Ground control to Major Tom-Tom

The Alzheimer’s Society has started the New Year with a bang, proclaiming electronic tagging as the way forward for dementia sufferers. A bold new approach to dealing with wandering, the plan is to fit the subject with an electronic tag so they can be tracked should they go missing.

A Godsend to the families that struggle to care for their confused, demented loved ones, electronic tagging is being hailed as the complete solution to ease their wandering concerns.

But isn’t it like shutting the gate once the horse has bolted? Shouldn’t more be done to stop people from getting outside in the first place? Pressure sensing pads and motion sensors are widely available, and it only needs a moment of swift action to put the confused wanderer back to bed once it has been triggered.

Wandering will always happen – and for home carers it is a big concern that mustn’t be trivialised. But surely more can be done to stop people wandering before they’ve left the house, rather than relying on the same technology that powers your sat-nav?