Lifeline / Community Alarms and connected Telecare

The provision of community alarms, referred to locally as Lifelines, and connected telecare technology is an important element of the early intervention and prevention agenda helping to support people to remain living in the home of their choice for as long as possible.

The City Council requires a digital lifeline and telecare service for its residents (population 216,000) providing ‘peace of mind’ and reassurance to carers and families. The service will need to be ‘person centred’ in its approach encompassing the latest technology alongside more traditional solutions in order to achieve outcomes:

• oPromotion and maintenance of independence, well-being, and quality of life for customers in their own home
• oManage and minimise risk for people living at home
• oReduce social isolation
• oDetect deterioration and enable more early intervention for people with long term conditions
• oEnhance people’s sense of dignity and increased confidence
• oReassurance for informal carers
• oPrevent, reduce, delay escalation of needs and hospital / care home admissions
• oSupporting safe hospital discharge
• oSupporting the prevention, reduction and delay in people needing formal packages of care and support
• oEmbrace the use of new technology, as it becomes available

Peterborough City Council prioritises Technology Enabled Care and has a “think TEC first” approach across all the social care teams so as to deliver better outcomes for people and deliver demand management savings for the Council through interventions that avoid, prevent, and delay the need for traditional social care and support.

PCC commissioners acknowledge that the national digital switchover, due to be completed by end of 2025, is a significant catalyst to the telecare industry, making many existing analogue solutions obsolete. It is therefore important that that the Lifeline service offers a fully digital solution.