Emergency Call Button

[louisea]

MIL needs an emergency button in her home. Is this something that social services organises or a privately run scheme? If private, is there any specific company that we would be advised to use?

Hi louise, there are lots of private companies who can arrange this. Type 'careline alarms' into google or yell.com and ring a couple of companies to compare prices.

You can get pendants that need to be activated by the user in case of difficulty or ones that automatically call to the control centre if they fall over.

Ask SS ,in our London Borough this service is provided .
Means tested but very reasonable .

Thank you both.

Emergency call button, arranged through our local council, has been very useful though I would recommend parent wears one on the wrist rather than a pendant as this can be kept on 24/7. Mum had a pendant type which had to be removed at night. When she fell out of bed one night she couldn't reach the pendant to activate the alarm. Had it not been for the fact that I was due to take her to the GP that morning, she might have been on the floor throughout the day as I usually visit in the evenings and the month long stay in hospital would probably have been much longer.

We have just found a fantastic mobile phone which incorporates an alarm button which sends pre-set message to up to 5 designated mobiles and then rings each in turn until a response is received. Mum is about to start a 2 week trial in a sheltered housing unit and will not have access to her alarm system whilst there. The mobile phone gives me and her peace of mind that if she needs help it can be accessed easily. The advantage is that she can also summon emergency help if needed when she's out as the community emergency alarm system will only work within a certain radius of the base unit, generally house and garden. The clam shell means she cannot ghost call and also means the screen is quite large, the font is larger and clearer to read. Doro is the brand, £50 in Tesco but other companies sell them as well. Will be getting mum the optional lanyard for the phone so that it will go everywhere with her.

Mine is from age concern !! Im not that old but have a life treatening condition. The response is great and in my case if they cant hear me talkingmthey send an ambulance. Its £10 per month

There is some great advice on care alarms on a site called myageingparent.com