Elderly mother had a knee replacement

[Topsyturvey10]

My 86yr old mum has just had a knee replacement. She lives alone but I am very close by, though I work an hour away.

I’m looking at personal alarms and asking for recommendations of any that people have used and found good. Im looking for something she can wear around her neck to alert me if she needs me.

Does anyone have any advice about any other assistive devices they have found useful?

Speak to SS locally. LAs run a personal alarm service and can organise immediate help if necessary. They will have you number as a contact to let you know what is happening but it means you aren’t first port of call for everything - particularly as you work an hour away and may not be able to immediate respond. There is a monthly fee ( varies by LA) but we found it was a great help for MIL as we lived over 3 hours away. Hopefully your mum won’t need it but should give you and her peace of mind that help is available even when you are at work / can’t respond immediately. My DPs now have this as I live 2 1/2 hours away and my siblings while closer work further away so not always available immediately.

My dad uses Lifeline and they’re great. He has a button which he can wear around his neck or on a wrist strap. He’s had a few falls and as they’re a locally based team, they’re there usually within 20 minutes. I live an hour away and I’m back and forth during the week but Lifeline can there quicker in an emergency. They can’t do anything medical but if your mum had fallen or gotten into difficulty, they’d get her off the floor/comfortable and check she’d didn’t need an ambulance. The service will call you as the next of kin too. I think LL is around £15 a month.

If you want your mum to just ring you, you could also get an Alexa. My dad’s got one upstairs and downstairs and I’ve set them up so he can tell it to ring me.

Not every LA runs these anymore.

My DM has hers from Taking Care and we both really rate them.

MIL tried an Alexa. She isn't IT literate and unfortunately even an Alexa has been beyond her. I suspect success depends on quite how much technology your mum is already familiar with.

We use a CPR Guardian watch. I like it because I can check on her wellbeing without disturbing her (heart rate, temperature, steps taken). I can also use it to phone her and I know she’s not ‘racing’ to get to the phone with all the dangers that brings. It has an SOS button and alerts me if it senses a fall.

Thank you very much for these suggestions, I’m going to look into them.

Apparently when landlines change to digital many of the pendant alarms will no longer work - just something to be aware of if/when you get one.
Also they are not failsafe, my relative had a fall one night, was wearing the pendant alarm but it didn't go off, not discovered until carer went in about 12 hours later.

My DM had to have something done to her phone to make sure the alarm would work.

The fall alarms go off with a sudden movement but probably won't work for a glide to the floor. Which means sometimes hers triggers if she waves her arms.

Hers also came with a box which senses if she is up and about - we put it in the kitchen. The magic box has proved very useful for falls that aren't triggered as it senses she hasn't been in the kitchen as usual and raises the alarm.