‘Guardian Angel’ Careline – is a developing service

A ‘guardian angel’ vital alert service that has supported vulnerable people in their own homes across Carmarthenshire for many years is evolving.

Members of the public are being asked for their views on the Careline service in Carmarthenshire and on potential developments of the service.

Across Carmarthenshire there are 2,400 people who purchase the Careline service, along with another 1,300 individuals who have telecare in their homes in order to enable them to remain independent at home.  Most people will have experience of someone who has used these social alarms, commonly known as lifelines or personal alarms.

The basic Careline service involves members of the public leasing equipment and a pendant to be worn around the neck or on the wrist, which link up with the person’s telephone line.  If the individual has an accident, falls or finds him/herself in distress in any way they are able to press the button on the pendant in the certain knowledge that bilingual members of staff at Careline are monitoring the system 24 hours of every day of the year and will answer the call.  The button on the pendant can be pressed anywhere within the person’s home and it dials the phone number to Careline immediately.  Careline operators are then able to speak with the individual in order to ascertain if they need help or support and are then able to carry out the best course of action.

Careline also monitor the social care provided telecare service, which is similar to the pendant alarm system, but has a variety of other sensors which are able to detect whether someone has fallen, or whether they have left their home, whether there is a flood in the property or a variety of other scenarios.

The County executive board member for social care and health, Councillor Jane Tremlett, said “We are a Council who consider our most vulnerable residents a high priority.  Careline is like a guardian angel for the frail and elderly and is a must for those who live alone.  Telecare is a remarkable services that automatically reports a domestic crisis, for example flooding or smoke.  Importantly it also reports falls.

“The service has expanded dramatically to cover so many areas we are seeking views from the public, health staff, doctors, and all other partners to see what, if anything, needs to change or develop.  Carmarthenshire Council is proud of Careline and is eager to see it develop in a constructive manner.”

Careline originated in the late 1970s as part of the local authority’s housing service providing social alarm monitoring for the sheltered housing warden call systems.  Through technology, Careline has evolved dramatically over 40 years and now it deals with approximately 650,000 calls annually.  These calls are dealt with by a 28-strong Careline team who are trained to know how to deal with different situations and calls.

Alongside the call monitoring work, Careline provides other services for social care and for the Council as a whole.  These include being the first point of contact for adult social care and dealing with calls to the council outside of office hours when there are emergencies.  For adult social care the aim is to provide helpful information and advice, signposting to other agencies or to enable access to social work, occupational therapy, or physiotherapy and other services..

Careline now also provides services to other Local Authorities and organisations, such as Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Ceredigion, Powys, Pembrokeshire, Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil, and a number of housing associations.  Careline monitors about 25,000 community alarm and telecare connections.

Careline can be accessed by anyone in the county, whether for reasons of home safety or personal security, in order to help keep individuals safer at home by raising an alarm if an accident happens.

How Careline is perceived and developed in the future is now being explored by Carmarthenshire Council and they are asking everyone who has an interest to participate in the survey. On the following link:

http://ilocal.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/consultations/Careline