Would you monitor a fall alarm for a neighbour?

[poshcrisps]

I have an elderly, very vulnerable neighbour who is just about to get out of hospital. He has no family. He has fallen several times.

I've just had a phone call from the hospital asking if I could be the response person for his alarm going off (I'm not sure how this works in practice).

I said yes but now I'm wondering if I've been too hasty.

What would you do?

No she’s not, she might be asked to if she has a key but if she feels uncomfortable doing so she would not be expected to go into the property- maybe hand the key to the emergency services but if she declined that they would brake the door down

They asked you to be a key holder nothing more nothing less. No one expects you to lift her up but would hope at the very least you could call for help and give them a key - hopefully karma doesn’t come back round for you. Shameful your response to this

This thread makes me so incredibly sad as a falls prevention worker for the nhs. We actually teach people what to do if you fall and you can’t get up to try and let a neighbour know somehow - bang on the wall anything as being on the floor for help etc it will kill you if you don’t ask for help and you arseholes respond your too busy to be burdened with such - it’s disgusting

There can be very long waits for ambulances these days, and who knows what else they’d put on you. If it was a neighbour I’d lived next door to for 20 years and knew well maybe, but I d think long and hard, and it would depend on my job and family.

WTF is wrong with you that you can't read the thread and see multiple examples of kind empathetic people who have done this and lived to regret it for very valid reasons. Perhaps you can PM the OP and arrange for you to take on the role.

why don’t people just listen! If you fall you don’t necessarily need an ambulance but you call 111anf if you have a pendant you call them,

most pendant alarm services have a special device that work safely to lift you from the floor un injured.

if you call 111 they may get the local rapid response team to also pick you up safely.

a large number of falls however are due to urine or chest infections not treated early enough. So if you’ve had a number of falls in a short space of time it is most likely due to something like an infection or blood pressure problem!

hence why to contact the GP after each fall
and not blame the therapist

frequent falls bound also be due to an undiagnosed memory of neurological conditionx

there are many reasons and normally multifunctioral reasons people fall/ it’s not always a muscle weakness/ balance issue

I have read the thread, I have worked as an nhs community physio for over 20 years. I completely understand the frustration of patients and their families. But we are not personal trainers which people mistake us for, we would love nothing but to give the going support many pts need but we simply do not have enough staff and the government especially recently continue to cut this. We have just been cut 3 full time physio temp staff, and another full time assistant role - tell me how we are supposed to run a 1:1 long term service with only 5 physios per borough?

I don't think you have read the thread, or why would you be berating people for not being kind and empathetic. And why are you barking on about being overextended in your work while simultaneously expecting the OP/others to offer up 24 hour availability to attend some neighbour they are not especially close to, including while on holiday at some distance away.

People have shared wretched stories of being called out multiple times on false alarms, or going there and being told they have to stay with them and wait for the ambulance to arrive in 5-10 plus hours, etc etc etc.

Wow imagine the wretched heart arch of having to help a neighbour in need - truly a first world problem!

Oh, sarcasm. How kind. You really do seem determined to misread everything.

Could you race off from your job to do this? People have to be realistic about what they are able and willing to do.

But carry on painting others as coldhearted and flying your own flag. I really do think you should offer to be the on call person for OP's neighbour, though, as you are so sincere about helping random neighbours in need.

It’s just truly just awful having to stay with and maybe even wait a whole 5-10 minutes or longer for someone who might die if not, just awful

Yes I actually do go anove and beyond for my patients actually because I actually care about them. I regularly call ambulances for them when their GP refuses l, I regulary refer to other services they need that other hip’s don’t bother with. I go above and beyond for them on a daily basis because I respect them all!

I have many times say with patients over my working hours waiting for an ambulance. I have many times argued again and again on behalf of patients to get the right diagnosis!

but at the same time we do not simply have the staff to offer the service we hope we could - we are but personal trainers! This is not our individual fault. Your argument lies with the government not us!

Everyone has a responsibility to support the elderly not just the government. Everyone has not objection ti support the 0-5 age group and so changes need to be made to offer this same support to the over 65’s where needed

5-10 plus hours. (I thought you said you'd read the thread.)

"I waited for an ambulance with the service user for 8 hours until she passed away from internal bleeding. The neighbour had a fall outside in the middle of winter in minus temperatures. That was another 8 hour wait, outside, trying to prevent her becoming hypothermic."

The poster who had to drive back several hours, when on a weekend away:
"Had to call an ambulance, wait half a day with her then had to stay in A&E with her for another 12 hours as she was confused due to dehydration and she couldn't communicate properly. Social services wouldn't give her any help because I was "looking after her" ..."

And so on.

Did I ever say that what exceptable? No of course it’s not acceptable. I’m not I charge r the the nhs, I never claimed to be.

you complaint lies with the minister of the minister of the nhs

You said "It’s just truly just awful having to stay with and maybe even wait a whole 5-10 minutes or longer for someone who might die if not, just awful."

I'm wondering are you on the piss.

Right ok but more importantly who is the celebrity traitor?

Please say yes. You shouldn’t be expected to do more than pop round & either help them back up or call an ambulance if needed (& you are available at the time). Several neighbours are on call for someone I know - they have had to go once and all they needed to do was pop them back up in their chair as they were unable to lift themselves up from the position in which they fell.

Yes and there are services that do just this. Safe and connected for one and the local rapid response team too,

just cos you fall doesn’t mean you have to go to hospital x

if the ambulance service didn’t take hours to respond then I wouldn’t mind doing this - but as it is, no chance. I can’t be sitting about for 8 hours every time a neighbour falls. It’s a huge responsibility.

But what if they do need an ambulance? You ring, or the company rings, then wait…and wait…and wait…how long are you prepared to wait for? You are called at 6.30am, you’re awake anyway so you go around, by 8am the ambulance hasn’t arrived and you are expected at work by 9, it’s a one hour journey, you’re not showered, your boss will be pissy, where do you draw the line?

Theoretically people should muck in and help. But you need your job too.

No. Of course not. Unless you have nothing else going on in your life?

I have a key for my very elderly neighbours house and am “on call” just keeping an eye out. She has a carer but her family live 2 hours drive away so it’s just peace of mind that someone’s there if needed. I’ve also looked out for elderly neighbours before and got way more involved and still didn’t mind. I care a lot about community and human connection and one of the benefits of working from home for me is about being involved in my local neighbourhood community.

The thought of elderly vulnerable people just meters away from my home struggling and isolated without help makes me feel really sad. I’d have said yes but wanted to know why family weren’t asked.

Oooh, what did the son say? Did he step up or find another woman to do it for him him?