Careline

St Helens Borough Council Careline service offers a local and national monitoring service to people with disabilities and other vulnerable and elderly people, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, via a Lifeline Emergency Unit within their own home.

The Careline Control Centre is operated by specially trained staff who will respond quickly and sensitively to all users needs.

Our aim is to maintain our service users independence and security within their own home. St Helens Careline also gives you and your family peace of mind in the knowledge and reassurance that someone is always there to help you when needed.

Careline will assist you if you have an accident, fall or a minor domestic emergency. We specialise in assisting people who wish to continue or resume living independently as part of a basic or complex care package.

You can discuss any aspect of the service by contacting Careline Team on 01744 676370.

Operator and Responsive Service

Following an emergency call for assistance, if you live in the St Helens Borough, the Careline Officer will assess how best to meet your needs:

The emergency services should be called immediately
A Careline Officer is dispatch
A relative or carer is contacted

Operator Service Only

The monitoring-only service requires you to designate three emergency contacts. These contacts will need to be keyholders who will be allowed to enter your home.

In the event of an emergency, the Careline Officer will make an assessment to call the emergency services or one of your designated contacts.

Short-Term Service

This service is available for people who only require the service for a specific period, for example, when recovering from a stay in hospital, or to cover a carer who may be away for a short period of time.

Using your Lifeline Emergency Unit

Whenever you need emergency help, all you have to do is press the RED ALARM button on the Lifeline Emergency Unit.

The RED ALARM button is permanently illuminated on the Lifeline Unit, unless a call to the Control Centre is in progress, the red light will then flash.

Should you be unable to reach your Emergency Lifeline Unit to press the alarm button, all you need to do is press the red button on your pendant which can also be worn on the wrist or as a pendant at your preference.

This will automatically call St Helens Careline Control Centre - please be aware that it will take between 20 and 30 seconds to contact the Careline Control Centre.

Once connected, you should explain your problem as clearly as possible in order for the Careline Officer to take appropriate action in your situation.

If the officer does not get a reply from you, they will assume that you are in difficulty and will summon help. Your personal details will already be on the computer at the Careline Control Centre, i.e., your name, address, plus other information given to us when the Lifeline Emergency Unit was first installed.

The Careline Control Centre will either dispatch a Careline Officer or contact the appropriate person for you, be it a friend, relative or the emergency services.

Optional Extras

Each Lifeline Emergency Unit is supplied with one pendant. In the event that further pendants are required, they can be requested through a care manager, or private customers can purchase one.

There are a range of sensors which connect to the Lifeline Emergency Unit, which help to provide additional monitoring and protection within the home.

These include: smoke alarm, bed senor, fall detector, carbon monoxide detector, floor detector.

You can contact the Technology Care Team on 01744 673294 to discuss the suitability of different options according to your requirements.

Applying for Careline Services

To apply for a Lifeline Emergency Unit under the criteria, you must first contact the Contact Cares on 01744 676767 or email contactcares@sthelens.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can visit us during office hours, Monday to Friday at:

Customer Services Office
St Helens Town Hall
Victoria Square
WA10 1HP

Telephone 01744 676789

Complaints and Compliments

If you are dissatisfied with our service, we would welcome the opportunity to resolve the issue informally.

You can at any stage contact the Council's Information Governance, Compliance and Complaints Team

St Helens Borough Council
PO Box 512
St Helens
WA10 9JX

Telephone 01744 676789

Email adultcomplaints@sthelens.gov.uk or compliments@sthelens.gov.uk

Telephone Line Problems

In the event that there is a fault on your telephone line or the lines has stopped working, a warning bleep is heard from the Lifeline Emergency Unit every few seconds. An automated voice will sound informing you "Your telephone line is disconnected"

It may be that the telephone plug has been removed from the socket. If the reason for the fault is unclear, please contact your telephone provider to have the line tested. For BT, telephone 0800 800 151. For Virgin, telephone 0845 454 1111. We can supply the number for other telephone provider on request.

Please Note: Due to data protection rules, telephone providers will only discuss the matter with the account holders or a nominated person when reporting a fault. Telephone providers will not discuss any repairs with St Helens Careline. Careline customers are advised to inform Sky that they are on Careline when taking up a Sky package that includes Sky Talk.

Payment Methods

The charge can be paid weekly or monthly, at ant Post Office or library. Alternatively, you may also send a cheque, make payment by debit / credit cards (payment can be taken online or by telephone) or paid monthly through your bank account (direct debit or standing order)

Charges 24/25

Tier 1 - A Lifeline Emergency Unit with Pendant Alarm - £6.40 per week
Tier 2 - A Lifeline Emergency Unit, Pendant Alarm and additional equipment such as a chair, bed or door sensors - £9.05 per week
Tier 3- A Lifeline Emergency Unit, Pendant Alarm and additional equipment such as a chair, bed or door sensors - £11.69 per week

Going Away

If you are going away from home, please contact the Careline Control Centre by pressing the alarm button on your Lifeline Emergency Unit and let staff know.

When you return home, please contact the Careline Control Centre and let staff know that you are back home.

There is no need to unplug the Lifeline Unit, as this will provide security to the home should a smoke alarm, if fitted to the Careline Unit, be activated.

Testing your Lifeline Emergency Unit

Do this monthly by pressing the RED button on your pendant.

When your call is answered, simply tell the Careline operator that you are making a test call: the operator will confirm that it is OK.

If for any reason your test call is not received, please telephone the Careline Control Centre on 01744 676370, where a member of the Careline staff will arrange for the problem to be resolved as quickly as possible.

If a fault develops on your Lifeline Emergency Unit, please check the following:

That the Lifeline Emergency Unit is securely plugged into the telephone socket
That the electric plug is firmly in it's socket and switched on
That any extra telephones in your home have not been left off the hook.

Please note: If the fault remains, please telephone or ask a keyholder or family member to contact the Careline Control Centre on 01744 676370, who will arrange for a Careline Officer to visit you to check the fault.

Smoke alarms: an intermittent bleep every 30 seconds indicates a low battery
It is important that any "Call Minder" service on your telephone line is cleared on a regular basis, as this can prevent us from being able to contact you if an emergency arises.

Contacting Us

To apply for a Lifeline Emergency Unit under the criteria, you must first contact the Contact Cares on 01744 676767 or email contactcares@sthelens.gov.uk

Your request will be forwarded to an assessment and review worker who will assess you in accordance to the criteria adopted by the council.

Alternatively, if you feel that you would like to apply for a Lifeline Emergency Unit as a private subscriber, or as a short-term service then please contact the Careline office on 01744 676312.

Please note that for your protection, staff training and efficiency purposes, all calls received at the Careline Control Centre are recorded.