CareLink Plus alarm and telecare leaflet

CareLink Plus is Brighton & Hove City Council’s community telecare alarm service. We can arrange urgent assistance should you need it, offering peace of mind to you, your family and carers.

We provide a range of services and equipment known as telecare to help support you at home, and also some telecare devices which can help support you whilst you are out and about. In addition, through our Living Well team we can also assist our customers with practical help to improve health and wellbeing.

Our Brighton based monitoring centre operates 24 hours a day every day of the year.

You can speak to us at the touch of a button and we can organise the help you need.

How we can help you

We can help:

• if you have a fall, or accident or injury
• if you are experiencing blackouts or unconscious falls
• if you feel unwell or are affected by a long term health condition and need medical attention
• if you feel vulnerable for reasons such as living alone, health issues, disability, advancing years, being a victim of crime or abuse
• if you have concerns for your personal safety and are worried about bogus callers or intruders
• if there is a fire or suspected fire in your home
• if you are worried about falling during the night
• to support family and carers
• if you have memory problems or dementia, including prompting to remember daily tasks such as taking medication, and assistance if you are likely to become disorientated when out and about and have difficulty finding your way home
• to manage the effects of epilepsy
• by providing daily welfare
• check calls

Service recommendations

Users of the service have said:

• “without this service I would not be able to stay in my flat and have my independence”
• "CareLink has saved my life on the two emergencies I have had to call them and I am very grateful”
• “I recently had a seizure alone and needed an ambulance - the kindness and help I received made me feel so much safer and reassured"
• “I found Carelink so helpful and caring when my husband was ill and it gives me peace of mind now I am on my own”

CareLink Plus

CareLink Plus provides you with an alarm unit that plugs into your telephone line which has a loud speaker and a microphone, and an emergency button which you can wear on a cord around your neck or on a wrist strap.

If you don’t have a landline telephone connection we can supply a unit that uses the mobile network, subject to sufficient signal strength in your home.

When activated, an alarm call is automatically made to the CareLink Plus monitoring centre without the need to use the telephone.

Telecare sensors

A range of telecare sensors can be provided to help manage risks in your home and detect possible dangers, such as smoke or carbon monoxide leak. Telecare sensors are available to detect if you fall during the day or night. These sensors automatically generate an alarm call if they activate, without the need for you to press your button.

Alarm call

Your alarm call is received in the CareLink Plus monitoring centre where your details will be displayed on screen, so we will know who you are and important information such as your medical conditions and how to access your property. We'll talk to you to find out what help you need. If we cannot make contact with you we will assume that you need help and take action, rather than assume everything is ok.

If you need help

Should you need help, we will arrange the appropriate response. This could be to contact:

• a partner
• family member
• friend
• your carers
• a nominated emergency contact.

If necessary we will arrange for the following to attend:

• a doctor or paramedics
• the police
• the fire service

CareLink Plus offers a Standard and Enhanced telecare alarm package, and a GSM mobile network service.

There is an initial 4 week free period available to support customers who are being discharged from hospital, supported by an informal unpaid carer or supported by the Living Well team.

Standard package

This includes:

• an assessment to establish the telecare equipment that would meet your needs and any requirements the Living Well service can assist with
• an alarm unit and emergency button
• installation of CareLink Plus telecare alarm equipment
• 24 hours, 7 days a week monitoring of alarm calls and response co-ordination
• service and maintenance of all telecare equipment supplied

Subject to the assessment this package can also include:

• smoke, heat, carbon monoxide, and flood detectors linked to the monitoring centre
• falls detecting pendant alarm button
• additional fixed alarm button in a location where falls are likely, such as the shower, toilet, on the skirting beside the bed
• a fixed button by the front door to alert in case of bogus callers
• a fixed pull cord alarm trigger in a location such as beside the bed or in the bathroom
• automated reminder alerts or well-being check calls, that raise an alarm call if you fail to respond
• additional equipment prescribed by Living Well
• support to access services to improve your well- being such as befriending, meal delivery and social activities

Enhanced package

This includes everything available in the standard package plus the following extras subject to assessment:

• bed and chair sensors that will activate in the event of falls or absence
• pressure and movement detectors
• epileptic seizure sensors that will raise an alarm call when a seizure is detected
• detectors that will activate if doors are opened or not closed
• systems to alert onsite carers when an alarm call has been raised
• GPS locator devices for use when you are out and about

GSM Mobile Network Service

This is available where a customer does not have a landline telephone connection, subject to sufficient signal strength in the property. A SIM card is provided and there are no additional call charges for alarm calls made. This service includes everything from the Standard and Enhanced packages subject to assessment.

CareLink Plus must be able to get help into your home whenever you need it at any time 24 hours a day seven days a week. To do this we use keyholders who could be friends, family, or neighbours who we can call upon to check on your well-being, or to open the door for the emergency services.

To have the CareLink Plus service you'll need:

• a minimum of two people who live in the Brighton & Hove area or very close by, who will hold the keys to your home, who we can contact to attend your address
• if you have only one keyholder, or none at all, you will need to agree to have a keysafe installed if you do not already have one
• a landline telephone connection where the CareLink Plus alarm unit is to be installed
• if you do not have a landline connection we can provide a GSM alarm unit that uses the mobile network, subject to adequate signal strength in your home
• an available electric socket to power the CareLink Plus alarm unit which must remain switched on at all times

If any of these are a problem please contact us to discuss your options.

To apply

If you're interested in having the service or would like more information please contact us by telephone on 0300 123 3301.Contact us for alternative ways to get in touch.

We'll arrange for an officer to come to your home to assess your needs, demonstrate the equipment and fully explain the service.

Service fees and costs

There is a service fee which is charged monthly. All telecare equipment supplied remains the property of CareLink Plus. Help with costs may be available following assessment.

The package costs are:

• the Standard CareLink Plus package costs £22.33 per month
• the Enhanced CareLink Plus package costs £26.73 per month

Keysafes

A keysafe can be provided and installed by CareLink Plus on a needs basis. The keysafe remains the property of CareLink Plus and will be removed when the service is no longer required. CareLink Plus supply Police approved keysafes which are fixed to the exterior of your property and accessed via a unique code.

There is an initial 4 week free period available to support users who are being discharged from hospital and those supported by an informal unpaid carer. Contact us if you're eligible.

We're a team of Adult Social Care Managers who specialise in Telecare and assistive technology.

We can help you to:

• live more independently at home
• prevent you going into hospital unnecessarily
• support you when returning home from hospital
• link you back into your community

We'll work with you to find solutions that feel right for you. We aim to do this by visiting you at home within 2 weeks of a referral, where we'll speak with you and your family or carers about what the challenges are for you at this time to living safely and well.

We'll assist you to navigate Health and Social Care Services, advising on accessing any financial support you might be eligible for, as well as the all the different voluntary sector support services.

We can help to support you by:

• reviewing your existing Carelink Plus service and seeing if additional Telecare or assistive technology will be of benefit to you
• assessing for and providing daily living equipment such as chair raisers, rails or bathing aids
• assisting your unpaid carer to access support services in their own right

We can also:

• give you advice if you need major adaptations to your home
• refer you to the right team to provide specialist assessment and provision of service
• assess if you need formal care to help with your daily personal and domestic care routines, and organising a financial assessment to help you understand what contribution you may have to pay towards care
• work in partnership with other organisations such as the police, fire service, housing, social work and your GP, to make sure you have the right level of support at the right time
• signpost or refer you to other services such as Community Meals, Befriending, Home Help, Advocacy, Money Advice, or finding activities in your local area

If adaptations cannot help you to access the community or essential facilities in your home, such as the bathroom or kitchen, then we can help you to start the process of re-housing.

We're not part of Emergency or Responsive Services but if we find you in a crisis, we'll do what we can to help you get the support you need.

For more information about of our services, contact us:

Telephone: 0300 123 3301

Text: If you experience hearing or speech difficulties you can contact us via text on 07800 006 984

Email: CareLinkPlus@brighton-hove.gov.uk or Livingwell@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Website: CareLink Plus

Write to us at: Suite 6A, Patching Lodge, Park Street, Brighton, BN2 0AQ

All telephone lines are voice recorded.We will arrange for an officer to come to your home to assess your needs, demonstrate the equipment, and fully explain the service.

We provide translations of these guidelines in the following languages:

• Arabic
• Bengali
• Cantonese
• Farsi
• French
• Mandarin
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Turkish
• other

We can also make them available in alternative formats, such as:

• braille
• large print
• audio
• BSL

Please contact us to discuss options.