Tag elderly people with dementia, British minister suggests

Elderly people with dementia could be electronically tagged to make tracking their movements easier, a British minister suggested in comments cited by the BBC Thursday.

Science Minister Malcolm Wicks said that the move would give sufferers "freedom to roam around their communities" and would have to be done with permission either from them or their family.

"This is about dignity and independence in old age," he told the BBC.

"They could have the safety and security that they would wish for themselves and certainly their families would feel more reassured."
The Department of Health refused to comment on whether the proposal is likely to become government policy.

Wicks's comments received a cautious welcome from one charity which works with old people.

Kate Jopling, of Help The Aged, said tagging might be a way of helping elderly people with dementia to live more independently.

"At first glance, these proposals may smack of the Big Brother state, but we shouldn't dismiss the potential of new technologies to afford dignity and opportunity to vulnerable older people," she said.

"The key issue would, of course, be the involvement and consent of the individual, and their family and carers, to ensure that the technology means better care -- not just care that's cheaper or more convenient."

But Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, warned against "gimmicks" which appear to offer "cheap and quick fixes".

There are currently some 700,000 people with dementia in Britain and the figure is likely to increase to 1.7 million by 2050.

The condition costs the country 17 billion pounds (25 billion euros, 34 billion dollars) a year.