Electronic Tagging - Enabling Or Disabling People With Dementia? UK

Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Article Date: 07 Jan 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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The latest sign of over zealous Big Brother or the future for empowering people with dementia?

When electronic tagging was suggested as a way of tracking people with dementia it sparked a nationwide debate on the ethics of assistive technology. Now the Alzheimer's Society is launching a new policy on electronic tagging and safer walking technology and people with dementia and their carers are being asked to speak out.

Many people with dementia feel compelled to walk about, a symptom often described as wandering. Up to 60 per cent of people with the condition may wander and 40 per cent of them have got lost at some time outside their homes. Walking can provide significant benefits for people with dementia, but also presents some risks. If a person with dementia wanders alone and unannounced it also causes distress for family carers and loved ones.

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, says,

'We know new technology is available and could offer benefits to people with dementia and their carers. There is a careful balance to strike between empowering people and restricting their movement and this technology can certainly never be used as an alternative for high quality dementia care.

We would like to see people with dementia and their carers joining the discussion on safer walking technology and what role it can play in the fight against a condition affecting 700,000 people in the UK.'

Tracking devices use global positioning technology as a way of locating a person with dementia if they are lost. A carer, close friend or specialist team can then collect them and bring them back home.

The Alzheimer's Society is releasing new guidance on safer walking technology including calls for more research into its use and ability to support people with dementia and their carers. The charity believes people should have access to devices if it is appropriate and they want them. Advanced decisions about this technology could be used before people reach the later stages of dementia, when they may have lost mental capacity.

Jo from Oxford, cares for his wife who has Alzheimer's disease. He says,

'When my wife first wandered we were in London and I spent the night sitting in a police station waiting for her. If I could have had any way of finding her then it would have been hugely valuable. It is important to have devices which are practical and small enough to have on you all the time.'

People can share their views on safer walking technology on the Alzheimer's Society website at www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint.

Notes:

- Alzheimer's Society spokespeople are available for comment

- 1 in 3 older people will end their lives with a form of dementia

- 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have Alzheimer's disease. In less than 20 years nearly a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051. 1 in 6 people over 80 have dementia.

- The Alzheimer's Society champions the rights of people living with dementia and those who care for them. The Alzheimer's Society works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

- As a charity, the Alzheimer's Society depends on the generosity of the public to help it care, research and campaign for people with dementia. You can donate now by calling 0845 306 0898 or visiting http://www.alzheimers.org.uk.

Alzheimer's Society