26 July 2012

Elderly injured man face-down on floor for two days

26 July 2012 | By Ruqi

An 80-year-old man was conveyed to The Canberra Hospital yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, July 25) after he was found by police on the floor of his unit, where he had lain injured for two days.

Officers from ACT Policing’s City Patrol were called to the unit in Condamine Street, Turner, around 1.15pm yesterday after the elderly man’s son had contacted police out of concern for his father’s welfare.

The son did not have a key to the locked unit so he was unable to gain access.

No response could be raised from inside the unit, and the locksmith called by police was unable to gain entry because the door had been deadbolted from the inside.

As a last resort, police use a door ram to break the door and gain entry. The man was found face down on the floor in the unit’s dining room, weak and semi-conscious. It appeared the man had fallen heavily and was unable to rise. He had not eaten or drank for two days.

Police immediately called ACT Ambulance Service, which conveyed him to hospital.

One of the officers who attended the scene, City Patrol Sergeant Chris Gresser, said the incident served as a timely reminder to people to regularly look out for their elderly neighbours, or for family members to consider a medical alert system for elderly relatives living alone.

“There’s no doubt this welfare check saved a person’s life,” Sergeant Gresser said.

[Courtesy ACT Policing]

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misspris10:09 am 27 Jul 12

Red Cross Telecross is another great service for elderly or disabled people who live alone. A volunteer phones every day at the same time to check on the person to see if they’re okay.

scorpio6311:44 pm 26 Jul 12

Another tip for people living on their own regardless of age is to keep your mobile in your pocket or for women, under your bra, so that if you fall from vertigo, fever from flu, or trip over, you are able to dial 000. An elderly neighbour was climbing on a ladder one day (most people at work) and I informed her that if she fell it may be quite some time before she would be discovered. Being independently minded which is great she replied “I wont fall”.

A Hairdresser once told me that she had fallen down her home stairs on a Friday evening after work, banged her head, was unconscious on the stairs the following day until she managed to call for help. Her concern were her dogs inside not fed or given water.

My old garage door came down hard on my head two years ago due to a fault and I ended up concussed and vomiting. Fortunately I had my mobile on me and contacted my daughter to meet up to see if I was going to be okay that night. If we have the luxury of mobiles, we should keep them handy for emergencies in and around the home, particularly when living alone.

Alternatively using the telstra monitoring devices people are able to wear around their neck or keep in their pockets.

chilli11:29 pm 26 Jul 12

Pork Hunt said :

If I was 80 and lived alone, I’d be issuing keys to all and sundry just in case…

Doesn’t help much if you deadbolt the door from inside.

Poor old bloke. Hope he recovers soon.

gooterz11:01 pm 26 Jul 12

Pork Hunt said :

If I was 80 and lived alone, I’d be issuing keys to all and sundry just in case…

I wouldn’t .. just the pretty ones 🙂

This could be solved by a dead mans switch that had to be periodically activated. Failure to activate then notifies someone etc. Just giving someone a key doesnt mean the come around to check on you when you want.

Pork Hunt9:48 pm 26 Jul 12

If I was 80 and lived alone, I’d be issuing keys to all and sundry just in case…