Hello Kat,
Thanks for reaching out on EnableMe. I am sorry to hear of your Mum’s stroke. It can be really worrying when parents age, especially after a health event such as a stroke. Thinking about options to help in an emergency situation is always great planning. There are also likely to be others in the community who have considered this situation, and hopefully they will reach out and comment on what has helped.
Has your mother been referred to My Aged Care, or for an Aged Care Assessment Service (ACAS) assessment? If not, I would start here. My Aged Care can arrange an assessment for your Mum to look at the supports she might be eligible for, including a funded personal alarm. It is also beneficial to request an assessment with an Occupational Therapist (OT) for your Mum to determine the most appropriate personal alarm for her needs. Personal alarms are not all the same, so having an OT assessment looking at issues such as your Mums cognition, hearing , physical ability can help find the best fit for her. Depending on her situation and finances, she may even be eligible for funding for a personal alarm.
There are different type of personal alarms. The monitored alarms include a system where your Mum would press a button each morning to let the service know she is ok. If for whatever reason they cannot get in touch, they would initiate contacting her nominated emergency contacts. She would also be provided with a pendant or bracelet to wear with a button that can alert the service to an emergency situation. If she presses the button and cannot talk, the service will again initiate contacting her emergency contact. You can read more about the monitored alarm system here.
There are other alarms systems where your Mum would again be given a bracelet or pendant to wear with a button on it that she could press if unwell or having a medical event. They work in a similar way, with the button being pressed initiating a call to her emergency contacts. There are a variety of these on the market, from ones where she presses a button and it can contact you via bluetooth such as this one here, and others that use a sim card and mobile phone technology such as the one here. These are just examples but to find more you can also look at the ASKNED(national equipment data base) website here.
Another option could be a smart watch. There are varieties of these available these days including those linked with Apple and Samsung mobile phones. These often have a fall detection capacity that can detect a fall and make an emergency call with the location of the person who is wearing the watch.
Given you are providing the care and support for your Mum, Carer Gateway may be a good support for you. Taking care of yourself whilst caring for someone else is very important and Carer Gateway can assist with both practical and emotional support for you. You can give them a call on Ph 1800 422 737 or visit their website here. It sounds like you are doing an amazing job and making sure your Mum is staying safe.
These are just some examples but if you call or email StrokeLine, we could send out more detailed information via email that you could then talk with your Mum about. You can call StrokeLine on Ph 1800 787 653, or email us on strokeline@strokefoundation.org.au. We are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm AEDT. We would be more than happy to provide more information and to work out what else might be helpful for your Mum.
Warm regards
Siobhan (StrokeLine)
Thank you so much Siobhan, the support you guys provide is very appreciated.
Hello Kat,
Not a problem, and always feel free to reach out to us over the phone or on email as well. We do have some more specific details which we would be happy to share.
I'm just pleased you reached out. The caring role can be tough, but help is available, I hope that you can find something to help both your Mum and reduce your worry.
Take care
Siobhan (StrokeLine)
Hi I love my iwatch one button quick response sos , I touched by mistake years ago and got a response in one minute the operator was very kind in telling me sos was for emergency’s, I made a mistake but feel so secure knowing a quick response speaking through the watch ,
they have also a new feature of double tapping which gives me the basic use of my other wise useles left are and hand which is hilariously funny ,but if I just touch my two finger together it respond with all features like call or answer the iwatch phone speaker , , Just some thoughts for mum ,quick professional response will set you at ease a little. Jim