Recommendations for a GPS tracker for a parent with Alzheimer’s

[Orangefox12]

Does anyone have recommendations for a GPS tracker? My dad has Alzheimer’s but is still physically fit, and has a couple of times now gone for long walks and got lost. He wears an AirTag all the time but my parents live in the countryside so it is useless if he doesn’t go near an Apple device, and he can’t be relied on to take his phone. I have looked at a few GPS trackers but reviews can be mixed. He is currently very keen on safety devices so wearing a lanyard would be fine, although I know this might not last.

Your Telecare service through his local council can do an assessment and provide a device. Contact Adult Social Care / look on their website for how to refer.

Oh that’s really good to know, thank you!

My mother had a tracker provided that way, from Social Services.

She had a bracelet type as she wouldn't wear a lanyard.
But it turned out she wouldn't wear the bracelet either!
It's worth a try but it's likely to get 'left somewhere' I think.

It is really tricky if someone refuses to wear it. If they wear the same coat or use the same bag each time they go out, then you could try putting it in the bag or coat pocket and see if that works?

Yes if they always take the same bag or coat it could work, as long as they don't notice it as a 'foreign object' and discard it.

My mother wandered off without bag or coat so that wouldn't have worked for her. So for her own safety she moved to a care home where she was taken good care of. She died a year ago.

@catofglory Sorry to hear about your mum. I’m sure my dad will get more troublesome about wearing things, it seems quite common. Hopefully it will work for a bit. Unfortunately he is relatively young (under 70) so quite hard to contain in the house and I imagine any future transition to a care home will be tricky.

I sympathise, it is easier if the person is less active and not able to roam around. My mother was nearly 80 at your dad's stage but still very physically fit so could get into all sorts of bother. She was once bought home by the police because she got lost shopping on the high street where she'd lived for 50 years. As she was quite active I did wonder how she would get on in a care home, but she settled in fine. The care home used to take the still-active residents out on trips to the park and the beach.

I hope the tracker helps your dad at least for the short term.

Have you heard of the Herbert Protocol op? It's a collection of information a family collate that means if their loved one is lost / wanders / goes missing then the police or Search and Rescue teams have all they need to stand the best chance in locating them quickly. Well worth downloading and completing.

Thanks, I hadn't so will take a look at this too.

We used an apple airtag in the wallet/pocket, £25.

SmartSole GPS Tracker - we’ve found this the best option. Fits comfortably inside the shoe.

We have an AirTag already, but unfortunately if he goes for a walk and doesn’t pass anyone with an apple device it doesn’t update the location. This happened recently (they live in a fairly remote rural area).

If he is keen on health, can you get him and iPhone and upload a step counter.
This is the way my next door neighbour was persuaded to take his phone with him on walks. Not as a phone but as a step counter.
meant he could always be found.