Police plans to use GPS tags on dementia patients has led to an outcry over civil liberties

The Alzheimer’s Society has said there needs to be a balance in the benefits to patients and protecting their civil liberties, after Sussex Police revealed it has bought 15 GPS tagging devices to put on dementia patients so they can easily find them if they go missing.

Sussex Police is trialling the scheme at a cost of £400 a month, and hopes it will save the force thousands of pounds by avoiding call-outs which can take up a lot of police officers’ time and can involve the use of search helicopters.

If the trial is successful, Sussex Police want to roll it out across the county, which has a large elderly population.

Dementia patients can wear the tracking device around their neck, clipped to a belt or on a set of house keys. It works through a Global Positioning System (GPS) – a space-based satellite navigation system that is used by 'sat-navs' in vehicles. It is linked to a 24/7 response service which the wearer can call at a press of a button. The device is called MindMe and family and friends can log into the system whenever they like to find out where the person is.

According to the Alzheimer's Society, there are currently 800,000 people with dementia in the UK and there will be over a million people with dementia by 2021. So the problem of police being regularly called to find missing people only looks set to grow.

Chief Inspector Tanya Jones said: "The GPS will be very cost-effective to the police. It will reduce anxiety for the family and really reduce the police time spent on this issue."

Sergeant Suzie Mitchell believes the scheme will make a huge difference to people in Sussex. She said: “We regularly have to search for missing people with dementia. It is heartbreaking to see the torment that their families are put through – and to see the impact it has on the person with dementia when they are found. We are really excited about our involvement in this project and the difference this could make to local people.”

Carer Bernard Stoneham from Chichester, is an advocate of what he calls “this piece of hi-tech wizardry” and said “what a difference it makes at this difficult time in our lives." His wife Gill has dementia and she started using the MindMe locator after a neighbour found her disorientated and trying to cross a busy road.

The device has already helped him find her after she went for a short walk. “I went to our computer and logged in to make sure that she was taking her normal route. It indicated that she was heading towards the church and car park, which was in the opposite direction to that discussed. She was then stationary in the adjacent field for 11 minutes.”

He went to look for her using the GPS service and found her in a field “lying on the ground stuck in the mud. She was very distressed and had been physically sick. Without the locator I wouldn't have known where to look for her”.

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, acknowledged that the devices can be beneficial but has urged caution over the way they are used. He said: “In some circumstances and when appropriate consent is given, GPS tracking can enable a person with dementia to remain independent for longer, providing them and their carer with peace of mind.”

However he added: “We must balance the potential advantages to the individual and the protection of a person’s civil liberties. Any tracking system must support and never replace good quality care.”

“Alzheimer’s Society understands the safety of people with dementia is an important issue to address and people with dementia and carers have told us that they welcome technology like this if used in the right way. We’re working with organisations such as the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Missing Persons Bureau to ensure people with dementia feel secure and included in their communities wherever they live.”

A number of local authorities use GPS tagging devices to track dementia patients but use of it is still patchy due to fears that it could breach a person’s human rights. The Alzheimer’s Society says patients need to be asked to discuss the option of tagging early in their diagnosis in order to get their consent before the patient becomes unable to do so under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The police initiative has been condemned by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) as being “just about saving money rather than treating people with dignity”.

Dot Gibson, NPC general secretary said: “This action shows how the social care system has completely collapsed. Councils have had a 30 per cent cut in funding and older people are now slipping through the gaps in the system. There has been a lot of talk about pensioners having escaped the austerity measures, but the effects on older people are actually often hidden and they are suffering in silence.

She added: “This is trying to solve a human problem with technology. Rather than tagging people we need better social care out in the community. Dementia patients need human interaction not tagging. Using electronic tags on dementia sufferers raises very important issues about the individual’s human rights. They haven’t committed any crime – they’ve just grown old. Older people are effectively being demonised and treated like criminals.”

Gary Fitzgerald, the chief executive of the campaign group Action on Elder Abuse, also raised the issue of human rights and said: “We would not support the use of 'tagging' if it was purely to save money or just in the interests of the organisations involved. Nor would we support 'tagging' everyone who has dementia, or everyone over the aged of 70 years or similar. There are basic civil and human rights issues involved, and these are not lost simply because someone has developed dementia.”

However he added: “We do not have any difficulties with the use of technology to better the lives of vulnerable people, but any initiatives, such as the use of GPS monitoring, must be demonstrably in the best interests of the person concerned and not for any other reason. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 gives excellent guidance on this.”

The head of adult services at East Sussex council has promised to hold an investigation into the initiative.

While police will pay for the scheme, the device, known as MindMe, is monitored by Chichester Careline, which is run by Chichester District Council.

To vote on this controversial issue, go to our poll at www.homecare.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/28/should-gps-tagging-devices-be-used-on-dementia-patients