A personal medical alarm really can save your life. This phrase isn’t at all exaggerated and if you ask Leyna, she’ll be sure to agree with the assertion. In 2019, Leyna unfortunately suffered a fall while home alone in her property near Geelong.
The fall came after Leyna went through a period of being unwell in 2017.
“I was in and out of hospital, I lived alone, and I needed extra support,”
A caring family friend suggested that Leyna should get a personal alarm to help her if she ever found herself in a time of need. Leyna did her research and settled upon our service to meet her needs.
Leyna explains that it wasn’t until 2019 that the alarm had to be called upon. Recalling the event, Leyna explains that while waiting for her laundry cycle to finish she decided to take a seat and look out of the window to enjoy the sunny day.
She explains that she felt calm but in what seemed like the next moment, she discovered that she had fallen and her fact had hit the ground.
“I woke up in shock. My head, arms and body ached from the impact with the floor,” she said.
Falls Are Hazardous To Health
In Australia, there are at least 45,000 hospitalisations of people aged over 65 each year due to falls. It’s a big issue and these falls can lead to severe injuries and a range of side effects.
In fact, falls can lead to a huge range of issues like functional decline, a decreased quality of life, frailty, and much more. Of course, such a traumatising event can also come with feelings of anxiety and damaged confidence.
A personal safety alarm can really help people in those situations. If a person experiences a fall within their home, they can quickly press the button to be put through to a caring and experienced professional who will offer the appropriate assistance. In fact, falls are the main reason that people decide to press their personal alarm. This is followed by shortness of breath and general feelings of being unwell.
This level of support means that many elderly people are able to live independently for as long as possible. The speed of the response also helps to improve their likelihood of the user making a fast and effective recovery.
Researchers from Monash University also discovered that the “overwhelming majority” of elderly people who wear personal alarms were very positive about the experience.
“Grateful and Relieved”
After regaining her consciousness, Leyna pressed the button on her personal alarm that she always wore around her neck.
“I was so grateful and relieved.”
After just ten short minutes the ambulance arrived on the scene and paramedics were able to quickly begin taking care of the situation. When the button was pressed, Leyna’s emergency contact was also notified and they arrived on the scene just after the ambulance.
Leyna was treated at the scene before being transferred to hospital for an overnight stay. After being released, Leyna returned home to begin the recovery process and focus on getting better.
“I want to stay living at home and like to be independent, and the personal alarm allows me to do that,” Leyna said.
“The MePACS response team are brilliant. I appreciate everything they do, and can’t speak more highly of them. My friends and family are also so thankful.”
Leyna always makes sure she is wearing her MePACS alarm pendant whilst she is in her house and in the garden.
What Makes a Great Personal Alarm?
There are lots of personal alarms on the market, but what separates the standard options from the great services?
We have a lot to say on this subject, given that our solution is one of the most popular on the market and our response times are unbeatable.
In our opinion, the best personal alarms are able to offer the following features:
- The personal alarm should connect the user to a line that is manned 24/7 by trained and compassionate professionals.
- The response times should be blazingly fast to make sure that users have the best chance of recovering well.
- The response centre should also have the records and information of the user on record, which helps to make the response time quicker and more effective
- Calls to the response centre should also be triaged to the emergency services
- The operators should stay on the line with the user until help arrives on the scene
- The service makes it simple for the user to use the personal alarm at a moment’s notice, without them having to call upon their mobile phone or landline.
These features really help to make some personal alarms really standout from the crowd and give users the best possible chance of recovery.