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back to article Tag dementia sufferers, says minister

Elderly people suffering from dementia could be electronically tagged. Science minister Malcolm Wicks suggested that such tagging technology, which is already used to track convicted criminals on early release from prison, could also help a family caring for an elderly relative. He told the BBC: "This is about dignity and …

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  1. Name

    Minister in Sci-Fi land again

    From the way the BBC article is written it certainly seems the minister favours some kind of GPS satellite tracking system which would suggest that he's yet another Government minister who has got the whole thing back to front and thinks the satellite does the tracking rather than the receiver figuring out where it is relative to the satellites.

    If you're going to get any useful realtime data back from the tracking device it'll need some kind of transmitter - presumably a mobile phone type device. Which makes the device quite bulky and likely to annoy and confuse the already confused dementia sufferer.

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Interesting idea

    Malcom Wicks has been my local MP for a long time, and this might be the first time he's actually come up with a good idea.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oooh isn't it pretty !

    "Ooh Ethel, that nice young Neville Chamberlain has just given me a garter to put on."

    "He says they don't need to pay for a home help now. Is that lovely?"

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Free range OAP's?

    Will they also be Organic?

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  5. Dan

    What?!

    Quote "Wicks said that permission from the individual concerned should be sought before using such a device."

    Er, is this the same people that, due to the awful effects of conditions such as Alzheimers, don't even know what day it is? This is no less dodgy than claiming 'informed consent' can be obtained to fingerprint a child in primary school.

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I've got a better idea...

    Perhaps we should tag all MPs instead. And wiretap their phones too.

    Ooops, sorry I forgot, MPs have immunity from wiretaps. Perhaps they have something to hide.

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why stop at the demented...?

    Just tag everybody.

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  8. Alex Wood

    Tagging

    Oh, I thought this was Web 2.0-style tagging. Why not combine it and track anyone called "confused" (and mis-spellings of the same) more than ten times or so by passers-by?

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