THOUSANDS of elderly people are being left at risk because of the slow progress of a project to provide them with emergency alarms, say social workers. So far 23 elderly people are reckoned to have been saved by alarm bells installed by the Housing Department to protect single old tenants. But social workers warn there are still more than 28,000 elderly being left uncared for because of the slow progress of the project. The alarm system lets elderly tenants who live on their own alert neighbours in an emergency. Buttons are installed in the kitchen, bathroom, living or bed rooms. The Housing Department said since 1990, alarms had been installed in 1,088 households in 10 public housing estates with a high single elderly population - Choi Hung, So Uk, Tung Tau, Pak Tin, Cheung Sha Wan, Shekkipmei, Kwai Chung, Tai Wo Hau, Sha Kok, and Kwong Yuen. A department spokesman said six more estates, Tsui Ping, Sau Mau Ping, Lower Ngau Tau Kok I and II, and Shek Lei I and II, would have alarms this year. Estate liaison officers will visit elderly tenants and assess who most needs the alarms. But Ng Wai-tung, a spokesman for the Elderly Rights League, said progress was far from satisfactory. 'This is a matter of life and death. The bell is useful for those elderly people whose health can deteriorate sharply in a very short time. 'They need to seek help within seconds - there is no time for them to dial a number and call for help over the phone.' Wong Mui-siu, 73, who has lived alone in Tung Tau Estate for four years, said she felt more secure at home since the alarm was installed. She suffers from high blood pressure and had collapsed at home in the past. 'No one helped me because nobody knew I had collapsed. I regained consciousness and then climbed to the bed on my own. It's lucky I did not hit the chair or table when I fell to the ground,' she said. Kwok Lit-tung, of the Association for the Rights of the Elderly, suggested the Government recruit more estate liaison officers and promote a concept of mutual help among neighbours. At present there are more than 21,500 elderly people living alone and 8,000 in shared households on public housing estates.