BBC Radio 5 Live reported last Wednesday that The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust has become the first in the UK to try fitting dementia patients with tracking devices.
This is a massively contentious issue, with concerns about care and safety directly conflicting with those of freedom and civil liberties. Yet it is argued that these trackers can give the wearer more freedom than if they were not wearing them and had to remain locked in secure accommodation. Anne Karpf from the Guardian argues that as seductive as these "tags" are, they ultimately dehumanise the wearer and remove emphasis from the real issue of care.
If you have a relative or friend with dementia, would you be happy for them to wear a tag? Does tagging prevent freedom or increase it?
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