen times in the past couple of months.
Iirc it’s £25 a month.
2 people nominated as people to contact. If no answer, they’ll call an ambulance.
They can speak through the speaker on the unit to talk to her. If it goes off and she doesn’t respond - they call an ambulance first.
They also supplied a key box which only they know the code to for the emergency services.
It’s very useful - been used half a dozen times in the past couple of months.
8bit said:
As above, my mother (late 70's, bad hips, losing mobility etc.) texted yesterday to say "not to worry, but I've had a fall". Attached a photo of herself with a rather bruised nose, and casually mentioned that this wasn't the first time, it was the second in the space of a week...
Dad (nearly 80, diagnosed with prostate cancer a year ago) is also now less steady on his feet. I doubt they are ready to start thinking about moving to assisted living or similar just yet - we're stubborn folk so will need to bash ourselves up pretty well before seeing sense
I got to thinking about these fall/personal emergency alarms, the button things that they can keep about their persons and press if they have an issue like this again. Age UK seem to offer these, are there any better options? Also in general, how does this work - if they have a fall and need help, they press the button and someone comes to help them?
8bit,Dad (nearly 80, diagnosed with prostate cancer a year ago) is also now less steady on his feet. I doubt they are ready to start thinking about moving to assisted living or similar just yet - we're stubborn folk so will need to bash ourselves up pretty well before seeing sense
I got to thinking about these fall/personal emergency alarms, the button things that they can keep about their persons and press if they have an issue like this again. Age UK seem to offer these, are there any better options? Also in general, how does this work - if they have a fall and need help, they press the button and someone comes to help them?
It could well not be "her being a bit unsteady on her feet".
There's a multitude of physical things that could be leading to the "falls".
One example - TIA's (Mini Strokes) - Difficult to spot even for the person themselves.
Your Mum really does need a thorough assessment by her GP or associated professional.
That's very brief .
Hope it helps. And all the best to your mum.
Thanks all for the input. We and they are in Scotland too, they live in Montrose so we'll investigate this with Angus council. We live in Aberdeen though, so about a 45 minute drive away, we'd probably need to look into a carer or something more local to them for that option to be really practicable.
She has an issue with both of her hips which was identified recently, I understand she's been offered replacements but I'm not sure where she's at with that. She's seen a doctor already, has an appointment with a bone specialist about her face tomorrow and has a "fasting glucose test" later this week, I presume to rule out other possibilities.
RGG said:
8bit,
It could well not be "her being a bit unsteady on her feet".
There's a multitude of physical things that could be leading to the "falls".
One example - TIA's (Mini Strokes) - Difficult to spot even for the person themselves.
Your Mum really does need a thorough assessment by her GP or associated professional.
That's very brief .
Hope it helps. And all the best to your mum.
Thanks for your input and kind words It could well not be "her being a bit unsteady on her feet".
There's a multitude of physical things that could be leading to the "falls".
One example - TIA's (Mini Strokes) - Difficult to spot even for the person themselves.
Your Mum really does need a thorough assessment by her GP or associated professional.
That's very brief .
Hope it helps. And all the best to your mum.
She has an issue with both of her hips which was identified recently, I understand she's been offered replacements but I'm not sure where she's at with that. She's seen a doctor already, has an appointment with a bone specialist about her face tomorrow and has a "fasting glucose test" later this week, I presume to rule out other possibilities.sherman said:
Have you considered asking your mum if she thinks a cane or wheeled walker when out and about might be an option to start with before getting them signed up to an alarm service.
She has been using a cane for years and lately got herself a mobility scooter as she can't walk very far unassisted. The primary consideration for the alarm was for falls at home, when she's not using either of these things.8bit said:
BoRED S2upid said:
No someone in a call centre calls you at 2am. You pay £20-30 a month for this service. I guess if you don’t answer they must then call 999 they aren’t just going to hang up are they.
Apple Watch does similar but they call the emergency services. And need charging every day so probably not ideal.
OK, so have I got this right - they have to nominate a friend or family member for the service to contact in an emergency? And that's what the monthly fee is for?Apple Watch does similar but they call the emergency services. And need charging every day so probably not ideal.
I bought a Vodafone V-SOS wristband for my mother, which uses the mobile network to communicate with an app on your phone. The wearer can long-press the button on the side of the band to call for help, and you can press a button on the app which changes the colour of the light on the band to tell the user that help is coming. It also features fall detection which will automatically trigger an alert, but in practice it would be triggered when mum would swat at a fly on her table when doing crossword puzzles. Or she would clap when watching question time, which sometimes triggered a fall alert.
Pros:
Works anywhere there is a 2G mobile signal (pretty much everywhere inside the home and out)
Waterproof so doesn't have to be taken off when bathing
Lasts about a month on a charge
Can alert up to four people, any of whom can say they are taking action.
Track the location of the wearer, but only if an alert has been triggered. So no good for people with dementia unless they remember to manually trigger the band.
Only £4 a month
Cons:
No way for the app user to communicate with the wearer via the band
Really crappy one time alert which can easily be missed (especially if your phone is on silent)
Magnetic charger can be tricky to line up.
If your parents still go out and about it's much better than one of those dongles that only works from home. But it's far from perfect and the app is pretty awful - or it was the last time I looked at it about 2 years ago. I complained to Vodafone about how bad the alerting was over and over again and although the fix would have been easy, they did nothing to improve it. If you're a light sleeper and never put your phone on silent, it might work for you though...
Having said all that, I can't see it on Vodafone's website any more so perhaps it's been discontinued.
Pros:
Works anywhere there is a 2G mobile signal (pretty much everywhere inside the home and out)
Waterproof so doesn't have to be taken off when bathing
Lasts about a month on a charge
Can alert up to four people, any of whom can say they are taking action.
Track the location of the wearer, but only if an alert has been triggered. So no good for people with dementia unless they remember to manually trigger the band.
Only £4 a month
Cons:
No way for the app user to communicate with the wearer via the band
Really crappy one time alert which can easily be missed (especially if your phone is on silent)
Magnetic charger can be tricky to line up.
If your parents still go out and about it's much better than one of those dongles that only works from home. But it's far from perfect and the app is pretty awful - or it was the last time I looked at it about 2 years ago. I complained to Vodafone about how bad the alerting was over and over again and although the fix would have been easy, they did nothing to improve it. If you're a light sleeper and never put your phone on silent, it might work for you though...
Having said all that, I can't see it on Vodafone's website any more so perhaps it's been discontinued.
[quote=8bit]Thanks all for the input. We and they are in Scotland too, they live in Montrose so we'll investigate this with Angus council. We live in Aberdeen though, so about a 45 minute drive away, we'd probably need to look into a carer or something more local to them for that option to be really practicable.
[quote=RGG]
https://www.angus.gov.uk/social_care_and_health/he...
This is what you are after, says they will be able to make arrangements if nobody nearby available; will be folks with nobody nearby at all.
[quote=RGG]
https://www.angus.gov.uk/social_care_and_health/he...
This is what you are after, says they will be able to make arrangements if nobody nearby available; will be folks with nobody nearby at all.
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