A COUNCIL is pioneering electronic technology to check if pensioners have fallen out of their beds at night.

Sensors will alert Tameside council if elderly residents get out of bed and don't return or appear to be having a fit.

The Telecare system will also tell carers if a door is opened at an unusual time, if the temperature drops dramatically or if there is smoke, gas or carbon monoxide in the house.

The community response team look after 5,000 elderly or vulnerable people. About 90 are using bed alarms and the council says the system is designed to keep elderly people in their own homes longer.

Audrey White, 76, from Hyde, says the checks gave her the confidence to return to her own home after a nasty fall which left her with a broken leg.

She said: "It is very frightening to think you might fall and be unable to get help - it's given my daughters a chance to get on with their own lives too and not worry about me so much.

"Without the alarms I think I would have had to go into a care home and that is not what I want. I am a very sociable person but I love my own home and my independence."

If the alarm is triggered carers will call the house to check if anything is wrong, if they get no response they send someone to the property within 20 minutes.

Hyde and Stalybridge MP James Purnell, who recently visited the Telecare control centre, said: "This is a vital service that is highly valued by thousands of users across Tameside.

"They know that there is always someone watching out for them."
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