Telecare: elderly and disabled people sent letters explaining new tiered charging system after scrapping free service

The letter from the County Council lays out how current users will now have to subscribe and pay a fee if they want to continue benefitting from the service, which involves the installation of sensors in an individual’s home to detect whether they are moving around and if they have fallen. The person is also provided with a pendant or wrist alarm which they can trigger if they need help. Lancashire County Council has decided to start charging for its “telecare” facility after concluding that it could no longer afford to subsidise the £5.4m annual cost – which is rising at a rate of about £1m a year.

Cabinet members who made the decision were told that some people had signed up to the service simply because it was free – and that it did not serve a “genuinely preventative function” for them. However, opposition councillors said that the move was a false economy which would “cost lives”.

What is the Telecare service and who uses it?

Mostly used by the elderly or disabled people, Telecare involves the installation of sensors in an individual’s home to detect whether they are moving around and if they have fallen. The person is also provided with a pendant or wrist alarm which they can trigger if they need help. The equipment connects to a local alarm receiving centre where staff monitor and respond to any alerts that a resident could be needing help. When the alarm is raised, the staff at Progress Lifeline’s 24/7 Lancashire-based response centre will assess the situation and alert a nominated contact or emergency services if necessary.

This service has previously been free for residents, with more than 16,500 users across the county council area. While available to anyone over 18 who is eligible for it, the majority in Lancashire are over 65. However, those individuals received a letter in late November alerting them of changes to the cost of the service.

Why are service users soon to be charged for the service?

Informed by written letter, service users were told that from April 2023 Lancashire County Council will introduce charges for the Telecare service and these charges will apply to all telecare users. There will be three different service levels to choose from ranging from four to nine pounds a week, costing those in need a possible extra £208 to £468 a year. The price rise will apply from April 3 2023 to at least March 31 2024. A public consultation carried out amongst existing service users into the proposed changes found that 46 percent – of 1,650 respondents – were unlikely to continue with it if charges were introduced.

How much will telecare users be charged?

The 11,000 Lancashire telecare users who receive no other social care package will, from the new year, have to pay £4 per week for the basic service which alerts a family member or friend to respond to an emergency call. For £5.50, a mobile responder would act in the event of an alarm. There is also a “premium service”, costing £9 a week, with the addition of a weekly, 10 minute face-to-face visit or two, weekly welfare check phone calls.