A method of monitoring a subject in a room to provide status or alerting of a subject's condition, the method comprising the steps of: capturing a video image sequence of the room using a video camera; processing the video image sequence using a data processor to automatically: measure the movement of different parts of the scene to detect areas of gross movement and fine movement; estimate one or more vital signs of the subject; and output an indication of the status of the subject in the room based upon both the classification of movement and the presence or absence of vital signs; characterized in that: said step of estimating one or more vital signs is conducted by analysing areas of the video image sequence not containing gross movement; and processing the video image sequence further comprises: if said step of estimating one or more vital signs is not providing a valid heart rate or breathing rate, conducting a further step of determining whether fine movement is present in the video image sequence; if said further step determines that fine movement is present, outputting an indication that no vital signs are detected and the length of time for which no vital signs have been detected; and if said further step determines that fine movement is not present, outputting an alert indicating that no vital signs and no movement are detected. capturing a video image sequence of the room using a video camera; processing the video image sequence using a data processor to automatically: measure the movement of different parts of the scene to detect areas of gross movement and fine movement; estimate one or more vital signs of the subject; and measure the movement of different parts of the scene to detect areas of gross movement and fine movement; estimate one or more vital signs of the subject; and output an indication of the status of the subject in the room based upon both the classification of movement and the presence or absence of vital signs; characterized in that: said step of estimating one or more vital signs is conducted by analysing areas of the video image sequence not containing gross movement; and processing the video image sequence further comprises: if said step of estimating one or more vital signs is not providing a valid heart rate or breathing rate, conducting a further step of determining whether fine movement is present in the video image sequence; if said further step determines that fine movement is present, outputting an indication that no vital signs are detected and the length of time for which no vital signs have been detected; and if said further step determines that fine movement is not present, outputting an alert indicating that no vital signs and no movement are detected. said step of estimating one or more vital signs is conducted by analysing areas of the video image sequence not containing gross movement; and processing the video image sequence further comprises: if said step of estimating one or more vital signs is not providing a valid heart rate or breathing rate, conducting a further step of determining whether fine movement is present in the video image sequence; if said further step determines that fine movement is present, outputting an indication that no vital signs are detected and the length of time for which no vital signs have been detected; and if said further step determines that fine movement is not present, outputting an alert indicating that no vital signs and no movement are detected. if said step of estimating one or more vital signs is not providing a valid heart rate or breathing rate, conducting a further step of determining whether fine movement is present in the video image sequence; if said further step determines that fine movement is present, outputting an indication that no vital signs are detected and the length of time for which no vital signs have been detected; and if said further step determines that fine movement is not present, outputting an alert indicating that no vital signs and no movement are detected.