Access to front door when latch is down

[Biccie76]

Had a bit of a scare last night. My 81 Yr old mother hadn't texted goodnight from her bed as usual and there was no answer to phone calls. I'm 2 hours away. The neighbours key wouldn't work. Ambulance called fire brigade who had to force entry. Now I know neighbour couldn't get in cos she puts the latch down to feel safe at night. My question is... how can family n neighbours get access to elderly parent house for safety reasons if the latch is down? Even if I get her a chain fitted instead.. whats the point. The door just has to be broken into so what's point of spare key sigh ? Fur her peace of mind I know she'll insist on latch being down at night. My door is modern and duesnt have a latch. Msybe new policy is no latch doors due to this very problem? Any thoughts or solutions gratefully received

Presumably the latch is now broken if the door had to be forced? Just don't get it replaced is one option.

Watching with interest as have similar situation.

I had this problem with my mother. We ended up changing her Yale lock with the old-fashioned 'snick' to one with a thumbturn inside, which meant she could never lock herself out without taking her keys and we could unlock the front door in the case of an emergency.

Try to avoid fitting a chain If that is 'in action' then it's a nightmare trying to get inside in an emergency.

Something like this for the lock.
www.diy.com/departments/yale-platinum-3-star-euro-cylinder-upvc-door-lock-50-50-100mm-nickel-incl-4-keys-/5055717161839_BQ.prd

Don’t get the latch replaced. If it had been an emergency, such as heart attack or stroke, then waiting for the fire brigade to break through the door could mean the difference between life or death.
Those locks which lock with a key on the outside and a thumb turn on the inside are great as they also can’t then leave the keys in the lock on the inside preventing anyone using a key on the outside (from bitter experience).

but it was the worries about security and door locking that eventually made one of my elderlies decide to choose to move into residential care.

Hi OP,

Another one speaking from experience, my 84 year old mum who lives 50 miles away from me.

She had a lock where you could put the key in on the inside of the door which she did. We speak most days so when she didn't answer her phone after ringing a few times that made me worry.

Short version is she had collapsed and couldn't get up. Although she has a key safe because the door key was in the lock no one could get in, it ended up being an ambulance and fire brigade job.

The fire brigade changed the lock to a thumb turn one on the inside there and then.

She also now got a pendant to wear, it costs about £30 a month. There's been a couple of times when I've not been able to get in touch since it happened reasons like phone not working and her unexpectedly going out 🙄

If the neighbours weren't available to check then I've phoned the pendant people and asked them to contact her through the pendant which they have done.

My mum wasn't always wearing her pendant, she wasn't putting it on between getting up and getting washed and dressed after breakfast and between putting her PJ's on in the evening and going to bed but after I explained that anything can happen at anytime and the panic I feel when I can't get in touch she now wears it from getting up to going to bed.

I know a previous poster said not to put a chain on but if that was a compromise that needed to be made for your mum to feel secure then I'd do it on the basis that if someone can open the door then it's not that hard to force the chain but it's pretty difficult to force a door.

Luckily there's been no medical episodes since, my mum was in hospital for a few days but that was due to the effects of being on the floor and what it does to your body being in one place for a prolonged period of time.

I'd prefer her to live closer to me but she's not ready to do that yet but her having the new lock, key safe and pendant is a compromise that works for both of us currently.

My parents bolt their front door.
The other day I turned up earlier than they anticipated (after breakfast though) and they had forgotten to unbolt. Didn't answer doorbell (Mum poor mobility, Dad in bathroom). So I ended up going round the back and using my back door key, then had to switch off triggered alarm.

So long story short - is there a back door?

As others have said, the only solution is to change the lock to one where she can't latch it, or in any other way prevent someone with a key getting in. We had to do this with my MIL.

Similar here, mum either leaves key in front door or on the chain. Back door always has a key in it. I got a key cut for non used patio doors to leave in key safe in emergency.

I have been through 1 million iterations of this

The answer is nothing works unless they cooperate and accept what they feel is a lower level of security

Can I ask is she okay and what happened to the door?

My main concern is that when she has an emergency, I'll have a broken door to deal with as well. Yes, I have reached that stage of pissed off.

I think she no longer puts the chain across at night, but I don't actually know if she's telling the truth about this.

Putting the patio key in the lock safe I’d a really good idea. We had an emergency once where the keys were in both the front and back doors but luckily DH managed to find a key that fitted the patio door.

Sounds like a good solution... my mum has a back door but it can't be reached from the street sadly...

You hit the nail on the head... she's an independent adult and if she won't co operate or only feels safe with the latch down, what can I do? Except she's oblivious to the stress it causes. We need to move her bed downstairs so there isn't a stair issue at all... but she refuses. She's okay thank you, she had a bad neck and the paracetamol made her sleepy so she had sleep through phone calls and fallen asleep b4 she could do her goodnight text.

Neighbour couldn't get in with key, 101 insisted I call 999 and 999 said it's not a crime (don't think they do duty of care concept anymore) so they sent ambulance and ambulance called the fire brigade who then, to their credit, avoided door damage but had to pull apart the door jamb/surround. £150 for emergency guy to make good the next day.

She was lying upstairs scared at the break in noise she said, sigh. But what could I do. If elderly fall and are left there then I know the chances of recovery reduce.

I guess it'll just happen occasionally until the brigade give her a chat about wasting their time?

Someone else on here has suggested a new modern lock with no latch.. that might be way forward.

Thanks for your help :)

Yes, thank you... Id not realised that no latch locks exist. My landlord has put a post Grenfell fire door on my flat and you can't lock yourself out and there's no latch. So I'm thinking that's new building regs. But it doesnt help the millions of elderly who have old doors.

Thank you but the brigade did a good job of avoiding wrecking the door and it was the door jamb/door frame that we had to pay £150 to fix the next day. I've learned about no latch locks on here and I think that's the way firward but I think she'll resist even that.

Good to hear similar scenarios... I'm an only child with a single mum so feel a bit isolated but of course it's going on up and down the country. And yes there is a back door but it's behind 9 foot side gates which are locked with a bolt from the inside!

Thanks for all your thoughts. And what happened to your mum is exactly what I was worried about... falling down the steep victorian stairs and lying for hours making the accident even worse. I'd love her to have a pendant but she absolutely refuses to give in to any sign of old age. I'm 56 and wear my glasses on a cord but at 81 she's happy to lose her glasses 20 times a day for vanitys sake. The pendant button is what over rides the front door problem I guess. But like you say, they have to be wearing it. She hasn't got to the stage yet of understanding the worry caused. And who would be the person who would need to be her full time carer.. me! But I have no say in the matter sigh.

She wouldn't comprehend how a key stuck in a box on her outside wall could be anything other than an invitation to rob the place ha.

Another mum on here suggested the no latch lock so I think that's the way forward :).

For now, I'm grateful for an unintended benefit of WhatsApp at leaat telling me when shes been active. She resisted WhatsApp for years though!

Thanks again

Thanks so much for the link... I think this is the way forward! I wouldn't have known what to look for. It's going to take some persuading and financing but it's got to be done.

Thanks for your advice.. I was actually smug that I'd persuaded her not to leave the key on the door on the inside.. I hadn't foreseen the latch issue! So I feel your pain if you've had that problem. Another person has given me a link and I think that's the way forward. My plan is to move in if she needs it but yes I suppose care home is the next stage but long may she remain independent 60s hippy chick. She has a nose stud and leopard print skinny jeans lol.

She wouldn't comprehend how a key stuck in a box on her outside wall could be anything other than an invitation to rob the place ha.

My parents reluctant key safe is round the side for that reason.
We have an agreement that should the carers or others start needing it regularly it will be moved round the front.

The balance between security from intruders versus access in an emergency is difficult.

There's only so much you can do. Especially when someone is extremely independent. I'm also only support for a solitary, independent DM and it's hard
I can't make her do all the things I would like that I think would make her safe. Some things I will bring up repeatedly (wear the bloody alarm pendant). Others, I try and let go if it's not going anywhere. I need to retain my own sanity.

It took over a year for mine to agree to a key safe. Before that it was all about how insecure that would be. Then a neighbour who lived alone had a stroke upstairs, managed to call an ambulance but then had to somehow get downstairs to let the paramedics in. Otherwise they’d have had to call the fire brigade too and the door would have been broken down after unknown delay.

At that point mine agreed to a keysafe and is now very smug and talks about the silly people who won’t have one fitted.