Tameside Telecare Video Text Version

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Staying Safe at Home with Tameside Telecare

Because I’m the carer for her, before she used to ring me all the time middle of the night, or if I’m shopping or something she used to ring me, but now she’s got this pendant alarm she is very relaxed and I’m relaxed as well. I’ve got freedom and she has got that assurity that there is somebody, that there is help if she needed it.

One way Tameside Adult Services can support people to live safely and independently at home is through Telecare.

Providing people with a Carephone which contains a microphone and a loud speaker means help can be summoned whenever it’s needed from anywhere in your home at any time of the day or night.

Telecare is part of Community Response It uses a simple alarm system linked to the phone to give you and your family peace of mind 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Michael lives in Ashton and has recently developed health conditions which mean he needs extra support to live at home.

Michael: I had a series of heart attacks and could no longer work and because my son, who I actually brought up, only lives in Mossley, well he lived in Mossley at the time, he lives in Ashton now, I moved back up here to sort of retire through ill health really.

A serious fall for Michael would be fatal.

He signed up for Telecare and, linked to the standard Carephone, has been issued with a special falls detector, which will sound a warning if he falls asleep or slumps over.

If Michael doesn’t respond, the Telecare team will and a specially trained Community Response worker will investigate.

In my case all the various things that I do have are preventative and that’s the great thing. I mean I was black and blue with falls and I can’t recover from the falls like I used to, it takes me weeks.

Telecare can give you peace of mind for the same price as a daily newspaper. The team will install a Carephone and link different alarms to it, depending on what you need to keep you safe.

The standard package is a Carephone and a pendant alarm that you wear around your neck and which you can press whenever you need help. If you press this alarm button, the Carephone will automatically ring through to the control centre who will check if you are alright. If you need help, they will either send a Community Response Worker to your home or will call the emergency services.

There are other sensors you can have to alert the control centre if it detects smoke, gas or even water on the floor in the kitchen or bathroom. Telecare is designed to look after you and the extra sensors you need will be added at no extra charge.

Joanne Strothers at Telecare: Anybody over the age of eighteen can access our service and it can be as simple as a telephone to us. And it can be self referral, refer a friend, auntie, uncle, mother, father, anybody over the age of eighteen.

It’s a telephone call, we will go out, have a chat with them, they do need a telephone line and a plug socket, and we will go out and install the Carephone and look to see if there is anything else we can install to help them.

Once you have the Carephone you can add other sensors to increase your security.

There’s a dementia package for people at risk of wandering which can be set to raise the alert if someone sets off to the shops in the middle of the night.

Telecare allows Community Response workers to check if something is wrong. They can alert the family, send a worker or other help depending on what is required.
They will respond, day or night.

Joanne Strothers: We’re normally the first people to be made aware that there’s a problem i.e. a bogus caller or a fire if our smoke detector activates then we know immediately that it is a smoke detector and we will call the emergency services.

Simon Hopes from Telecare: The more vulnerable you are, the more at risk of fire, the older, the more at risk from fire occurring and the inability to escape. So its vital that they have early warning.

The Telecare alarms have a number of advantages. When the alarm flares up, the people with the system have access to instant advice on the end of a phone and can reinforce that someone is in trouble and we can get there that much quicker.

Joanne Strothers: We have very strong partnerships with the emergency services. the fire service, the ambulance, the police…and various other services we have…. its all about partnership working.

For Michael and his son, Telecare alarms take all the pressure of looking after him twenty four hours a day and so Michael feels less of a burden.

Michael: What it's done now is when we see each other it tends to be social rather than being a panic situation which is an entirely different scenario and what it's also done, which is priceless really, it's given me back my self esteem.

The freedom that the Telecare system offers is a lifeline to customers like Julie, who suffers from seizures.

Julie: It’s everything it keeps your dignity, your independence, your self respect your family don’t worry about you at least if they know you’re safe and there’s somebody there when they’re not especially if they work or if they’re too old to be able to come round and care for you.

Julie benefits from a number of different alarms linked to her carephone, such as the bed exit device which automatically switches a light on when you get out of bed and will alert the control centre if you haven’t returned to bed within a certain time.

Julie: Same if you pass out upstairs, in the bathroom or anything, especially if it’s in the night, you’re not going to wait for the next carer that comes that morning where you’ve probably been down there six or seven hours these carers, the wardens will come out and that makes a big difference because it’s independence to move around.

Julie also has a bogus caller alert which is a way of giving Telecare users a friend in the background, in situations when they are home alone and someone comes to the door. When you activate the monitor, Community Response can “listen in” through the Carephone and suggest questions to ask that will help you decide whether or not a caller is genuine. They might remind you to ask for Identification or suggest the caller make an appointment or come back at a more convenient time.

For families and carers, Tameside’s Telecare can mean the difference between peace of mind knowing that their loved ones are safe and being constantly worried that something may have happened and that they need to be checking all the time that everything is alright.

Linda - Telecare Customer Carer: I know she is safe when she was in hospital, that was a relief in a way because I knew she was safe, when she was in intermediate care I knew she was safe.

When we talked about her coming home, I was very very concerned because that’s where the safety issues come in and if she went into residential care I know she’d be safe because there’d be someone looking after her. this is as good, and I know that she can stay in her own home, which is what she wanted.

Telecare is part of Community Response. The Team used to be called Mobile Wardens. They are specially trained men and women who know the area, know about local services and can get to you quickly should you need help.

Karen Lyons Community Response: You can deal with people having a stroke to somebody having a leak to somebody having a problem with their neighbours, so it’s the variety. It’s excellent and also, the other members of staff it’s a fantastic team to work with and of course for as well it’s a good interesting job.

Joanne Strothers: Everyone who does this job, there’s a lot of experience with the response workers and everybody’s in this job because they love people and they love helping people, they are a really warm friendly team.

Julie: It’s better because everybody, as you say, they’re local, it’s quicker for them to get here for a start. And it’s much easier than trying to dial nine nine nine when you’re in a situation when you can’t get to a phone to do something like that and you know these’ll come and they’ll get in and they’ll sort you out.

Tameside Council’s Adult Services want everyone to be able to enjoy their own home, safely and securely.

Telecare provided by Community Response is a flat rate weekly charge and is not means tested.

There are no extra installation fees and everything is regularly tested to make sure batteries etc. are working properly. Telecare is easy to arrange and install.

Telecare is great value for money to maintain people’s independence and safety, all part of the council’s mission to make Tameside a better place to live.

Ask for a leaflet about Telecare and the Community Response Service.

You can contact us for more information about Telecare and the Community Response Service or to arrange a visit to see all the equipment at our demonstration room by calling 0161 342 5100.

Or you can send a message to Community Response.

Page last updated: 10 December 2008