We track our luggage — why not our loved ones?

Tuesday, 17 June 2025

A search gets under way for Elisabeth Nicholls, 79, who had then been missing for 24 hours, on June 5.

Mike Yardley is a Christchurch-based writer and commentator on current affairs, and a regular opinion contributor.

OPINION: My heart goes out to the family and friends of Elisabeth “Lis” Nicholls, who went missing after walking out of the Margaret Stoddart Retirement Village in Riccarton nearly a fortnight ago. The 79-year-old dementia sufferer had only been admitted to the Ryman Healthcare facility for respite care earlier that day.

Two years ago, our family endured a similarly distressing ordeal when one of our elderly members, who had only been transferred to a Christchurch retirement home a few days earlier, walked out of the facility after dark, on a frigid winter evening.

Mercifully, our loved one was found alive within two hours, thanks to the swift and extraordinary response from the police, who swarmed the wider neighbourhood with 10 officers, scouring the area for her, as family rushed to the scene to join the frantic search efforts.

The police saved her life - just in time - finding her sitting on the crest of a man-made lake at 10pm, disoriented and suffering mild hypothermia. As I thanked the police for their heroic rescue response, I was struck by the comments of a senior officer, who remarked, “No problem. We’re doing this all the time.”

Yes, most cases don’t end up as news stories, but the police are regularly responding to missing elderly people wandering away from aged-care facilities.

The family of Elisabeth Nicholls, who has been missing in Christchurch since last week, are making a further appeal for assistance from the public after no breakthroughs in the search for her.

Surely it raises huge questions about the level of supervision and security provided by the sector, particularly when it is charging clients thousands of dollars a week.

Sure, the overwhelming number of residents in aged-care facilities should not be under lock and key. Most are free to come and go as they please. But such a relatively unmonitored laissez-faire approach to freedom of movement should not apply to residents with cognitive decline, dementia, or who are clearly unsettled after shifting into unfamiliar surroundings - arguably grieving their loss of living at home.

For me, this strikes at the heart of the aged-care sector’s duty of care. Enhancing the welfare and security of such residents is mission critical, and the sector should be assertively embracing technology-based solutions as a safety measure.

I believe GPS-tracker wristbands should become the norm - not the exception - in aged-care facilities for at-risk residents. If they go walkabout, their whereabouts can be swiftly pinpointed via technology.

Sure, they’re not foolproof, particularly if the device goes out of range or is removed, but it would help immeasurably.

Aged Care Association chief executive Tracey Martin says her organisation supports the principle of GPS-locator wristbands in aged care, where appropriate.

Ryman Healthcare’s spokesperson wouldn’t give me a direct answer, but conceded: “Broader conversations will be important in the future. Right now, our focus remains on doing everything possible to help bring the resident home.”

Alzheimer’s NZ chief executive Catherine Hall tells me a number of factors need to be considered when balancing independence with safety in aged care, including the design of the facility. Hall agrees that location devices can be helpful in both the residential care and home-based setting.

Aged Care Association CEO Tracey Martin says Health New Zealand is creating “more and more challenges” for the sector with its “least possible restriction” setting for residential care. Martin points out that “70% of aged-care residents have some level of cognitive impairment”.

Does the Aged Care Association support providing residents who consent with a GPS-location wristband?

“Yes. These devices can be helpful in supporting resident safety without unnecessarily restricting their movement,” says Martin. She confirms that some providers already offer GPS tracking options.

Meanwhile, Minister for Seniors Casey Costello tells me that she’s seen how GPS-tracking wearables give freedom to residents while also helping monitor their safety. “The more we can use technology across aged-care services, the better,” she says.

Martin argues that there is no dedicated public funding for GPS tracking in aged care, “so families often bear the cost”. But the cost of these devices isn’t substantial.

We happily track and trace our courier parcels. We can swiftly find our phones and cars with GPS tracking. We slap tracking on our checked-in luggage and even our pets.

So why aren’t we routinely taking greater tech-savvy care of our seniors?

May the Elisabeth Nicholls case be a rallying call for the rapid promotion and uptake of GPS wearables in the aged-care sector, in the name of duty of care.