Personal alarms eg careline.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.