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Lifeline pendants and alarm monitoring companys

Anyone had to get a lifeline pendant for a parent/vulnerable person? My 81 yr old father has started to have falls, lives on his own and recently took 10 minutes to get back on his feet. Seems like a monitored lifeline pendant is a good idea but I'd welcome other peoples experiences or suggestions.


Created By on 22/05/2017

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Queenieg
29th May 2017 09:00:21
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My 86 year old father lives alone and he has a pendant he wears around his neck and we purchased it from age UK. He had to have a key box fitted outside the property for the emergency services. We fitted the unit ourselves it is just a modem type unit and he pay £45 every three months. It just gives me peace if mind.
Response from CaroleAH made on 29th May 2017 11:53:11
Key boxes are great. When I worked in a GP surgery many of our patients had them and it meant that district nurses and care workers etc could visit the patient without having to arrange for friends/relatives to be available to open the door.
Response from dsr25 made on 29th May 2017 13:15:25
Be careful with keyboxes, yes, they are useful for clinicians and carers to attend and gain access and for you or your family to stay home.

HOWEVER - check your household insurance is covered as it may not be

AND - ask that the information held on the patients record is marked as PRIVATE - lots of sharing going on now, which is great for your care, but you don't need everyone to know how to get into your house, only those who need it.

Some trusts put this information into a template then mark this template as private so it isn't shared to the podiatry clinic, or the stopping smoking clinic - as they should do. Others don't - so ask!
Response from CaroleAH made on 29th May 2017 14:28:25
Very valid point dsr25. Had not thought about the household insurance policy!
CaroleAH
29th May 2017 11:55:24
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Hi Whittler, I hope that the comments below have been useful to you.
CaroleAH
23rd May 2017 00:41:01 (Last activity: 24th May 2017 12:13:30)
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Hi,
My Dad had a pendant and it was excellent - really sorry but I cannot remember the name of the company who supplied it but I'm sure that they are all pretty similar and as it is now over 7 years since he had it, I'm sure that there will have been many improvements. Basically there was a monitor fitted in the hall of his 3 bed semi and if he pressed the alarm from any room in the house someone would connect to the monitor and ask if he was okay. If they didn't get a response from him they would then contact one of three people who had to live within 15 minutes of reaching my Dad. If he had been able to answer them and say that he had fallen then I think that they would still have phoned me before phoning for an ambulance. The device worked in the garden as well so if Dad had fallen outside he was still within range of the monitor. I think that there are some very sophisticated devices which can detect if a person is standing upright or lying prone on the floor. Possibly the only obstacle would be if your Dad didn't wear the pendant all the time. My Dad wouldn't wear his when he was in bed - he did keep it in the bedside cabinet but that wouldn't have been much help had he fallen on his way to or from the bathroom in the middle of the night! Hope that's been of some help.
Response from ThePrimate made on 24th May 2017 12:13:30
My Mum's local Council have a 'Careline' pendant service which has been invaluable. The cost is roughly £17 a month. Carole's suggestion about a risk assessment is a good one. If you can minimise the risk that is a good starting point. It may be worth contacting your local Council to see if they operate such a scheme.
CaroleAH
23rd May 2017 00:45:22
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Just another thought - have you "risk assessed" your dad's home? Elderly people seem to have a great fondness for rugs which can be a huge trip hazard. I removed several rugs from my dad's house and also persuaded him to use a walking-stick which helped with his balance.

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