Emergency buttons for seniors in Singapore: who answers, what it costs, and what it misses

What an emergency button is, and is not

An emergency button, also called a panic button, SOS button or personal alarm, lets a senior ask for help with one press instead of finding and dialling a phone. Some are wall-mounted, some are worn as a pendant or wristband, some are carried. What happens next depends entirely on the service behind it, which is why “which button is best” is really “who do you want to answer, and how fast?”.

The options in Singapore

Prices and terms come from each provider’s pages, checked on 3 November 2026. The Red Cross no longer publishes a HoME+ monthly price on its website (checked 3 November 2026); an earlier version of its page showed S$48/month, and S$50/month has been reported for HoME+ 2.0. Ask the Red Cross for a quote. Check with any provider before you sign up.

How to choose

1. Who should answer? If there is no family or friend who can respond, a manned 24/7 centre matters most. If family or an Active Ageing Centre can respond, a button that reaches them directly is faster and more personal.
2. Can your parent speak through it? Some buttons let the senior talk to the response centre through the device, which helps if they have fallen and cannot reach a phone.
3. Does it work without home internet or power? Buttons with their own SIM keep working through a Wi-Fi or power cut. Those that use the home network do not.
4. Where will it be? A wall button is only useful if your parent can reach it from the floor. A pendant only helps if it is worn, including in the bathroom, so check that it is water-resistant.
5. What happens on ordinary days? Most buttons are silent until pressed. Some services also notice missing movement and send daily reports.
6. What is the contract? Device cost, monthly fee, minimum term and what happens if your parent moves.

The weakness every button shares

A button needs a conscious person who can reach it. Strokes, faints and serious falls can leave someone unable to press anything. In a UK study of people aged over 90, 30% of those who fell lay on the floor for an hour or more, and call alarms, although widely available, were not used in most of those long lies (Fleming and Brayne, BMJ, 2008). That is why services such as HoME+ and Birdhouse add sensors that notice when movement stops.

How the Birdhouse SOS button works

• One press reaches everyone at once: the family members who look after the home, on Telegram, by email and by iPhone push in the app (coming to the App Store), and the care agency or Active Ageing Centre if you have invited one.
• It always gets through. It ignores quiet hours, and is sent even while other monitoring is paused.
• It escalates. If nobody takes it within 5 minutes, it goes to on-call: the home’s care agency, or the Birdhouse team with a Birdhouse monitoring plan. It keeps going until someone confirms they have checked.
• It comes with passive monitoring. The same kit alerts the family when there is no movement for hours, a long stay in the bathroom, or the front door opening at night, so the days nobody presses anything are covered too.

Birdhouse is not an emergency response service and never calls 995 itself. A person who knows your parent decides. In a life-threatening emergency, call 995. Read why SOS always gets through, and the detailed comparison with personal alert buttons.

Combinations that work

• Rental flat: the government alert button, plus passive monitoring for days with no press.
• Nobody nearby to respond: a service with a manned centre and responders, such as HoME+ or the BOP Button.
• Family or an AAC nearby: Birdhouse, so a press and a quiet morning both reach the people who know your parent.
• Live-in helper: a call bell for the helper, plus an alert service for when the helper is out or asleep.