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Apologies if this has been covered, I recollect some discussion about this but can't locate it.
Both parents have dementia, living at home, 4 care visits per day plus sister popping in and out to feed them. The have a screen / intercom thing in the living room to my sister. There is a tile in dad's wallet and on his keys, but they have just begun to wander without each other.
Ideally I think I would like a video doorbell to notify us when one of them leaves the house and for the carers to contact us if required if they are missing and WiFi movement sensors (to avoid cameras) in a couple of rooms so we can understand there living patterns.
Anyone done this, any ideas ?
Ring Security system ??
Thanks in advance.
With the greatest of respect, it sounds like living alone is no longer the best solution here.
You have Power of Attorney in place, yes? If not, prioritise that over a doorbell.
This was my area of work until about 3 years ago, but tech does move on quickly so I am not entirely up to date. There are specific systems for this sort of demand but, as you quite rightly point out, mainstream consumer tech is increasingly doing as good a job, sometimes better, and usually cheaper.
First port of call though would be to contact your telecare team in local authority. If they have a care package they should already be 'in the system' so this should be an easy referral. If the local team are good and well resourced, they might be able to sort this for you with clever assistive tech. But there is a lot of variation in local authority provision so if you get messed around or delayed, Ring type systems work well.
Lots of resource available online through Alzheimer's Uk, Age UK etc. You are looking for telecare or assistive tech.
If they are wandering, then it's maybe time to consider alternative arrangements, mainly for their safety. MIL was still all there mentally, but had to go into nursing care due to mobility and falls risk - hard decision, but no way could she be kept safe at home any longer.
A doorbell that tells you they have left the house is kind of a bit late. I had to have a lovely long chat with a wee old lady who chapped my car window at the traffic lights until her carer appeared. Within 20 seconds of her front door she was already massively at risk.
I work for a large company that has many fingers in many pies. Not my part but we do remote monitoring and assistance solutions, but they're sold at LA level rather than being consumer focused.
So yeah the advise above is good to speak to your telecare team at the LA. They'll hopefully be able to assess your parents needs and recommend the appropriate option.
The two main bits of tech that I’m aware of are gps trackers and a door sensor by the front door that triggers a voice message (prerecorded by yourself) that asks them to stay, or says it’s not time to leave yet, or give you a call etc whichever works best
You can get mm wave motion sensors into a smart home system now. That would give you a moderately good idea of where they are and zone separation in rooms etc.
Smart locks might stop them getting out? But all sorts of safety issues with that.
Really, i agree with those saying that maybe it's time to get them out of the house and into care.
Lots of resource available online through Alzheimer's Uk
Sorry to be a bit of a pedant, but there is no such organisation. Usually when people say Alzheimer's UK, they mean Alzheimer's Research UK, but as you are talking about advice for carers, is suspect you mean the Alzheimer's Society (Alzheimer's Research UK concentrate 100% on research).
As Frank says contact your local authority.
The one the FiL had included smoke detectors and alarms all linked in to them. They'd then call us and the fire brigade.
You have Power of Attorney in place, yes? If not, prioritise that over a doorbell.
It's possibly too late to sort a PoA - to put one in place the Donor has to have 'capacity', i.e be in a place mentally to be able to make an informed decision as to whether they want to grant the powers or not.
This is why it's important to have a PoA in place before it's needed.
Definitely get a PoA sorted for each parent (one each for health and finance) if it is not too late.
We used a GPS watch (which also has a fall monitor/alert) that we could ping to find my Dad when he was able to wonder. As others have said, if this is not something that can be managed (we just stopped leaving my dad alone, and my mum was/is OK to divert him from the front door) then knowing someone with dementia has left the house and where they are may still not stop them from doing something dangerous to themselves or others.
It's possibly too late to sort a PoA
100%, but if capacity is 'failing' rather than 'failed' then, tick tock.