Dementia - Granny tracker?

RastaManBob

RastaManBob

RastaManBob

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Hello,

An elderly relative of mine has dementia. She continues to live alone but has at least daily visits from one or more members of the family, and we'd like to keep it this way. As her state has declined she has developed a tendency to go wondering in an evening. Not far from home but none the less, not an ideal situation for a vulnerable person. Nobody wants to take away her independence but we'd like to do something for her own safety.

I vaguely recall, at some stage, seeing a 'granny tracker' which appeared to amount to something along the lines of a small mobile phone like device with GPS that uploaded the location to a page which could be accessed by trusted individuals (family members, etc). Does anybody have experience with such a device and if so could you please make a recommendation?

Ideally I'd like a device that is small (and can easily be left in her handbag) with good battery life (so that it does not require charging excessively) and accurate GPS (so that it can differentiate if she is in her home compared with, for example, at the local shop 10m or so away).

If there are no 'off-the-shelf' solutions I'm sure a correctly configured mobile phone could do the job but I'd rather as simple a 'plug and play' device as possible so that my Mum (and other family members) with limited technical ability can use it.

Thank you! :)
 
You need to consider if leaving a vulnerable person to wander the streets, is in her best interests tbh.

Reactively checking her location is all well and good.. until the time someone forgets to check it for 30 mins and she has made it 2 streets away and has been hit by a car.

Can she move in with any of the family? Depending on the level of dementia you may be able to fit door locks which would easily foil her escape attempts, but then this brings up other risks i.e. fire.
 
I know you're trying to do the right thing but you need to weigh up her independence vs. safety. If she's at the point where she's wandering around in the evenings and not having a clue where she is then you need to look at moving her. Whether that means living with a family member or a home is up to you.
 
What phone has she got?

It should be easy enough to set up a tracker app that alerts someone when she's left a predefined area ie her house.
 
The problem is, you are relying on the dementia sufferer to 'remember' to wear/take a device with them which completely defeats the whole purpose of any such devices. You can also hit problems with telephone monitoring devices and anything that needs plugging in to work as my dementia suffering mother is forever unplugging things, even when there are highly visible stickers and notes on things reminding her not to unplug/switch off important things on the actual wall sockets involved.
 
Thanks for the replies. Clearly other options are being investigated too (a more suitable home, for example) but these appear to be sore points between the various immediately family members involved. I do not live locally so I don't always have the full details, just trying to follow up this idea at the request of my Mum.

At the moment she does not have a mobile phone so any solution (if indeed, as mentioned, this is the correct solution at all) would have to be a new purchase. She wouldn't use it as a phone but if that's the best direction to take this anyway that's fine.
 
doofer said:
The problem is, you are relying on the dementia sufferer to 'remember' to wear/take a device with them which completely defeats the whole purpose of any such devices. You can also hit problems with telephone monitoring devices and anything that needs plugging in to work as my dementia suffering mother is forever unplugging things, even when there are highly visible stickers and notes on things reminding her not to unplug/switch off important things on the actual wall sockets involved.
Click to expand...

I understand that is a very real limitations.

Since posting I've found numerous solutions with battery life up to 5 days. As she has visitors at least once per day the device could be charged within this time and if we get a small unit that can be left at the bottom of her handbag (which she always, to this point, has with her) then this should at least minimise some of the issues you've highlighted.
 
I've not heard of Granny Tracker but I would be surprised if you could not buy something that does the same job. What I do know is you can put door sensors on her front door so when she leaves her home it alerts either you or someone you pay. Check out http://www.carelineuk.com/ this is the system our social services use with people who have dementia.

Always plan the what's going to happen next and put a plan in place for your family to follow. That's including any tech to help remain your gran to be independent, Home care, supported living, Care Home and finally a Nursing home.
 
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A terrible affliction and causes distress to everyone involved. I fear that this is only a temporary measure and it may be prudent to start planning for a longer term solution too.
My heart goes out to the sufferers and carers of this disease.
 
I read the title and assumed this was like Grinder but for grannies.

I can offer no help on either topic I'm afraid, my Nan is showing signs of dementia after having legionella couple of years ago, it's not nice to watch and she's completely unaware/won't admit there is a problem.
 
Horrible horrible condition. My gran had it bad for two years before she died last year - the rate of deterioration was frightening. My dad was determined she wasn't going into a home so he gave up his own council flat to move in with her. We bought various devices to try and help - sensor cushions to tell when she got up at night or up from her chair, locks on doors to restrict movement etc. However in the end we had to admit defeat and she ended up in a home for a year before she died. In reality she 'died' to us 18 months earlier.
 
You really need to sort this out as a family and get her in a suitable care home or if not a home that is warden controlled or has family there.

People with dementia really shouldn't be left alone for to long, espcislly at later stage dementia. You can't get he an iPhone or single tracker to becuase she will get to the point she won't realise what it is and it needs to go everywhere she does.

We put my partners nan into a specialist dementia home this year after looking after her (as a family) more and more over two years. It cost £900 a week but knowing she is looked after constantly makes this worth it. Also it lifts a massive stress on the family and means we can all visit her at our leisure.
 
DIGNITAS. Have you considered dignitas?

In all seriousness though, horrible condition. My grandmother went through something similar a couple of years ago and after wandering out into the street in her nightie was hospitalised - not nice at all. A granny tracker could actually be a good idea, but you'd need some sort of rapid response team too I guess.
 
One lady I've dealt with in the past has Dementia and now and then would go wandering off at night in her dressing gown. She did have regular care during the day and they would then put her to bed at night. We would get calls from passing taxi drivers who would ring in the job as a 999 call. They're pretty good around our area and would keep the lady in sight until we got a Panda car to her.

The son was pretty savvy when it came to technology and was usually on route to her prior to us getting any knowledge of her wandering around. How come?

Well he had gone to trouble of having an alarm system fitted to the house so that when his mum opened the front or back door at night (she only wandered off a night for some odd reason) he would get a call from the Alarm monitoring company. He would then connect to a number of Web cams dotted around the house to see where she was and if he saw her wandering off up the drive he would get dressed and start making his way to her. Quite a good use of technology really.

I would contact AgeUK, who are biggest charitable trust in the UK for elderly people, I'm fairly sure they can offer a lot of helpful support and suggestions as to how to help your relative.
 
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