Tagging Dementia Patients
Tagging has been suggested to help dementia sufferers and
ease the worry and stress caused when patients are inclined to wander or get lost, a dementia sufferer
can sometimes be confused and unpredictable in their behaviour, and I have found being a carer myself
that my husband who is in the first stages of dementia has varying days when the dementia is worse than on others.
Carers may experience some very worrying times when the patient does not return home for hours, or gets lost and confused
when they are out, this causes distress for both the patient and their carer, and their families. Identity tagging bracelets
have been found to be successful and help in this kind of situation. However there are many questions with regard to tagging
devices as everyone must be considered as an individual, and everyone is different. Dementia affects patients in different ways.
The dignity of the person concerned is very important and the rights of the patients who may object to wearing a tagging device must
be respected, if they are forced it would be an infringement of their civil liberties, is it right to curtail the freedom of anyone
when they are not a danger to themselves or others.? Dementia patients are not criminals, they are ill and need help they deserve
respect and they need their freedom to live as full a life as possible. Consultation with everyone concerned is vital bearing in mind
sometimes the severity of dementia is difficult to diagnose as behaviour can alter rapidly and without warning. If tagging dementia
patients is to succeed it also needs the public to be educated enough about dementia and understand that what ever circumstances may
occur it is not the patients fault, and that the person suffering from dementia must be treated with kindness and compassion.
There seems to me to be a lot of what ifs some that cause stress and plague a carers mind are:
What if they wander into someone's garden or home?
What if they wander into a supermarket or shop and take something without paying?
What if they are mugged or attacked because of their vulnerability?
What if they are in an accident and get hurt?
What if they fall into a pond or river?
The authorities, carer and families, and any police or health services involved are already alerted if the patient is
wearing an identity bracelet however a tagging device will alert where the patient is if they are alone and undiscovered
somewhere. It was reported in 2002 that each year the police handled 125,000 searches for Alzheimer patients who wandered from
their homes, in some areas of the country about half of them died if not found within 24 hours. In the US tagging Alzheimer patients
isn't new but is not generally advertised much, it would be interesting to know how things have progressed in the US since tagging
Alzheimer patients was introduced. There is also a cost of thousands of pounds involved in purchasing the devices, including monthly
batteries for which I hope carers will get some remuneration for considering that many are already struggling financially with no help
from the government. Law enforcement officials will also possibly have to spend thousands on tracking monitors, what ever money is spent
on tagging. Nothing replaces the adequate nursing care, and medication that Alzheimer and dementia patients deserve, and the financial
consideration that informal carers deserve for the unpaid work that they do.
Joe Harris of the National Pensioners Convention said "Britain’s social care system is in crisis, suffering from chronic under funding,
decent free personal and nursing care should be a right of every older person and for a minister to suggest that an inhumane electronic
tag on the countries most vulnerable pensioners can in any way replace dignified care is shocking. Mr Wicks should concern himself with how
the government can treat all pensioners with dignity and respect." Considering that the numbers of people suffering with alzheimers and
dementia is increasing year by year as recently reported in the press there are 560,000 dementia sufferers in England and this is predicted
to rise to a million by 2031, and that there are 476,000 unpaid carers taking care of a family member suffering with dementia, and that the
UK is way behind, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Sweden and France. Careful attention should
be paid by all of us as to what the UK government do this autumn, and let us not forget there are also many carers taking care of loved
ones who are suffering from physical disabilities, and different neurological disorders, or both. At the present time a tagging device would
possibly be helpful to me and help ease the stress of worrying when my husband goes out, and my husband says he would not be averse to wearing one,
but I cannot guarantee he would not try to take it off at some future time.
A footnote to carers many who worry about falling ill themselves with no one there to take over, or help you. There is an alarm
system for your home and it is worth asking your social services or council if such a device is available in your area which will
alert the authorities for both of you if necessary.
Pamela
