Electronic tagging should be offered to dementia sufferers, allowing their relatives to locate them quickly should they wander off, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.

The charity said that satellite tracking systems similar to those used for offenders, could help families to care for patients at home for longer.

People with dementia often feel a compelling urge to walk. Up to 60 per cent wander and 40 per cent have got lost, bringing distress to themselves and their families. As tracking technology becomes more sophisticated and affordable it could be used to help dementia sufferers to lead more independent lives, the charity said.

“We know new technology is available and could offer benefits to people with dementia and their carers,” said Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society.

Tagging would have to be introduced sensitively, he said. “There is a careful balance to strike between empowering people and restricting their movement and this technology can certainly never be used as an alternative for high-quality dementia care.” Where possible, permission should be sought from the sufferer – perhaps in advance, before he or she has reached the later stages of dementia.

Colin Smith, 76, a retired consultant from Oxfordshire who cares for his wife Maria, 79, has attempted to use tracking technology to help her to cope with her illness. An avid walker all her life, Mrs Smith has often wandered from home and been found several miles away after searches by family and neighbours.

Her husband said: “About four years ago, our consultant was experimenting with tracking devices and we got an early model to try. It was about the size of the video cassette but much heavier so not very practical. Things have progressed and we eventually got down to a device the size of a matchbox, and I could track it from my own computer. But what we need is something the size of a watch which you can track on your mobile phone.”

He has had to cope with several serious “wandering” incidents, including when his wife walked out of the Tate gallery on a summer afternoon. She was finally brought to a police station at 3.30 the next morning. “Maria was fine and kept saying how nice everyone had been. I was rather more upset, as you can imagine.”

However the system worked effectively when they went on holiday. “We were driving through France and I called the monitoring people to tell them. I was rather surprised when they said, ‘Yes, so we see, and we also saw you were doing 140kmph’.” Andrew Chidgey, head of policy at the Alzheimer’s Society, said that electronic tagging could considerably enhance thousands of lives. “Wandering is a real problem for many carers and we would rather they were able to use all the modern technology available than reach the end of their tether and think about a care home,” he said.

“Tagging can reassure people and actually help them to retain some independence, although safeguards would have to be put in place.”

He suggested that, with social care provision moving towards direct payment, patients would soon be able to choose how to spend their care allowances rather than just take what the local authority gave them. “It is highly likely that this sort of technology will be part of the care people will want to receive, so private companies should be aware that there could soon be a lot of demand,” he said.

The subject of tagging dementia patients was raised in the spring when Malcolm Wickes, a junior minister, suggested that it should be considered as part of the care on offer.

Some groups representing the elderly, including the National Pensioners Convention, said that the idea was “shocking” and “inhumane”.

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