GPS device for dementia sufferers

GPS device for dementia sufferers

pa.press.net
A psychiatrist at the first NHS trust to trial tracking devices for dementia patients said the new technology could provide patients with more freedom to go out safely.
Dr Rupert McShane is running a two-year trial at the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust which has become the first in the country to fit dementia patients with the pocket GPS devices.
A total of 20 patients from the Thames Valley and Somerset areas are taking part in the trial which enables their movements to be monitored on a map via a secure website.
Dr McShane, a consultant in old age psychiatry at the trust, told BBC Radio Five Live: "About 30% of people with dementia get lost at some point, and about 25% of them are locked into their houses by worried relatives.
"With the development of GPS technology, we think people with dementia might have more freedom to go out and they might be safer if they do go out, if it's possible to know where they are if they get lost."
Sue Fulford-Dobson, whose partner Ian is taking part in the trial, said: "He is fascinated by sunsets. So suddenly at eight o'clock at night he will say, 'There's a lovely sunset; I think I'll just go and see if I can see it better'. And that's when he will disappear.