Telecare - Print version

The Telecare service is a more advanced type of community alarm, with a wide range of devices to support you in your own home. It aims to provide reassurance 24 hours a day to those living on their own or caring for vulnerable people.

Who could benefit from the service?

Telecare may be able to help you if you are:

• Worried about falling
• Recently discharged from hospital and requiring additional support and assistance at home
• Living alone
• Caring for someone that needs extra help
• Living with disabilities
• Living with a long term health condition, for example, dementia

Telecare can detect events such as:

• Serious falls
• Leaving the house and not returning
• Fire and smoke
• Flood
• Carbon Monoxide leaks

How Telecare works

Telecare works through a range of sensors that are installed according to your needs following an assessment. 

If one of the sensors is automatically activated or if you press your personal alarm trigger, the alarm connected to your phone will ring our Control Centre. The response centre staff will have information about the person using the service; will be able to identify which sensor has been activated and how best to respond.

When an alert is raised, a signal is sent which automatically dials the control centre, letting trained operators assess the situation, check your safety and take the appropriate action which could include calling a family member or friend or calling the emergency services.

Some Telecare sensors can just raise an alarm in your home without calling the contact centre, which can be suitable if you have a carer living with you or if you are a carer looking after someone. It means, for example, that a carer can go out into the garden and relax knowing they will be alerted if the person they look after gets out of bed or tries to leave the house.

Don’t worry if you press your alarm or set off a sensor by mistake, we would rather know that you’re okay and check everything is working correctly.

What do I need in order for Telecare to work?

For the Telecare system to work in your own home, you will need the following:

• a modern landline telephone with a push-in socket that is able to dial in and out and can accept withheld numbers
• an electrical socket within two metres of the telephone socket
• two responders who live locally (within 30 minutes travelling time) who are willing to respond in an emergency. (If you do not have anyone locally who can act as a key holder/emergency responder please let us know and we can discuss access to our responder service)

Note: As Telecare works via your telephone line, please be aware there is an additional cost of a local telephone call each time an alarm is triggered to the Coventry TeleCareLine control centre, this will show on your phone bill.

Telecare equipment

Equipment

Description The Lifeline unit and personal trigger constitute the basic package of telecare. Additional items are provided based on assessment.	Picture
Lifeline Unit Users can call for help by pressing the large button on the Lifeline home unit, or by pressing the red button on their pendant anywhere in the home. The Lifeline home unit will also automatically contact the monitoring centre when it receives an alert signal from any telecare sensor installed.
Personal Trigger Worn around the neck, on the wrist or attached to an item of clothing, personal triggers enable a call for help to be raised anywhere in the home or garden.
Smoke detector The smoke detector will raise an alarm at the monitoring centre if it detects smoke allowing appropriate action to be taken.
Flood detector Provides an early warning by raising an alert of potential flood situations in the home.
Carbon Monoxide detector Warns of dangerous carbon monoxide levels within a property at the 24 hour monitoring centre allowing the appropriate action to be taken.
Bed/chair occupancy sensor The bed/chair occupancy sensor provides protection for those who leave their bed/chair and fail to return within a specified time period by raising an alarm. It can also minimise the risk of falling by automatically turning on lights.
Property exit sensor Provides an early warning that the user has left their home and not returned within a predetermined time parameter.
iVi Intelligent Pendant The iVi intelligent pendant provides the wearer with a means of calling for help, 24 hours a day and automatically generates a call for assistance if a fall is detected.
Sounder beacon Offers both visual and loud audible signals when a sensor or telephone is activated, ideal for the hard of hearing.
Movement detector This wireless PIR (Passive Infra-Red) detects movement and raises an alert, providing the 24 hour monitoring centre with the ability to audibly verify and record the presence of an intruder or alternatively detect for long periods of inactivity.
Bogus caller button Fitted near a door, this discreet button can be used to call for assistance from the 24 hour monitoring centre when a stranger requests entry into a home.
Epilepsy sensor Placed underneath the mattress, the epilepsy sensor detects tonic-clonic seizures and alerts the monitoring centre or carer immediately to provide appropriate assistance.
Enuresis sensor Placed under the top sheet of a bed, an enuresis sensor detects instances of urinary incontinence immediately and raising an alert to allow effective action to be taken.
Medication dispenser Pivotell® Mark3/11 automatic pill dispenser, with 1-28 daily alarms and features designed for Pharmacy Filling.
The Care Assist A portable telecare alarm used by onsite carers that can receive instant alerts from telecare sensors and displays not only the type of sensor activated but also the location of the sensor or the name of the person the sensor has been assigned to.

Telecare charges

Charges are based upon specific care pathways.

The service is available to everyone currently receiving care and support. Charges would be based on financial assessment.

All other people are able to access the TeleCareline service for a weekly charge as shown in the table below.

Levels of TeleCareLine service

The level of service required will be based on the information provided and review by the Telecare Advisor.

If you are absent from home but still have Telecare equipment in your home, the relevant weekly cost will still apply.

How can I get a telecare service or find out more?

If you’re already receiving some kind of social care support, referral can be made by your allocated worker. Referrals can be made by health professionals involved in supporting you. If you feel you or the person you care for could benefit from TeleCare, Adult Social Care Direct can help to explore your needs further and identify the right support for you.

Please contact the telecare team directly on 024 7697 8933.

You can access Telecare for yourself or on behalf of someone else by completing the referral form and sending it as advised on the form [/downloads/download/3363/telecare_application_form].