Before you buy fall alert equipment, consider the points below:
- If you have had a fall due to a medical condition, contact your GP to consider if a review of treatment or medication could improve mobility & reduce risk of falls
- If you have fallen due to mobility problems and there is a risk of falls at home call Care Direct
0345 1551 007 to request a home assessment - A health care professional can assess your mobility and look at trip hazards, transfer techniques and mobility equipment at home to reduce the risk of falls
- If home safety and mobility have been reviewed but there is still a risk of falling at home, consider how to raise the alarm after a fall; by carrying a cordless domestic phone or a mobile phone or wearing a call centre pendant to summon assistance if injured or unable to get off the floor
- If the risk of falling is when getting out of bed or when getting up from a chair, a bed or chair occupancy sensor could be used to send an alert for assistance from on site carer when they get up, to reduce the risk of falling
- If a person is unable to raise an alarm after a fall or suffers a loss of consciousness due to a fall then consider an automatic falls detector. Detectors are triggered by a sudden change of altitude or a rapid downward movement or by a tilt and impact movement, and are only suitable if that person falls in the right way to trigger the alert. Falls detectors are prone to false alarms so a ‘cancel’ button is useful if activated by mistake
- Falls detectors can alert someone in the same house or to an off site carer by mobile phone, or can trigger an alert to a call centre via a domestic social care alarm system. The call centre will phone a close family member or neighbour to assist or the emergency services as instructed if they get no response
- If a person who you care for is at risk of falling when out and about, they can raise an alarm with a standard mobile phone, numbers can be stored to make dialling easier in an emergency. Some phones have an SOS button which calls direct to a specific number. Some simple mobile phones have photo buttons, braille or texture buttons to facilitate making a call to friend or family. Most mobile phones can be registered with an online tracking system so that you can locate that person if they are unable to give their location when fallen
- If the person cannot use a mobile phone they could wear or carry a tracker with integral falls detector, to send alert and map location to a designated responder
- These devices are designed to enhance independence but could be considered intrusive. The person must consent to use of any monitoring device