Dementia News and Info

[5corpio]

GPS Tags For Dementia Patients 'Barbaric'

Elderly campaigners hit out after police buy tracking devices to save time and money searching for pensioners who wander off.

Elderly care campaigners have branded a police force's decision to buy tracking devices for dementia patients as "barbaric". Sussex Police have bought 15 GPS tags which they hope will save them money searching for pensioners who wander off or go missing. Chief Inspector Tanya Jones told the Daily Telegraph: "The GPS will be very cost-effective to the police. It will reduce anxiety for the family and really reduce the police time spent on this issue." But Dot Gibson, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention accused the police of "trying to get care on the cheap". "I think they should withdraw it straight away," she said. "Trying to equate somebody who has committed a criminal act with somebody who is suffering dementia is completely wrong. "I doubt whether anyone in the Cabinet would want their parents dealt with in this way if they were suffering from dementia. "It looks at the problem in the wrong way. If you've got people in the community who are so bad that they are wandering off at night and are not safe, they should be properly cared for, they shouldn't be tagged.....Read more here

[IF]

Re: GPS Tags For Dementia Patients

I've moved your thread 5corps to here so we don't clutter P1's thread

[di30]

Re: GPS Tags For Dementia Patients

Could have done with this way before now (when dad was still here) with this cruel disease

[julian]

Re: GPS Tags For Dementia Patients

Great idea. Better if it had an alarm when the person left the safe place, i.e. bedroom or living area in large places, or the front door in smaller places.

It is not cruel, as the person getting lost becomes confused and wants help prior to sliding to the bottom of despair. There is an 85 year old across the road who goes to the shops and takes a wrong turn, and ends up miles away, as she is trying to remember how to get home. She knows this. My mum gets lost in the supermarket when out with siblings. She gets so worried.

[pompeyfaith]

Re: GPS Tags For Dementia Patients

I can see both sides to this and it is a tricky one as emotions come into it and perhaps because of that they do not see the benefits.

I know if my mum got lost I would want her back as soon as possible and if a GPS Device does that so be it only thing I would say is that so long as it is not one of those things prisoners wear around there ankles while out early or on remand I think if it was a small thing like a watch that is worn on the wrist that would be better.

[julian]

Re: GPS Tags For Dementia Patients

My Mum has one of those panic alarms to wear around her neck, when she doesn't have it on the table in another room. It should be simple to adapt, a watch/wristband sounds good, but it needs to be secure and comfortable or the wearer will remove or even refuse to ear.

There are additional complexities in dealing with dementia. An 80 year old acting like a 6 year old is not 6, and the proper checks need to be made with those who know the issues not academics who have studied texts but don't have first hand experience of the issues.

I would not go so far as saying a barcode on the forehead or an implant, but there are so many advances in technology to enable chips to be put into clothes or shoes cheaply so they are always traceable - like name tags they will depend on putting the right clothes on a person in a care home. I suppose it depends on the profit margin and the innovation, which if done by a person with an idea of the complexities of getting a disoriented elderly to cooperate ...........

The tags worn by prisoners are made to be obvious so that the person is known to be wearing a tag. However, in some circles it has kudos, a side effect that was not anticipated.

[di30]

Re: GPS Tags For Dementia Patients

Everytime my dad used to to off walkies, my mother could not stop him as she is disabled as well, but she was on the phone each time, so we would have to end up getting up all hours looking for him.

We did find with dad he had a certain spot he went to, but the last time he went walking he was keeling and complaining of his below, so we seem to think he got talking outside a village pub and he got kicked, as he was badly bruised as well.
Scary experience.

Miss him so much xx

[5corpio]

Re: Dementia News and Info

Dementia diagnosis rates: 'Shockingly low'

The NHS in England has been told to push for a rapid rise in dementia diagnosis rates, so that by 2015, two out of three cases are identified. Currently fewer than half of people with dementia have a diagnosis. A senior adviser on public health says dementia cases could be halved if more were done on prevention. He wants wide-scale mental agility testing to identify people at risk, but critics say that would cause unnecessary fear and anxiety. The government says the overall dementia diagnosis rate in England - about 45% - is "shockingly low". The issue was raised as a priority a year ago in the prime minister's "challenge on dementia". This set out a programme to improve care, promote public support and understanding of dementia, and encourage research.....Read more here

[5corpio]

Re: Dementia News and Info

Dementia: Shop Staff Will Train To Spot Illness

Diagnosis times will also be cut, as the Health Secretary pledges to make Britain a world leader in dementia care.

More than 190,000 high street staff will be trained to spot the signs of dementia under a raft of new measures to help people with the condition.....Read more HERE aad

[5corpio]

Re: Dementia News and Info

Mad: how a diagnosis of dementia could lead to higher death taxes

You may feel fit enough to plan financially, but a doctor’s opinion could upset the process

Plans to pay a £55 incentive to GPs to encourage them to make early diagnoses of dementia could send inheritance tax bills soaring, solicitors and financial advisers are warning. Concerns have been mounting that only half of the estimated 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK have been diagnosed. To boost diagnoses over the next six months in England, the NHS has decided to pay doctors a financial incentive. But a diagnosis can cause headaches for anyone who has not yet made adequate plans for their financial future. Because while the person involved and their family may feel fully capable of making financial decisions, a diagnosis would leave such decisions open to challenge. And where a Lasting Power of Attorney has been appointed, a diagnosis can make it even harder to arrange finances more tax effectively. Solicitors and financial advisers are urging people to start thinking about giving away their wealth as soon as possible before an early diagnosis that faculties might be failing slams the door shut.....Read more here