Companies offering personal alarm systems for the elderly should be monitored regularly, a charity has said.
Security of the Elderly says it is very concerned that some companies offering social alarm systems are providing technical security support but are failing to deliver other important back-up services.
Social alarms are devices connected to monitoring centres and triggered by pressing a button in a pendant worn around the neck.
Staff at monitoring centres can listen to what is happening and provide back-up support, such as contacting gardai, the emergency services or neighbours, or giving verbal reassurances. The units cost about £250, plus a weekly monitoring fee of about £1.
The national co-ordinator of Security for the Elderly, Mr Jack Keaveney, said that between 30,000 and 40,000 elderly people have these devices. He said that in most of the 50,000 calls made to a Co Wexford social monitoring centre last year, the callers needed verbal reassurance rather than practical assistance.
Staff at the centres should have a background in caring for people and dealing with people in traumatic or life-threatening situations, he said.
Concerns were expressed at the organisation's annual meeting at the weekend that not all companies providing social alarms were offering an adequate back-up service.
Mr Keaveney said an independent body should be set up to perform regular inspections of social monitoring centres and people installing the devices should be properly vetted.