Quick summary
A pendant alarm will not stop a fall. What it does is stop a two-hour wait on the floor, and that is the part that does the damage. Expect a setup fee of around £30 to £50 and £15 to £27 a month, or less through your council. Check with adult social care before buying privately.
What the evidence actually says
An alarm is detection, not prevention. Getting that distinction right saves families money spent on the wrong problem, and our separate piece on what to look for at home covers the prevention side.
The case for detection is strong. A Cambridge study following people aged over 90 for a year found that 82 per cent of falls happened when the person was alone, four in five could not get up after at least one fall, and 30 per cent had lain on the floor for an hour or more. Long periods on the floor were strongly associated with serious injury, hospital admission and later moves into long-term care (Fleming and Brayne, BMJ, 2008).
The same study found something that should shape which device you choose. People who had a call alarm frequently did not use it, even while on the floor and unable to get up. A pendant in a drawer, or worn but not pressed because pressing it feels like a fuss, protects nobody.
The options compared
Type | How it works | Typical cost | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic personal alarm | Makes a loud noise. No monitoring | £5 to £20, one off | Someone with family or neighbours within earshot | Useless if nobody is nearby |
Monitored pendant | Press the button, connects to a 24/7 centre through a base unit | £30 to £50 setup, then £15 to £20 a month | Most people, if they will wear and press it | Only works within range of the base unit, and requires the person to press it |
Fall detector | Senses impact and raises the alarm automatically | £30 to £50 setup, then around £19 to £27 a month | Someone who may be unable or unwilling to press a button, including with dementia | Can miss slow slides to the floor, and can trigger false alarms |
GPS alarm or alarm watch | Mobile SIM, works away from home, often with fall detection | Higher monthly fee, typically the top of the range | People who still go out, and anyone who dislikes looking frail | Needs charging and a mobile signal |
Home sensors | Movement, door and bed sensors that flag unusual patterns | Varies widely, often the most expensive | Dementia, night-time wandering | Cost, and real questions about consent and privacy |
Council telecare | Council-arranged equipment and monitoring | Sometimes around £14 a month, sometimes free after assessment | Nearly everyone, as the first thing to check | Needs an assessment, which takes time |
Prices are indicative and drawn from Which? (correct as at July 2026) and homecare.co.uk. Always check current pricing directly.
Start with the council, not a website
Many councils run a telecare or community alarm service, sometimes at lower cost than private providers and sometimes free depending on need and finances.
Ask adult social care: Cheshire East Council on 0300 123 5010, Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190 for Buxton and Whaley Bridge, Staffordshire Cares on 0300 111 8010 for Leek, Biddulph and Kidsgrove. If you are unsure which applies, our guide to the council boundaries sorts it out.
An assessment takes time, so if the need is urgent it is reasonable to buy privately and ask the council in parallel.
The digital switchover, which almost nobody mentions
The UK’s phone network is moving from analogue to digital, with completion due in 2027. Older telecare units that rely on an analogue landline may stop working properly.
Two practical steps. If you are buying now, choose a digital-ready service, ideally one using a mobile SIM rather than a landline. And if someone already has an alarm, tell their phone provider that they use telecare, because providers keep a register of vulnerable customers for exactly this reason.
Questions to ask before buying
- Who answers, and where are they? A UK monitoring centre staffed 24/7 is the standard to expect.
- What happens when the alarm is raised? Do they call named contacts first, or an ambulance, and in what order?
- Who holds a key? A key safe with the code held by the monitoring service prevents a forced door.
- What is the range? Base-unit pendants typically work to a few hundred metres, which usually covers the garden and not the shops.
- Is it waterproof? Bathrooms are where many falls happen, so an alarm that comes off for a shower has a gap in it.
- What is the contract? Rolling monthly is more flexible, annual is often cheaper.
- Is it digital-switchover ready?
- What is the total cost over three years, not the headline monthly fee?
Will they actually use it?
This decides whether the money is well spent, and it is worth being honest about before buying rather than after.
- Will they wear it? A pendant left on the bedside table is the commonest failure. Watches and wristbands get worn more readily by people who dislike looking frail.
- Will they press it? Many people will not, out of not wanting to be a nuisance. If that sounds familiar, automatic fall detection is worth the extra.
- Can they press it? Arthritic hands, or confusion after a knock to the head, both interfere.
- Would they remember what it is for? With dementia, a device requiring a decision is less reliable than one that does not.
Talk about pressing it before it is needed. “If you go down, press it straight away, even if you think you’re fine” is a conversation worth having twice.
The low-technology alternatives
Not a replacement for an alarm, and they close the same gap for some households.
- A phone carried in a pocket, rather than charging in another room.
- A daily check-in at a set time. If the call is not answered, somebody goes round.
- A key safe, so nobody has to break a door.
- A neighbour who notices whether the curtains have opened.
- A care visit, which sets a maximum time anyone can be on the floor undiscovered.
What an alarm does not do
It does not prevent falls, reduce fear of falling, get anyone off the floor, or substitute for treating the cause. For that, the four things with evidence behind them are exercise, a medication review, an eye test and a home hazard assessment, and they are covered in our piece on getting an assessment and the other falls guides in this cluster.
Frequently asked questions
Do fall alarms work?
They work at what they are for, which is shortening the time between a fall and help arriving. They do not reduce the chance of falling.
How much does a personal alarm cost?
Typically £30 to £50 to set up and £15 to £20 a month for a monitored pendant, or around £19 to £27 a month with fall detection. Council schemes are sometimes around £14 a month or free after assessment.
Are automatic fall detectors reliable?
They detect hard falls well, can miss a slow slide to the floor, and occasionally trigger falsely. For someone who would not press a button, that trade is usually worth making.
Can I get one free from the council?
Some councils provide equipment free or at low cost depending on need and finances, and it is not guaranteed. Ask adult social care before buying.
What about a smartwatch with fall detection?
Mainstream smartwatches can detect falls and call emergency contacts, and they depend on charging, phone pairing and someone being comfortable with the technology. A monitored service answers even when family does not.
Should we put cameras in?
It is possible, and it raises real questions about privacy and consent in someone’s own home. If the person cannot meaningfully agree, take advice rather than installing first.
About Visiting Angels Cheshire East
Visiting Angels Cheshire East provides care at home across Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Congleton, Alsager and the surrounding villages of East Cheshire, along with Buxton, Whaley Bridge and the Staffordshire Moorlands towns. We do not sell alarms or take commission from anyone who does.
- A visit sets a maximum. With a daily call, the worst case is measured against the gap between visits rather than against how long until someone happens to phone.
- You see the same faces. Our carer turnover is 12 per cent, against a sector figure of 23.7 per cent (Skills for Care, 2025).
- You choose your caregiver, and meet them before care starts.
- No visit is ever shorter than an hour.
- Overnight and live-in care available where someone should not be alone at night.
David’s mother in law is becoming increasingly confused:
“Visiting angels have been a massive help in the care for my mother in law, who is getting increasingly confused. They provide companionship and support every day proving to be very reliable and consistent. They are there at times we can’t be, due to all the commitments of work and grand children.”
David Figg, Google review
Not sure what you need yet? Start with a free assessment
Our free home care assessment is a visit at a time that suits you, with no obligation afterwards. In it we will:
- Work out how long someone could be alone before anyone would know something had happened.
- Talk through a realistic package, and what it would cost.
- Look at the money with you, and point you towards the funding, benefits and grants you may be entitled to.
- Tell you honestly if an alarm and a daily phone call would do it, because for plenty of people they would.
If the worry is how long someone might lie there, call us on 01625 720157. You can also send an enquiry, and you can see what our services cover.
Authored by Kim Blissett, Registered Manager, Visiting Angels Cheshire East.
Published 27 September 2026. Last updated 27 September 2026.
This article is general information and not a recommendation of any product or supplier. We do not sell alarms and receive no commission. Prices are indicative third-party figures correct at the date of publication and vary by provider; check directly before buying. An alarm is not a substitute for medical assessment or care. If someone has fallen and is injured, call 999. To the fullest extent permitted by law, GB Care at Home Ltd accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this article.
