Personal alarms eg careline.

My mother-in-law had one - and it just went off if you lurched/fell or dropped it.
They call you.
You didn't need to push it.

I think it was nearly £300 a year.

I've got a careline bracelet which I wear all the time. It's very sensitive and sometimes goes off unnecessarily. But it didn't cost anythin i m trying to remember
Who issued it. I think it was the frailty team (NHS )
I .live in Kent.

Have you had to use it and was it a good experience?

My friend couldn’t tell me if the team would come out or if they would call family.
Does anyone know this?

My friend had one which called a list of people if it went off.

Thing is, the call handlers went down the list of next of kin rather than going for closest first.

usedtobeblond My mum has a wrist one which activates if it is banged or she ‘lurches’.

The response team first call her through the box they installed in her flat. If no response then they call the named contacts, both of whom live in the same block of flats. If no response from them then they will phone me. (I live three hours drive away so not much use, but there we are!)

If they can’t raise anyone locally then they will call the paramedic team as an emergency.

When she signed up to the system they insisted that there was a key safe available and that they could gain access to the flats, so they have the emergency code for the front door.
Mum has to check in with them, via the box in the flat, once a month to make sure the contact details are still the same.

As to whether she’d think to bang it if she needed help, I think probably not. It would be much more likely that she’d try to get to her front door.

I have used it when I felĺ. It all happens automatically if I don't respond it goes off they call an ambulance and my next of kin.

When my husband needed one of these if I was out or in the garden or whatever), I bought a system which required a landline but had no monthly cost. It cost about £75 (I think) but I sold it for £50 when no longer needed. If you pressed the button on the pendant or “watch”, it rang pre- entered numbers (son, daughter & son-in-law) until someone answered and rang back. If I didn’t answer the call back, caller would know something was wrong. We did a trial run when new, then it was used once when my husband (with dementia) pressed it because he thought I had been out too long. My son-in-law rang my mobile to tell me and all was well, but it was reassuring to know the system worked.
I will repost if I can find the system on the internet.

utbb I think it depends on the system. A friend has one via the local authority and when activated she is asked what has happened and if she is ok. If she doesn’t answer they call ambulance, police and also send a staff member while contacting named persons. We are on their list, at nearly two hours away local intervention is essential. The call centre know her key safe code for emergency access. Her system is tested refularly, she gets welfare calls at times such as Christmas and her birthday.

We live on a retirement development where every property comes with a built in alarm system. A bracelet/pendant and pull cords (we have removed the majority of pull cords and as we need to will each use a pendant/bracelet ) Our development manager is very part time. We are asked to nominate a local keyholder, we reciprocate with a friend and neighbour. The system worked well for her when she had an accident. The call centre called an ambulance and notified us so we could be with her. In our system the operator can speak with someone no matter where they are in the property. I would think a McArthy and Stone system would be similar.

Any of the systems are only as good as the use that is made of them. Yes for health emergencies but also in the case of intruder or any perceived threat. So far we’ve only set our system off by accident, each time we’ve been reassured it’s not a problem.

I have one, and I paid extra because I thought there was a greater chance I would fall in the street. Mine apparently knows if I have had a "nasty" bump or not. I have a bad habit of leaving my front door key in, so if I had an accident, the keysafe couldn't be activated.

I have no relatives; I wanted to be independent. I paid around £366 for the year.

I rolled over in bed one night and that set it off! There was an instant response at the other end.

Thankyou for the replies.
I was concerned about my two friends not using them.
It also concerned me that the alarm wasn’t triggered when my friend fell
I thought that would happen automatically.
Another thing my friend told me about some months ago is that when the land line phone system changes in a few months time the devices will all need to be changed to digital, this will be quite an undertaking.

There are several different options. Some work anywhere and some only have a small range.

My mother-in-law's one worked if she was out and about and the person spoke to her through the gadget itself. It wasn't very big and didn't need a "box" in the house. It did need charging regularly though and they called her once to say it needed charging.
You do have to find a time of day or night when you are safe to do this.
As she slept like a log, for her it was overnight - but some people apparently do it when (say) family or carers are with them.
I don't know if you can have 2 gadgets to use one and charge one.

If they get no answer they call your list of people and/ or emergency services.

I think the ones you don't need to press are a good idea.
Obviously you can press it if you are able.

After being diagnosed with a second heart condition a year ago, my family persuaded me to get one. Mine is GPS so goes everywhere with me. I find it comforting to have help at the touch of a button. However, after the initial getting used to wearing it, you do tend to forget it's there.
I have accidentally set it off at times. When I was in Tesco recently I reached up to get a bag of frozen rice from the cabinet above the floor freezer and it caught on the handle of the trolley and went off. It brought the immediate area to a standstill as my pendant started flashing red and a loud voice said they were aware I needed help. They are very nice when I explain what had happened.

Sarnia good to know it works when put and about though!

*out and about

I was given a small second pendant to wear if the larger one is charging. Mine frightened me because I was asleep when the pendant went off for the first time to tell me to recharge it. I had never done it before, and it also caused the base to ask me if I needed help. I certainly didn't need a fleet of ambulances outside, so I recharged it and returned to bed, picking it up the next morning.

I live on my own and have no family, so this system makes me more independent.

We looked into an alarm for my late mother. Things may have changed but the ones we looked at, once the alarm was activated, relied on ringing a local relative or friend to go and check on the person. As none of us were local ( and the neighbours were elderly) we did not think it would work. Mum ( who until her sudden last illness had been independent and fit) was not keen.

My personal radio alarm has an automatic fall function. I never used it as such but find it worth paying for --- currently more than £40 a month----as it keep me independent in my own home.

Over the Xmas period I called two times --

1. I fell early hours of Boxing Day falling from the commode

2. a heavy room divider fell across my bed when I and my dog were in bed. about 2AM on New Years Day. trapping me.

The two responders were quick to arrive, 15 -20 minutes, and were efficient.

Usedtobeblonde

My friend couldn’t tell me if the team would come out or if they would call family.
Does anyone know this?

First, the care office responds on their radio which they have installed in your house. You can talk to the person in the office by radio. The office may ring you as well. (The service I use does not use battery radios.)

If you cannot for any reason answer the telephone the care office will send their own mobile responders who possess your Keysafe number. They let themselves in and assess the situation and do what they can. If an ambulance is needed they send for it.

Alternatively you can arrange for a relative or friend to be the first responder.

All I really know is that they’re useless if there’s any degree of dementia - since the person will a) forget to wear it, and b) even if they do, will forget what it’s for.

In the case of people who still have a full complement of marbles, I am sure they have a very useful part to play.

PS the radio response system is a two way radio contact---you can talk with the person in the office and tell what is the matter.
The radio response I have works all over the house via my pendant radio extension button on a lanyard around my neck. Some customers prefer a radio extension button on a wrist bracelet.

Witzend

All I really know is that they’re useless if there’s any degree of dementia - since the person will a) forget to wear it, and b) even if they do, will forget what it’s for.

In the case of people who still have a full complement of marbles, I am sure they have a very useful part to play.

Yes, but the automatic fall function could still of some use for a demented person who does not remove the button .

Yes, dementia can mean that the system doesn't work well. FiL had a local authority system and they did come out to him a few times. But... he was deaf and couldn't hear properly when they called him - thought he was hearing voices - and forgot to wear his bracelet.

We did solve the problem of him leaving the key in the inside of the lock and thus rendering the keysafe useless. We fitted a "thumb lock" style lock to his front door. He could lock it securely from inside by pushing the lever but there was no keyhole inside.

I fear that giving people with dementia a tracker would be hit and miss as many, like my FiL, would just wonder what it was and take it off. He'd have found a way to remove it even if it had been supposedly tamper proof!

The point is there are lots of different systems and one that's great for one person may not suit another.