Please or to access all these features

Dementia and Alzheimer's

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Gadget recommendations please

9 replies

Cheesypoof · 19/03/2019 13:05

Hello, my husband has vascular dementia. I still manage to go to work locally a couple of days a week but I do worry about leaving him. So I am looking for gadgets that could help me keep track of him. Also is there a mobile phone thanks so simple it will just call one person and do nothing else? He has broken or lost many mobile phones. Where do you go to find stuff like this?
Thank you all x

OP posts:
MereDintofPandiculation · 21/03/2019 08:57

Not that simple, but Doro 603 can be used that way - open lid to switch on, press and hold button A to ring person, red telephone to switch off. Or is the problem that he cruises through buttons and changes settings? I don't think he'd do anything irretrievable on the Doro. And of course sticky labels help.

The Doro also has an alarm button on the back - just push, and it dials number (or several numbers in sequence. but for alarms, there are alarm buttons on a necklace or bracelet that connect via landline system to call centre, who establish whetehr there's a problem and then ring family - LAs often run these at low cost. And other alarm systems that connect via mobile.

There is probably a tracker available (1) - alternative is to use mobile phone, but encase it in a sealed shut cover so he can't meddle. there's certainly motion sensors which will alert you if he, for example, leaves the house. (1) - you can get them for your pets so you must be able to get them for people.

I usually find out about stuff like this by googling, eg alarm dementia.
Alternatively - Alzheimers website, Age UK website, local disability shops/centres which you can find by googling, Occupational Therapist. There's almost certainly going to be some sort of dementia support group near you so get in touch with them as well.

wigglypiggly · 21/03/2019 20:00

Could you set up cameras around the house, care alarm, falls sensors, door sensors, all things that could alert you if there is a problem. Would you be happy to contact the social services to see if he can have someone sit with him.

wigglypiggly · 21/03/2019 20:05

Look up the NHS personal alarms site, sorry but I cant link it

Cheesypoof · 22/03/2019 06:44

Thank you for your suggestions. I have found a watch made by doro that tracks with GPS and you can talk to each other through it. It's not cheap but I think it's worth it. He has troubleusing mobike phones and looses things all thr time. Im hopingbhe will just wear the watch all day. If I get him used to using it now before he gets really bad I think it will really be helpful. At the moment I'm still able to work locally on a couple of days and my husband is able to take our dogs for a walk near by. I really want us to be able to carry on doing that.

OP posts:
Chimchar · 22/03/2019 06:52

Not sure if this is helpful or not...you can buy little things called 'tiles'. Other brands are available. You can put them on keys, in your wallet, in your bag etc, and use an app on your phone to find them...they beep when you trigger them.

Not much use for your husband, but it might help him to keep track of his things if he can use the app.

LegoClone · 22/03/2019 07:11

We had a key fob type tracker for my dad - he was very attached to his own watch so we wouldn't have had any success introducing a new one. The key fob had an SOS button which would text every number yo program in (I think up to 4 or 5) and then call them each in turn until someone picked up. It also had a button on the side that would phone just one number. It would provide a location for you by text message (clickable link that would show the location on a map) and could also be used to track location over the day (via a website), or send alerts if he left a certain area.

It made a huge difference to us as a family in managing his care. The costs weren't great and unlike some trackers/SOS buttons the running costs were low (Sim card - we used pay as you go but some contracts are so cheap nowadays that I'd consider them as well).

Drawbacks were charging the battery life and GPS connection. If it lost the GPS signal when he was home it would report his location as a house a few streets away! This was due to using the phone masts to estimate location - it was annoying but once we knew what it was doing we stopped worrying everytime he suddenly appeared in that location.

The battery never lasted as long as suggested and needed charging every couple of days. As we were late introducing it to my dad we had a bit of a struggle - he accepted it and would take his keys everywhere, but as he was so paranoid about being without his keys we had to take the tracker fob off the keys to charge it then put it back on every time! We got into a routine and, while he never really understood it or mastered the use of the buttons, it meant we didn't lose him or have him returned by the police again!

mrsmalcolmreynolds · 29/03/2019 20:29

We have a Footprint tracker for my mum. It has a tracker but also has its own phone number so you can call it if need be plus the wearer can call out to a preset number by pressing the button (there's only one button).

Cheesypoof · 06/04/2019 08:21

That footprint one sounds interesting, and yours legoclone (what's it called?)
We got the Doro watch but it doesn't work very well at all. He can call me and I can call him most of the time but the tracking is rubbish. I'm getting endless calls saying he has left home when he is sitting a few feet from the home beacon. We've even bought an extra mini beacon to solve the problem and it hasn't helped at all. When I call for help they keep telling me how wonderful and sophisticated it is but haven't manage to help at all so far. Yesterday he went missing and the tracking thing couldn't tell me where he was. He turned up a while later absolutely fine though luckily xx

OP posts:
LegoClone · 16/04/2019 22:59

Hope that you managed to get the Doro watch working more effectively. The tracker we had for my dad was this one:
www.personalgpstrackers.co.uk/products/gps-dementia-tracker
although the price has gone up a fair bit since we bought one!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page