Why Use a Community Alarm?

A lady who looks after her mother was telling me about her mother's experience with the Community Alarm, which is a telephone based system with a pendant with a button which is pressed to summon help in an emergency. Her elderly mother was most reluctant to have any form of monitoring and hated wearing the pendant. One day the lady had to go to another town to visit a relative and made sure before she left that her mother was wearing the pendant in spite of her mother's protests. As it happened, the mother had a nasty fall during the day and luckily wearing the pendant, she was able to call for help and medical assistance. She is a lot happier to wear her alarm now. This story highlighted to me how important it is for elderly people to have a community alarm and I spoke to Sheila Field, the Supported Housing Co-ordinator, at the Warwick Response Control centre in Leamington Spa about how the system works.
The Community Alarm Service, called Warwick Response, is run by Warwick District Council and is available to anyone of anyone aged 50 or over, anyone with a disability regardless of age and any other people regardless of age made vulnerable by their situation or circumstance.

The system is very simple and basically a box connected to the telephone line with a pendant which is worn round the neck. Help can be called 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. If an elderly person has a fall or other injury they just need to press the pendant button to be connected to the control centre who will either contact the client's family, summon medical assistance or will send a Response Officer to assist, depending on the situation and where the client lives. The Control centre will also support clients with other emergencies for example, floods, break-ins or even if the client is being targeted by doorstep sellers. Warwick Response Officers will also are happy to act as a sign-posting system and help clients to get access to other local services and community organisations that may be available in the area. For example, helping to get transport to luncheon clubs, making referrals to social services for home care. The aim being to assist clients in maintaining as much personal independence as possible.

There are around 5,000 customers in Warwick and Stratford District with a community alarm so the centre is kept very busy. The community alarm is free to council tenants living in supported and sheltered housing but there is a small charge for customers who live in their own homes, other social housing tenancies or ordinary Council properties and private tenancies.

If you feel that someone you know can benefit by having an alarm then please contact the Control Centre on 01926 339577. Like the lady whose mother had a fall, you may be glad that you did and peace of mind can be at the touch of a button!

For information on SureCare Home Care services please go to http://www.surecarewarks.co.uk/