24:7 response at the touch of a button frequently asked questions
How long will it take to get Care Plus Telecare installed?
This depends on your circumstances. Usually we will send an information pack out via post, and ask you to complete an application form and return it to us. You can choose an online application form to speed up the process too.
When we have received your form, we aim to contact you within 15 working days to arrange an appointment that is convenient for you. Our coordinators work Monday-Friday and have appointments available between 9am and 4pm. We encourage you to invite a family member or friend to the visit.
In exceptional circumstances, such as when there is a high likelihood of hospital admission, or to help make it possible for you to return to your home after a hospital stay, we can arrange an urgent installation which we aim to complete within two working days of receiving the request.
What do I need in my home to have Care Plus Telecare installed?
There is no eligibility criteria for the service, and we will discuss personal circumstances with you in our initial telephone call.
We currently offer two units, an IP ready one and an analogue one.
The IP unit is to prepare for the removal of analogue telephone lines in 2025, so is future-proofed, and all you need is a spare 13amp power supply for this unit.
The analogue unit connects to both a power supply and a telephone line.
How does the Care Plus Telecare equipment work?
The equipment has two components; the home base unit and your personal radio trigger (pendant). The home unit is connected to the mains power supply and in some cases, to your telephone line.
It enables you to generate a call for help when and if you need it by immediately contacting the Care Plus 24:7 Telecare Response Centre who will be able to provide you with the assistance you require.
Your personal radio trigger is wirelessly connected to your home unit and enables you to generate a call for help from anywhere in your home or garden up to 50m (150ft) from the home unit. The coverage area will depend on individual factors like the building materials in your home but will be tested during installation. The personal radio trigger is water resistant up to 1m. It can be worn safely in the shower but you should avoid wearing it in the bath.
What happens once I’ve pressed the Care Plus Telecare alarm button or a sensor has been activated?
Your home unit will automatically connect to our dedicated 24:7 Telecare Response Centre as soon as the button is pressed. You don’t need to get to your telephone to listen or speak to our advisors, as the alarm is fitted with a powerful speaker and microphone.
All calls to the Care Plus 24:7 Telecare Response Centre are recorded so that if we need to we can play them back, for example for the emergency services. Recordings are also used for training and monitoring the quality of service that we provide.
The Care Plus 24:7 Telecare response advisor will know who you are and where you live, without needing to ask you. They will ask how they can help and will agree with you any action that will be taken.
If we do not get a reply from you, we will always send some help to check that you are ok.
The response advisor can also offer reassurance to help you reach a decision or signpost you appropriately for non-emergency situations. For example, you may want us to contact a family member or your doctor.
How often should I test my Care Plus Telecare pendant?
It is important to test your pendant and sensors regularly. We aim to visit at least once a year to test the equipment but we would also encourage you to regularly press your pendant, every three or four weeks. When your call is connected to the Care Plus 24:7 Telecare Response Centre, just explain to the operator that you are testing the equipment.
If any of the batteries are running low, your sensor will automatically inform the Care Plus 24:7 Telecare Response Centre.
Likewise, if your battery is running low when you test your alarm, the Response Centre will be automatically notified. Pendant batteries are non-replaceable and we will make arrangements for your pendant to be replaced. For sensors with replaceable batteries, we will come out to your home and replace them.
What happens to my Care Plus 24:7 Telecare service if there is a power cut?
It is very important to keep your lifeline unit plugged in at all times. This prevents the backup battery in the unit running flat. The backup battery is used to power the lifeline when there is a power cut. The battery lasts for approximately 26 hours in an analogue unit, and for up to one week in an IP ready unit.
If there is a power cut, your Lifeline alarm will bleep and the red light (red button) will flash. To stop the bleeping you must press the green button on your Lifeline alarm. Your Lifeline alarm will automatically call the Care Plus 24:7 Telecare Response Centre every four hours, to notify that there is a power cut so that we can monitor the situation and make sure that you are OK.
What do all the buttons on my Care Plus Telecare unit mean?
On the home unit you will find three buttons and one LED light.
The red light is the alarm button and should be illuminated at all times. This indicates that the alarm is plugged into the mains power. If activated, the home unit will put a call through to the Care Plus 24:7 Telecare Response Centre and the red light will flash.
If the red light is flashing and the alarm has not been activated please check the power supply. The red light flashing when a call is not in progress indicates that the unit is running on the battery backup.
The green button is the cancel button, and can be used to cancel an alarm call that has been made accidently. You have to wait five seconds after the alarm call has been made before you can cancel the call; this delay feature is built in to the unit to avoid mistake cancellations.
The yellow button is the Home/Away button and can be used when you will be away from the property for a long period of time – we usually advise that this is used when you will be away from home for five days or more. This must be reset when you arrive back in your property, so your equipment will communicate effectively. The yellow button illuminated means Away mode, and when off means Home mode.
The LED light should be illuminated green and this indicates an operational telephone line is connected to the unit. If this light is flashing intermittently it may mean your battery pack is running low. If the LED light flashes every second, it is indicating a problem to the telephone line, and you will need to check the connections and possibly contact your telephone provider.
What happens if I press my Care Plus 24:7 Telecare pendant by mistake?
Do not worry if you press your alarm by mistake. When your call is connected to the Care Plus 24:7 Telecare Response Centre simply let the operator know that the call was made in error. Alternatively, if you press the button on your alarm unit accidentally, you can cancel the call by pressing the green cancel button.
Will my pendant work in the garden?
This will be tested at your appointment – the coordinator will test at the furthest point in your home and gardens to let you know where the pendant operates too.
A general rule of thumb is the pendant will work for up to 165 feet from the home unit.
What happens if there is a fault on my telephone line? *analogue solution only*
If there is a fault on the telephone line, the home unit will not be able to connect through to the Control centre. The home unit will announce “Telephone line disconnected” and the yellow LED will flash. It is your responsibility to contact your telephone provider to check if there is a fault on the line. If you contact us, to attend, and the fault is found to be with the telephone provider, you will be charged a call out fee of £12.99*.
*This cost is subject to change during the annual review of charges
Why do you need to know my telephony provider? *analogue solution only*
Some providers do not support social alarms, which is what the lifeline home unit is classed as. The telecare coordinator will perform several test calls from your property to ensure a connection can be established 100% of the time.
You will need to inform us if you change your supplier, so we can establish any likely disruption to your service, especially as providers change their infrastruture to accommodate the digital change due for completion in 2025.
Will having the lifeline affect my broadband? *analogue solution only*
In order for your lifeline home unit to have priority status over all outgoing signals, any broadband or other dialling equipment needs to be filtered through an ADSL filter that is connected to the home unit. If you do not have one of these, potentially an alarm call would not be made. We will be able to advise you if this is needed during the installation, and can provide them for a small charge.
Is there anything that may stop the alarm working?
The equipment can be affected by objects in your home which create a lot of noise, project heat, or are made of metal – things like televisions, radios, microwaves and routers.
For this reason, it is important not to move the home unit once it has been installed by your coordinator, or place new equipment next to it.
What happens if I suspect a fault?
If you have any concerns regarding the maintenance or safety of your home unit or any other sensors installed, please contact us as soon as possible.
We aim to complete any urgent repairs within two days and non urgent repairs within 15 days. We use a contractor for out of hours faults, and further details on this can be found in your contract.
What happens if I no longer want or need the equipment?
If you wish to end your agreement, we require one month’s notice. Please let us know you wish to end the agreement, and we will send you a letter with all the information you need. You will need to fill in the termination form and return it to us, along with your equipment.
If you pass away, the contract term ceases immediately once we have been notified, the equipment will need to be returned to us within 28 days.
What happens if I press my pendant for something that is not an emergency?
Once our advisors have established that an emergency response is not required, we can get in touch with one of your named contacts to respond. We will keep you informed of all actions that are being taken, and will remian in contact with you until the situation is resolved.
How much is the service?
The service cost differs depending on what equipment you choose.
A basic analogue unit and trigger package costs £3.72 per week, and a basic digital unit and trigger costs £5.68 per week.
Each additional sensor then carries its own cost.
The coordinator who visits your home will complete a needs assessment and offer the best price for your indivdual circumstances and sensor options.
As a rented service, so the equipment still belongs to us, and as such, all your maintenance of the equipment is included in the cost.
What happens if my circumstances change?
The service includes as many assessments as needed, so if anything does change, let us know and we will come and re-assess your needs, add or remove equipment as necessary or even signpost and refer you to additional services if there are identified needs we cannot meet.
Do I need a keysafe installed to have the service?
There is no need to have a keysafe as long as you have two local people willing to be contacts who have access to your property.
This is in case you fall over at night, cannot get to your door, and your property is locked up. We need to be able to contact someone who can allow access to the emergency services.
If you do not want to rely on someone or have no one local to ask, a keysafe is the safest option. You can choose to pay a one off fee for these, or rent them alongside your alarm.
The one we recommend is the Supra C500 model, this keysafe is police endorsed and has a level 1 security rating. It is also the keysafe widely accepted by most house insurance providers.
If you choose to rent it, we will maintain it for the first 12 months. If any defects occur after this period, you would need to pay a call out charge and cover the cost for any spare or replacement parts needed.
What happens if I press my alarm, but cannot hear or respond to the operator?
In the event of what we class as a “no response” call, the call handlers will take serveral steps to guarantee your wellbeing.
In the first instance, they have the ability to turn the volume up on the home hub, so you may be able to hear it from further away.
If that doesn’t work, they may send a tone through the hub – to see if you respond to a louder high pitched noise, instead of a lower pitched voice.
If there is still no response, we will ring your mobile phone if you have one.
If no answer, we will close the alarm call, and ring your landline phone twice, giving you the opportunity to answer it if you can.
If we still cannot talk to you, we will ring your nominated contacts and see if they can attend your property.
If you have no contacts or they are unable to attend, we will escalate the call to the emergency services to complete a welfare check – we would be concerned you might have lost conciousness and need medical attention.
When the coordinator comes out, they will test the area that you can hear the alarm, and discuss indivdual escalation plans if that is needed.
However, the home hub has a very good microphone that has been tested for up to 50m away. The call handlers should be able to hear you.
If you have fallen and cannot hear the operator, we tell our customers after pressing their trigger to repeat what the problem is every minute – such as “I have fallen and am hurt, I cannot get up”. There is a very good chance that our operator will hear you and be able to action a response immediately.
What happens if I move home?
If you move home, you can take the alarm with you, even if you move out of our usual operating area.
If you move within our operational area, you will continue to receive the service you signed up for and our coordinators will still visit whenever necessary.
If you move out of the area, depending on the distance, we may supply you and your family with literature and training to maintain your own alarm. Replacement parts can be sent in the post if we cannot get to your new location and back to our base within a working day.
As we move to a digital era, and the analogue systems become obsolete, it will be easier to maintain your equipment as all the programming will be completed remotely. When new sensors arrive in the post, they will already be operational and connected.