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[Florrie2]

Hello ladies
I’ve been discussing with my mum about her getting a fall alarm (to be fair, she brought it up). She has a neighbour who wears one on his wrist in the shower. She has bad osteoporosis (with the classic bent over hump) so if she fell there is a risk of her breaking something. Wearing one on her wrist seems a good option.

It seems a huge topic with different prices for the service and she does not have much money. She also lives in the Scottish Highlands so there are fewer services than near big cities.

Any advice, thoughts, experience appreciated.

[CLKD]

AGEUk would be my starting point.  She may be eligible for support.

My Mum wore hers on her wrist and it would trigger the alarm  because she looped tea-towels etc. over the arm whilst hanging laundry on the line.

1 think to watch out for: her telephone was on a table, as was the push button in the house.  Of course, when people fall - where are they?  Certainly not able to reach the phone    also check, as some cannot be worn in water.

[Taz2]

My daughter in law has one of the wrist ones. She hasn't had to use it yet fortunately but it seems a good system. There is no need to reach a phone as it comes with its own speaker phone which switches on when the alarm is triggered  so you can talk or shout at it and the operator can hear you and take the necessary action.

[Florrie2]

Thanks both

[sheila99]

You can get a phone that will will ring up to 3 nominated numbers with your prerecorded message when the fob is pressed. The one we got for my dad was one you wore round your neck. By far the cheapest option as you only pay for the phone but you need people who will go and help when they get the call. Ours was £20 from ebay. Ageuk wanted a fortune for it and we would still had to provide someone to go, it seemed more like a money making exercise than trying to help the aged.

[CLKD]

However: when Mum fell the wrist alarm was upstairs so she couldn't reach the 'phone on the table downstairs.  .  There was a red button to press for help  .  No good on the table!

[Ju Ju]

My mum had the Age uk alarm. My dad set everything up, but when he died, I became next of kin. She was falling a lot and I was getting phone calls more and more frequently, often at night, with the neighbours going in to sit with her before paramedics arrived sometimes for several hours. I live quite a distance away. Mum absolutely refused to go into a home until events overtook her. The alarm ensured she didn’t lie on the ground with no means of getting help. The people from the falls company were always lovely.