No one said ageing was easy but just like taxes is something most of us cannot avoid.

For many, the biggest frustration once we officially cross the threshold of middle-age to old-age is growing physical infirmity.

The mind may still be active but the body can let us down. Thankfully, due to medical advances and more information on healthy lifestyles, generally people are staying fitter for longer, but nevertheless, there may come a time when we struggle with once easy day-to-day activities.

But for many, it's no longer a case of having relatives hectoring you to head into a home in your twilight years.

Elderly people are in fact able to retain their independence longer thanks to personal alarm monitored services.

These personal alarm systems allow the elderly to have an alarm button worn as a pendant around their neck, or as a wristband or on their belt, so should anything untoward happen, like a fall in the bathroom, then help is at hand at any time day or night.

Pendant alarm systems carry a unique id so that any 24/7 care response teams immediately knows who it is using the remote alarm.

What's more, they will have any relevant medical information at hand about the person using the alarm. They will immediately call back on the alarm unit to speak to the person but if they are unable to get to the unit, the care response team then alert predefined key holders that the person may be in distress.

Additionally, they then alert emergency services should medical attention be required. The upshot of these pendant alarm monitored services is clearly peace of mind, not only for elderly individuals but their relatives too. It allows people to prolong their independence but always have help at hand when it is needed.

And, unlike entering a home, they are relatively lo-cost options that similarly are easy to install. That's not to say a home can always be avoided.

This depends on the general well-being of each individual but for many who remain relatively mentally and physically active, it's simply a precaution especially should an elderly individual be living alone, that at the press of their pendant alarm, help will be at hand almost immediately.

With people living longer, and being healthier for longer, alarm monitored systems are a way of helping to facilitate such independence longer, which is surely a good thing for added security, and allowing us to live the way we want to live for longer.