Emergency call buttons save lives. That’s not an exaggeration, and families who’ve watched their parent get help quickly after a fall will attest to how valuable these devices are. But they’re not magic, and they don’t solve every problem related to older people safety. Understanding what these systems can’t do is just as important as understanding what they can, because unrealistic expectations lead to dangerous gaps in safety planning.
Too many families set up an emergency call button and think the safety problem is solved. The device becomes a checkbox, a thing they did to address their worry, and then they stop thinking about what else might be needed. But these systems have real limitations, some technical and some practical, and knowing about them ahead of time means families can plan around them instead of discovering them during a crisis.
They Can’t Work When They’re Not Being Worn
This is the most obvious limitation and somehow the one that catches families off guard most often. A fall emergency call button only helps if the person is wearing it when they fall. Sounds simple, but compliance is a huge problem with these devices.
Older people take them off to shower and forget to put them back on. They leave them on the bedside table overnight. They don’t wear them around the house because they “just feel silly” or find the pendant annoying or think they don’t need it for the thirty seconds it takes to walk to the kitchen. Then they fall during one of those times, and the device sitting in another room doesn’t do them any good.
Some systems try to address this with reminders or monitoring that alerts family when the device hasn’t moved in a while, but that assumes the older people will respond to reminders or that family members are checking the alerts. The basic problem remains: these devices protect people who actually wear them consistently.
Waterproof designs help with the shower situation, allowing someone to wear the button in the bath or shower where many falls happen. Options such as a fall emergency call button that’s designed for wet environments address one of the common times people take devices off. But even waterproof buttons end up in drawers if someone finds them uncomfortable or forgets to put them on each morning.
They Can’t Prevent Falls from Happening
Emergency call buttons respond to falls, they don’t prevent them. This seems obvious stated plainly, but marketing materials sometimes blur this distinction with talk about “fall protection” or “keeping older people safe.” The device keeps older people safer by ensuring help comes quickly, but it doesn’t make falls less likely to occur.
Families sometimes get a false sense of security from the button, thinking it means their parent can safely do things that are actually quite risky. Walking on icy driveways, climbing ladders to change light bulbs, navigating steep stairs with arms full of laundry, these activities don’t become safe just because someone is wearing an emergency button. They’re still dangerous, and the button just means the aftermath might be less catastrophic.
This matters for how families approach overall safety planning. The emergency button is one piece, but it doesn’t replace the need for fall prevention measures such as removing tripping hazards, improving lighting, addressing medication side effects that affect balance, and maintaining physical strength through exercise.
They Can’t Guarantee Fast Response in All Locations
Emergency call buttons work great in areas with good cellular coverage and quick emergency response times. But Canada has a lot of places where neither of those things is true. Rural areas with spotty cell service might have trouble transmitting the emergency signal reliably. Remote communities might have emergency responders who are volunteers and take 30 or 40 minutes to arrive.
The monitoring center responds quickly, usually within a minute of the button being pressed. But their ability to get help to the person depends entirely on local infrastructure. If the nearest ambulance is 45 minutes away on good roads, that’s how long help will take regardless of how fancy the emergency button technology is.
Families in rural or remote areas need to understand this and plan accordingly. Maybe the system is set up to call nearby neighbors first who can arrive faster than an ambulance. Maybe there are local volunteer first responders who should be part of the emergency contact list. The technology works, but geography still matters.
They Can’t Help If the Person Is Unconscious or Too Confused to Use Them
Someone who falls and hits their head hard enough to lose consciousness can’t press a button. Someone who has a stroke and becomes completely disoriented might not understand what the button is for or how to use it. older people with advancing dementia might press the button for non-emergencies or not press it during actual emergencies because they can’t assess the situation properly.
Automatic fall detection addresses some of this by triggering alerts without requiring the person to do anything. But fall detection isn’t perfect. It misses some falls, particularly slow slides to the floor or falls onto soft surfaces. And it generates false alarms when people sit down hard or drop the device.
For older people at risk of the kinds of medical events that cause unconsciousness or severe confusion, emergency buttons are helpful but not sufficient. They need additional layers of safety, whether that’s regular scheduled check-ins that would notice if someone doesn’t respond, or smart home monitoring that would detect unusual patterns that might indicate a problem.
They Can’t Replace Human Connection and Oversight
Emergency buttons create a direct line to help during crises, but they don’t replace the value of regular human contact. Someone who’s becoming weaker, more confused, less able to care for themselves properly, these changes get noticed by people who see them regularly, not by emergency response systems.
Some families use the existence of an emergency button as justification for less frequent contact. “Mom has her button, so she’s safe and we don’t need to call as often.” But the button doesn’t catch the gradual decline that indicates someone needs more support, or notice that someone’s stopped eating properly, or recognize that depression is setting in.
The button handles acute emergencies. It doesn’t handle the slow-motion emergencies that come from declining health and increasing isolation. Those require actual human attention and involvement.
They Can’t Work During Power and Network Outages
Most systems have battery backup for the base station and the wearable device itself runs on batteries. But extended power outages, especially ones that also take out cellular networks, can create gaps in coverage. Winter storms that knock out power and communication for days present real problems for emergency call systems.
Families in areas prone to severe weather need to think about backup plans for these situations. Knowing which neighbors have generators, having a battery-powered or hand-crank emergency radio, keeping extra water and food on hand, these things matter when the technology stops working.
Setting Realistic Expectations
Emergency call buttons are valuable tools that genuinely improve safety for older people living independently. But they’re just tools, not complete solutions. They work best as part of a broader safety strategy that includes fall prevention, regular human contact, appropriate medical care, and realistic assessment of what a person can safely do alone.
Understanding the limitations doesn’t mean the technology isn’t worth having. It means families can use it effectively while also making sure other necessary pieces are in place. The button provides a critical safety net, but it’s not the only net that’s needed.
