Tracking device use offers peace of mind

WANDATRAK: Detective Sergeant John Wilson pictured with a Wandatrak pendant. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER.

Rotorua police, Land Search and Rescue, and the Alzheimers Society continue to work closely together with Rotorua topping the statistics when it comes to the issuing of Wandatrak pendants.

Detective Sergeant John Wilson, officer in charge of Search and Rescue for Rotorua, said Wandatrak pendants are used to monitor people with a "habit of wandering off".

"Each pendant emits it's own frequency so searchers can locate the missing person via directional antenna, often within a short time frame," he says.

John says he and Elaine Fox from the Rotorua Alzheimers Society introduced the pendants into Rotorua in 2008.

"Rotorua embraced this technology relatively early on, and with the burgeoning rates of dementia due to an aging population globally we need to keep ahead of the game with this. The catalyst for this was the death of an elderly, vision impaired lady who was the subject of a week long search in Rotorua before we located her body."

John says the project has grown to the stage where there are now around 56 pendants in the community, the most in New Zealand, per capita.

"The pendants are very effective, not only in terms of making it easier to find people, but also for the peace of mind that it gives their families. Issuing them with a pendant takes a huge weight off the families, many of whom constantly worry about the wellbeing of their loved ones.

"This includes dementia sufferers, those with head injuries, and autistic children."
According to the recently released Alzheimers Disease International (ADI) report, Women and Dementia: A global research review, women are more at risk of developing dementia than men.

Alzheimers New Zealand executive director Catherine Hall says there needs to be put more support in place for people living with dementia.

"In New Zealand we urgently need specific public health and social care policies, with adequate funding, that support women in all aspects of their dementia journey, whether it is as a caregiver or as someone living with dementia," she says.

"Much of the financial impact is not immediately obvious. For example in a family situation the cost of long term dementia care can significantly compromise an older couple's savings and household stability."

Search and Rescue Rotorua secretary and Wandatrak volunteer Gaal Ralston says they got involved with the Wandatrak programme about a year ago to put an administrative system in place.

"We also do the six monthly battery replacements and source funding so that the Wandatrak programme could be a free service to the community. Each pendant costs $275 with a six-monthly battery replacement cost of $25 and that doesn't include postage and handling," she says.

"They are very effective, cutting down the manpower and time needed should a search become necessary and the peace of mind they give family members is immeasurable."
John says he is very grateful for the ongoing financial support which has been required to keep the project running over the years.

"We have received funding from numerous service clubs, the Masonic Lodge, and in recent times the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust.

We have also had donations from other groups such as workplaces, who have raised funds from staff to buy one or two pendants for us."

For more information about how to get a Wandatrak pendant contact Elaine Fox at the Rotorua Alzheimers Society on (07) 349 0053.