How do lifeline buttons work for elderly people who don't have family nearby to be always on call?

[Sadik]

Just been pondering this triggered by many comments on another thread (where the poster lived some distance from parents) suggesting a lifeline button.

But with the button, someone has to be the person on call, & it's a pretty big commitment.

I've also wondered (I know, I could ask, but there's not much I can do if there's no good answer) what happens if my parent presses the button & I'm not available. Luckily so far that's not been the case (& very kindly neighbours have covered the couple of times we've been on holiday), but it easily could.

With my parents lifeline we pay extra and a member lifelinr care team will attend if required. They have the keysafe code to gain entry.

I can’t speak for anyone/anywhere else but in my area the dedicated team goes to attend to the person. They may have to wait but they’ll attend to them. If there’s family then they can contact them but it isn’t a problem if not.

And yes get a key safe so that they can gain access.

My mums panic button necklace calls an ambulance, not a family member

Family, friends, neighbours, care provider etc. Everybody will be different depending on their set-up.
Us children all lived at least an hour away from our parents but luckily they had friends & neighbours who were willing to respond and access the situation. The people who managed the service went through a list until they found someone who could respond.

There is a key safe, so that's not a problem (& the lifeline does have the number).
I might check in with them, hopefully the answer is that the team can pick up if I can't, at least that would be a reassuring answer to my parent.
Because responding tends to mean an a&e trip till 4am it's not something that neighbours /friends (the latter all very elderly themselves) can really be asked to do

My mother pays a small monthly fee to her local council. She wears a bracelet that she could press if she needed help. They did use it a few times when my Dad was still alive and had a fall, as Mum couldn't lift him. The service is staffed 24 hours a day and the person at the other end would call an ambulance if necessary. There are also mobile responders who could attend (except overnight). As part of the service they installed a key safe so the responder or paramedics could get in. Gives peace of mind as my brother and I are both a long way off and her neighbours, who are marvellous, are all also elderly.

With our elderly neighbour the family asked if we could be the first person the alarm called. It was fine, she needed us a few times in the night, we could go round immediately and then we'd call her daughter.

With DM, the NDN of many years was the 1st point of contact, as DB & I both lived over 70 miles away. There was a keysafe too so if NDN wasn't available and there was no response from DM,
an ambulance would be called.

DMIL has one son living a couple of miles away, but a nearby neighbour/friend is also on the call list.

I'd be surprised if it calls an ambulance directly.

My mothers one goes to a call centre where they'll ask her what the problem is and depending on what she says will decide who they need to call - doctor, ambulance, fire, police or a local contact who has agreed to put their name forward. (I live too far away to be a viable contact in emergency, although they do have my contact details to keep me informed of what is happening if she uses it.)

It's a national company - unfortunately the service run by the local authority wasn't accepting new customers when I needed to set it up, as this would also have had people employed who would have been able to come out to her in response to a call if necessary, which would have been ideal..

Our council run system has a team of emergency carers who can attend.

The service my mum had,needed two emergency numbers. One night she pressed it I was on holiday and the other person didn't answer. They contacted me on holiday and I had to call an ambulance.
I couldn't give them any details as my poor mum was on the floor and couldn't speak. When the ambulance arrived they phoned to say they were taking her in hospital. I came home from holiday and went straight to the hospital.

They call us and/or an ambulance and have the keysafe code. My mum's had a fall before and not been able to get herself up, she pressed the button on her wristband which connected her to the alert people via loudspeaker on the unit. They called an ambulance and then me, I'm 40 mins away. Paramedics were there by the time I arrived and had got mum up - they'd been given the code to the safe. I'm sure paramedics would always be 1st point of call for people without family support.

Goodness that's a lot for the neighbours to do. My dad has one and is 2.5 hours away so the call goes through to a main centre and they go in via a key safe

I wouldn't do it for my neighbours especially not at night. I would find it far too stressful to have that responsibility despite having lovely neighbours.

Our family member had 2 relatives and then a care service if neither of us picked up.

Exh presses him for the on call team from the council, he has been on the floor for 8 hours plus at times if ds hasn't been available to go to get him up. He has a key safe outside.

Next time you're at you DM's, press the button and ask the responder what their support is.

I used to work in the community giving rehab support after hospital stays, stroke, hip op etc. I'd support clients with using the alert service. I'd make a point of pressing the botton or pulling the cord to have a chat with the responder "Hi, I'm at Mrs Smith's house doing some rehab and we're just checking the button is working ok" The responders were always happy to have a quick chat with Mrs Smith "Glad to hear you're ok, just let us know if you need us" etc

It helped clients feel more confident about using the service when they needed it as often they were worried about bothering anyone.

Yes, I'll definitely do that, & it's something we've done before eg when the button was worn out. I just wanted to check what the answer was likely to be first!! I might contact the lifeline people myself directly first too, it sounds like there'll be a reassuring rather than alarming answer for my dad.

Tbh for something where he can talk, he'll always phone me himself, as his mobile is linked to his hearing aids. & if I'm not there I can likely find a friend to nip round. It's why I don't feel we can ask people to be on the button, as it'll be something more drastic if he uses it.

Yes if she presses the panic button, the panic button call centre - call an ambulance for her

If a person falls and presses the panic button, how would they be able to talk to the call centre? The panic button is not a phone. It's a button that sends an alert to the call centre

And when most people fall, they don't have their mobile phone on them.

My mums panic button works like this.

If she presses the button. The call centre will call her and speak to her on her alarm machine. The alarm machine is in her hall. So they will call it and say "Catherine are you alright".

If she had pressed the button by mistake she walk over to the machine and speak to them and tell them she pressed it by mistake.

If they ask her if she is alright over the machine, and she doesn't respond to them at all,
they immediately send an ambulance out to her house.

It's a great service.

with my mothers, she actually communicates with the call centre via the pendant itself - it works like a phone but apparently uses several different networks.

There is a linked box with the charger that you can also press a button on to raise the alarm, which sits on a shelf in the sitting room, but I paid extra to get the option where you can just talk through the pendant itself. Like you, I was concerned about a system where you had to get to a specific box set up in a particular room and press a button on it to communicate, as it's of little use if the person is unable to get to it in an emergency e.g. because of e.g. a fall.

That's a good idea. No company near my mum (rural Republic of Ireland) provides that kind of service. Where you can talk to the company through the actual button.

It's good that they're developing more safety care for elderly adults.

I'm an only child hundreds of miles from my elderlies... And I definitely wouldn't want them to be relying on neighbours as that's a very big ask. Their alarm and a keysafe are low cost services provided by the Local Authority, and a team of responders will attend as necessary 24/7/365. Most elderly people who fall don't need an ambulance. They need helping up, reassurance and perhaps a cup of tea.

I pay for this (and would pay five times as much) and think it's a fantastic service.

The last two times that my mum fell, she needed an ambulance.

The first time she fell, she broke her arm.

The second time, they advised my mums family to wait for am ambulance as paramedics would be able to lift her up safely. They were afraid that if family lifter her up, they would damage her arm again. It had only recently healed.

Yes. Obviously they do sometimes - my mum broke an arm once as well. But the responders are very good, know how to lift and when not to, and will deal with that. The service helps me sleep at night.

Yes I agree. It's a great service.

It's really needed.