Celebrating Sandwell’s Community Alarm Service
12 December 2023
Sandwell Council is marking the 40th anniversary of the launch of its community alarm service to encourage others to consider taking part.
The community alarm service offers support for older, vulnerable, disabled people who could be vulnerable in their own homes, offering assistance at the touch of a button by wearing a pendant or wrist watch. So if someone has a fall or starts to feel unwell they can summons help rapidly, preventing a situation from worsening or potentially preventing a hospital admission altogether. The alarm packages also support reablement after a hospital stay as individuals can contact the call line 24/7, so it’s extra peace of mind in between any reablement support they may have in place.
One example of how the system has worked since its launch in 1983 is the example of ‘C’ who joined our service in July 2001 and is a severe diabetic on an insulin pump and is completely blind. C used to ring the service every four hours to let us know she is ok, and the service used to set a clock on a timer and call her if she did not call. When C did not answer when the service called we knew she would need help, staff attended her and if she had gone in to a Diabetic Coma staff wold stop her insulin pump and try and get her to eat some porridge and a sweetened drink to get sugar levels up as C never wanted an ambulance called. Without this service C would not have able to stop at home and would have had to go into care, but with the service she is a very independent person who lives on her own and leads a full life, with the assistance of her beautiful dog.
Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults, Social Care and Health, Councillor Suzanne Hartwell, said:
“This is just one of thousands of examples over 40 years of enabling our residents to maintain the independent lives they want. If you, a family member or friend could benefit from this service please contact us via our website as it can make a huge difference to residents’ quality of life.”
• Around 3,700 service users across the borough are supported to live more independently at home through their alarm packages
• 628 carers supported through their carers’ emergency card scheme
• Over 16,000 calls into the call handling team each month
• 98.6% of calls answered within 60 seconds
• 99% of calls requiring face to face support responded to within 45 minutes
• A community alarm costs just £4.64 per week. There is also a one-off set-up and installation charge of £26.52
