Woman strangled on safety device
An 82-year-old woman in the town of Tierp, north of Uppsala, apparently strangled to death last week when the cord of a security device fastened in her walker.
The woman, who lived alone in her apartment, was wearing the security alarm around her neck at the time of the accident.
Police chief Niklas Hållkvist told Arbetarbladet that the cord seems to have become entangled in the elderly woman’s walker when she was on her way the kitchen to fetch milk for a cup of coffee. Her death is regarded as a tragic accident.
The use of security devices for elderly or the disabled living alone is commonplace throughout Sweden. Most people wear the devices on a cord around the wrist, but other prefer to hang them like a medallion around the neck.
If the wearer falls or requires urgent medical assistance, they simply press a button on the apparatus which immediately alerts emergency services.
Some 200 people in Tierp -- located midway between Uppsala and Gävle -- are equipped with the alarm system. The security devices are monitored on a monthly basis to confirm that they are working properly, according to Ingela Hedquist, head of the home-visit service for the elderly in Tierp.
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The woman, who lived alone in her apartment, was wearing the security alarm around her neck at the time of the accident.
Police chief Niklas Hållkvist told Arbetarbladet that the cord seems to have become entangled in the elderly woman’s walker when she was on her way the kitchen to fetch milk for a cup of coffee. Her death is regarded as a tragic accident.
The use of security devices for elderly or the disabled living alone is commonplace throughout Sweden. Most people wear the devices on a cord around the wrist, but other prefer to hang them like a medallion around the neck.
If the wearer falls or requires urgent medical assistance, they simply press a button on the apparatus which immediately alerts emergency services.
Some 200 people in Tierp -- located midway between Uppsala and Gävle -- are equipped with the alarm system. The security devices are monitored on a monthly basis to confirm that they are working properly, according to Ingela Hedquist, head of the home-visit service for the elderly in Tierp.
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