A dispersed alarm system for the elderly and its relevance to local general practitioners.

This paper describes the use of a dispersed alarm system for the elderly in the Central region of Scotland. Information from referral forms, questionnaires completed by wardens after a call and client registers were used to investigate the population served, sources of referral and the way the service was used. All the general practitioners working in the area covered by the service were sent a questionnaire asking for their views of the service. In May 1984 the alarm system covered 861 clients in private housing and 1259 in sheltered housing. Over 50% of referrals were from the health services and the most common reasons for referral were poor mobility and falls. False alarms accounted for 40% of calls and they were more likely to be from clients in sheltered housing than in private housing. Of genuine calls 71% were due to illness or disability with 25% due to falls. All of the general practitioners responding to the questionnaire were aware of a patient in their practice covered by the service and considered that the service provided useful 24-hour support for the elderly at risk because of frailty and disability