We are working with Your Homes Newcastle to offer a free six month Telecare trial to residents in Newcastle aged 85 and over.
Telecare is an alarm service you can use to call for help if you feel unsafe, unwell or if you have had a fall. The 24 hour a day, year-round service means you can stay independent and safe in your own home and offers you and your family and friends peace of mind.
A special alarm unit will be fitted in your home which connects directly to the trained staff at the dedicated 24-hour response centre. You can call for help, simply by pressing a small alarm button which can be worn and used anywhere in the home. This button activates an alarm unit, which allows the person to speak with the response centre through a loudspeaker and microphone without being near a telephone: the response centre can then give advice, contact a family member, doctor or emergency service, or send a specially trained Mobile Warden to the home when help and support are needed.
Telecare can also be used together with other support services to spot changes in the person’s needs and help prevent potential safety risks. With additional sensors, it can automatically detect risks such as the person falling or smoke, floods or gas in the home - it can even be used to switch on a light when the person gets out of bed, so that the risk of falls in the night is reduced.
Telecare sensors can activate the person’s alarm unit even if the person is unable to press their alarm button. The response centre will automatically know which sensor has been activated, and will quickly organise the correct response.
Free Trial
There are two levels of service depending on your needs:
Standard service: includes an alarm unit and a pendant which can be worn and used anywhere in the home.
Enhanced service: includes an alarm unit, pendant and additional sensors (such as falls detector) in line with a persons needs.
Levels of service will be identified by Your Homes Newcastle in consultation with the person and monitored by Your Homes Newcastle to identify any changes in need.
Response to all calls will be provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will initially be dealt with by the response centre team who will give advice, contact next of kin or contact the emergency services. For calls requiring non-emergency assistance, a mobile warden response will be provided.
Free trial eligibility
You can get a free 6 month Telecare trial if you:
are aged 85 or over; and
are new to Telecare; and
don’t have access to another community alarm or warden service
After the free trial you can continue the service for a small weekly charge of £3.10 or £4.99 depending on your service level. However, people who receive Housing Benefit to help with the cost of their rent will automatically receive the service free.
If you don’t get Housing Benefit, you can ask for a ‘financial assessment’. This means an officer from the City Council will speak to you about your income and savings, and will tell you whether you can get any help with the charge. Extra living expenses are taken into account for people with disabilities.
If you would like to ask for a financial assessment, please speak to Your Homes Newcastle who will arrange for an officer from the City Council to visit you before the end of your free trial period.
For more information or to start your free telecare trial, phone Your Homes Newcastle on 0191 278 8699
IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to receive telecare services you must have a landline telephone (which is near to an electrical socket) that can make outgoing calls as the alarm is transferred to the response centre through the landline telephone when activated.
Page last updated: 16 August, 2011
