Alertacall - Moving on from hard-wired alarm and warden call systems

Proactive daily contact as an alternative toalarms It is important to note that all alarms still rely on the promise of “no news is good news” in that if nothing is heard from the individual we are to believe they are OK. This of course could clearly be untrue and there are countless incidents where people were left, sometimes for days, in need of help because they were unable to use their personal alarm, or even a mobile phone. It is for this reason that proactively establishing some form of daily contact with a resident may be a strong starting point for service design, because if there is no contact, and that is unusual, then there may be a legitimate reason for concern. Daily contact, if provided in such a way that you can guarantee high engagement rates, provides a highly valuable back-up to a personal alarm, and for many people (though it is not an alarm in itself) a preferable alternative entirely. Daily contact based around housing related issues, for example routinely asking if residents have anything to report by way of repairs, prompting residents to check or test smoke alarms, prompting residents around rent and service charges, reminding residents about fire-safety and other emergency routines can also dramatically improve housing management efficiency whilst improving resident safety and security. As a by-product and if delivered in the right way daily contact can also feel “support-like” to residents potentially reducing social isolation and loneliness. Financial impact of replacing the current systems Many hard-wired alarm and warden call systems have been funded for many years by funding streams like Supporting People funding (and its equivalents) and as this has been removed, the cost of supporting and maintaining those systems has been passed to both the housing provider and sometimes the residents themselves. This is often not desirable because many housing providers and residents feel the return on any such investment would not be adequate enough to want to bare the cost themselves. Hard-wired alarm and warden call systems are not typically fundable as a service charge under Housing Benefit because they are a support tool and regulations implicitly name “alarms” as ineligible. Likewise hard-wired alarm and warden call systems are not fundable as a service charge under Universal Credit because “alarms” are also named as ineligible there and do not fall under the Eligible Service Charge criteria as set out in the Universal Credit schedules. However, it is important to note that stand-alone door entry systems that contain no alarm or support components are typically fundable as a service charge under both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. There is therefore a strong funding case for removing hard-wired alarm and warden call systems and replacing them with a high quality door entry system from a specialised manufacturer. In addition, a service like Housing Proactive from Alertacall, provides resident engagement and communication tools, as well as daily contact around housing related issues. Because this comprises housing management features, which help housing providers efficiently manage their properties and administer other services, this is typically eligible for funding as a service charge under Housing Benefit. www.alertacall.com 11