I once observed an elderly man, who seemed to be lost, just wandering around in the town. I didn't know who he was. He was very happy to chat and seemed to have all his marbles, but every now and then, he'd just change the subject. As we wandered, I gradually made my way up to the police station. They were so glad to see him - he had been missing from a nursing home for about 12 hours. Says great things about nursing homes if an older person can just walk out the front door. I doubt that there is any real answer, except a greater effort in care. But having said that, I know that the pay rate is very low and the training is not usually much more than a twelve month course at the local technical college. Just how much do we care about our older people?

my mum is 96 and in a nursing home, they have a lock on the main door with a pin code to get out ,so the wanderers can't go anywhere she thinks its a good idea as a lot of the residents have dementia , 'they use the area code"

Yes I think it is very important for auto locking doors in nursing homes, though some dementia sufferers still seem to wander off as the news has recently reported.

But I think these alarms are designed more for dementia sufferers that are still at home with a carer (husband / wife / partner). More of a help to the carerer rather than a help to the sufferer, just making sure they don't wander off without someone knowing.