Can anybody recommend a good alarm. my Mum is in a care home and has had her first fall out of bed during the night. She is lucky as she only had a bruise on her hand as her V pillow seems to have fallen out with her!
Obviously they want to stop it happening again and we have discussed briefly what can be done. Not bed rails as she feels too confined. She likes to get herself in and out to the commode. Mat on floor no good as she may slip. Lower bed no good as she wouldn’t be able to get up and off it.
They don’t know what caused it and Mum has no idea. When she lived at home she used to sit on the side of the mattress and then slide off that onto the floor so I wonder whether this happened but I don’t think so as they are hospital type mattresses and quite firm.
We have found a Possum alarm but they are about £400 and you have to keep buying adhesive strips as far as I can make out.
They are normally available from Social Services, but I’m not sure if that applies if someone is in a care home. Who funds the care?
My wife was very good at sliding off things, 14 times in one day was her record when she got her med dosage wrong, (that’s when I took over dispensing her meds).
I assume that in a home she has a “Nurse Call button”, can she not be persuaded to ring for a nurse to help her to the commode when necessary?
I can’t seem to be able to reply individually.
Mum had to sell her house to pay for her care and is therefore self funding.
Yes Mum has a call pendant and pull cords in her room and also her ensuite but she rarely uses them. She is very independent and has alzheimers.
Sounds familiar, they do like to find ways to make things difficult.
Maybe if the commode wasn’t permanently in the room/ensuite then she’d have to call a nurse.
Until you find something more suitable, I would be tempted to opt for the lower bed and the mat. This would hopefully stop serious falls and the mat alarm would alert staff that your mam needed assistance. This system worked in my hubbys case but may not suit everyone. Very rare he rolls out of bed now but its still used just in case.
x