Telecare

Different alarm systems are available for your home, some of which can let a family member, friend, neighbour, nurse or warden (if you’re in sheltered housing) know by phone when there’s something wrong. These include:

• a personal alarm, where you raise the alert by pressing a button that you keep on you at all times; it’s usually on a small wristband or a pendant that you wear around your neck
• motion sensors, which make accidents and falls less likely by automatically switching on your bathroom or hallway lights at night when you get out of bed

Other sensors can raise the alarm that something is wrong. These include a pressure mat on your mattress that can tell if you’ve not made it back into bed, or a sensor on a door that can tell if it’s open or closed. Then if you have a fall, or you haven’t got back into bed after going to the toilet in the night, or you’ve forgotten to close the outside door, the sensor raises the alarm.