World Alzheimer’s Day falls on 21 September this year, and with 850,000 people in the UK living with dementia, the day is a reminder to do all we can to make life easier for those with this very distressing condition.
Many of us have family members, friends or colleagues who have had to cope with Alzheimer’s, and, for our part, we know from the work we do how important it is to ensure those with the disease are not exposed to any unnecessary distress or uncertainty. One common source of such unwarranted distress can, of course, be unsolicited phone calls from cold callers.
Figures released in 2011 showed that almost two thirds of caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients said cold callers had approached the people they were looking after.
Some media reports claim that dementia sufferers have, in fact, been targeted by such callers deliberately. And, just last year, the chief executive of Dementia UK linked scam calls to anxiety, financial loss and loss of self-esteem, saying: “We frequently receive calls to our national helpline from family members who are concerned that their relative with dementia has fallen prey to rogue traders.”
The problem of nuisance callers has grown year on year. So much so that in 2016 our own research, conducted by YouGov, revealed that nine out of ten people in the UK receive nuisance calls each month and 17 percent of adults have been victims of a phone scam.
Our call blockers help to protect individuals and put the power back in their hands. We continue to improve our technology so people – particularly older and vulnerable people – are able to deal with any cold calling issues themselves, at the touch of a button.
Another common issue related to dementia sees the sufferer wander off, become disoriented, and struggle to identify themselves. The WATCHU Guardian is another of our self-care products which can give peace of mind under these circumstances. A GPS tracking smart watch, the WATCHU Guardian can locate the wearer at all times and notify loved ones when the wearer leaves a designated safe zone.
Visit our website to view our full range of products.