Hello, my Dad has parkinson’s and has had three falls in the past 14 months. He has a pendant alarm but at the last fall he did not press it and laid on the floor until he was found. He is currently having rehab/physio in a local hospital unit in readiness to go home. I need to find an fall sensor gadget for him to wear. I have sought advice from the existing provider of his pendant but their product will only detect a fall if the person falls “hard and fast”. It appears my Dad falls to his knees when he senses he is falling then the rest of his body follows which means their product will not detect his fall. Does anyone have advice of a wearable gadget which would pick up his “type of fall”? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you
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Good afternoon Amanda16 … A friend of mine has a fall detection device on his mobile phone. It is very sensitive to sudden movements. Down-side is it goes off when it is not supposed to. He carries it in his pocket.
However the act of sitting down too quickly may be seen as a fall by the device.
The other possibility is having a security camera in his bedroom / sitting room / about the house. This would be a way of keeping an eye on him.
It occurs to me that any sensitive device that detects falls would go off in the act of sitting down.
Best wishes
Steve2
Hi Amanda16,
Steve2 is correct, there are now emergency apps on mobile phones , but as well on your watch linked to the phone.
I know that works very well, the only hassle I have is when I exercise a bit too hard and my blood pressure goes above 175, the watch puts out a signal, however that is really not a problem.
I know Samsung has the feature as does Apple.
Hi Steve, thanks so much for your reply. It sounds as though there is no simply solution. My dad is 86 and is unlikely to have his phone on him. He assures me he would push his pendant if he fell again but I am not convinced and do not want to take the risk. Most gadgets I have seen require an action from the wearer. If he can do that he can use his pendant. I think the camera is an option but worry about its intrusiveness and not being able to watch it all of the time.
Thanks for replying. All suggestions are welcome.
Amanda
Hello Amanda16 … 86 is quite an age. I am only 69 & 11 months & I would hate the intrusiveness of a camera. I certainly think I have a right to live my life as I want.
I’m sure your Dad thinks the same.
I did have PCN suggest I might get one of these fall gadgets [costing £2 a week they said]. My problem is their is no mobile phone reception in my flat so if I fall what would I do? I struggle with mobility & freezing.
I suppose our Plan B is some sort of assisted living or have someone live with us, which I wouldn’t like.
Probably an event will happen that makes decisions easier & more obvious.
Best of luck
Steve2
Thanks so much. I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I agree. The option of a camera is the last resort.I would hate it and I don’t want to be that intrusive on my dad. The challenge with a mobile phone is using it! My Dad only gets it out and uses it to call my brother. That is a shame there is no mobile phone reception in your flat. So sorry to hear about your mobility and freezing. I agree. Each person’s situation is different and perhaps an event would lead to making decisions. I wish you all the very best and thank you again.
Amanda
Hi Clive, thank you for your message. It is appreciated and I welcome all suggestions. The challenge with my dad is using a mobile phone. He only gets it out to call my brother! Handy to know watches have this facility. I wish you well and thank you for your suggestion. Amanda
Hello Amanda … Probably the best idea is to contact your Dad, by phone, every day. Maybe your brother one day & you the next … You could keep track on him without him knowing you were doing so.
Does your Dad have a land line or just use his mobile phone? No need to answer.
All the best, you are both clearly great children I’m sure your Dad is proud of you both.
Best wishes
Steve2
Thanks Steve. Much appreciated. All suggestions welcome. We are considering assistance to get him to bed in the evening as we suspect he sometimes sleeps in his chair and thus increases the risk of falling. I am including him in all discussions so he doesn’t feel things are being done to him. Also ensuring the occupational therapist helps in advance of him coming out of hospital. Fingers crossed and thank you for your kind words. Amanda
Hi Amanda,
That is what is great about the watch.
He doesn’t need to have the phone on him.
The watch itself will send the signal to the phone, which will then contact the necessary people.
I know on my watch, you can set the phone to contact up to three people.
As long as he is in bluetooth / wi-fi connection with the phone it is fine.
Bluetooth up to about 10 meters/30 feel.
Obviously wi-fi is a lot further.
Certain watches have their own e-sim so he can go for a walk etc without the phone.
I have the Samsung galaxy 5 with those features.
Hiya, my friends mum has one of those alarms that you wear (sounds similar sort of thing to your dads) but hers has a fall sensor on it. If you want me to get more info on it pls let me know x
Hello Amanda16
It may be worth your looking into Telecare. This link gives an overview. You would need to look into how you can access this if you are interested - probably the first step would be to contact your local authority, unless you are considering self funding. The helpline may know more and it might be worth your giving them a call 0800 800 0303.
Best wishes.
Tot