Once assistive technology is installed, Careline will monitor the alarms 24/7 (unless other arrangements have been put in place). If an alarm is triggered, Careline’s response will depend on what service the person has:

• Gold Responding Service: If the person is in trouble or if there is no response, Careline will respond by attending the person’s registered address and gaining access using the spare key that they hold.
• Silver Contacts Service: Careline will contact the person’s registered contacts or the emergency services, depending on the agreed protocol for the individual.
• Carer Alert Service: Monitoring will normally be the responsibility of the provider in 24/7 supported living arrangements, and in other circumstances such as unpaid family carers will be an available option.

Cost

Careline provide two main types of service:

• Gold service: full emergency call-out for £5.72 per week 
• Silver service: alarm monitoring for £4.72 per week

The cost covers the monitoring and response elements of the service. Careline own the equipment, and loan it to residents. If the resident no longer requires the service then the equipment will be collected. The cost is the same regardless of how many items of assistive technology Careline install. 

Who will get a subsidised cost?

If a resident is in receipt of any of the following means tested benefits then the service cost is subsidised (Adult Social Care will cover the cost – there is no charge to the resident):

• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Employment Support Allowance (income related)
• Job Seekers Allowance (Income related)
• Housing Benefits and CTRS
• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit / Working Tax Credit

Who will not get a subsidised cost?

The benefits listed below are not means tested and therefore do not qualify for subsidised service cost. The resident will be required to pay.

• Disability Living Allowance for care or mobility
• Personal Independence Payments for daily living or mobility
• Employment Support Allowance (Contribution)
• Job Seekers Allowance (Contribution)
• Attendance Allowance
• State Retirement Pension
• Severe Disability Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Incapacity Benefit (contributions)
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Guardians Allowance
• Carers Allowance
• Widows Benefit
• Maternity Allowance

*If you are made aware that the customer is going into a long term residential/nursing placement or is moving address please call us on 020 7974 1491 option 4 so that we can make arrangements to collect the equipment.

Systems

All service delivery activity will be captured on Jontek. Careline will contact the person's contact using their preferred contact channels, usually telephone.

Guidance

All Camden residents with Careline that come into contact with social care services should have the provision recorded on Mosaic. If they are referred for Careline then the provision will be entered onto Mosaic upon successful installation. If someone privately contacts Careline for a service and then subsequently comes into contact with social care services, then their service provision should be captured as part of the initial record that is created in Mosaic.

For each service, equipment and individual person there will be specific monitoring and response protocols. Practitioners can speak to Careline if they need to better understand or tailor protocols for an individual.

Careline will encourage people to sign up to the Gold Responding service and become key holders, monitoring and managing the resource levels necessary to maintain response times. The target response time for people with the Gold Responding service is 45 minutes.

Careline will provide people with the option of the Silver Contact service, although proposed contacts will be vetted to ensure that they are able to respond promptly. Key safes will be encouraged as a back-up arrangement, and it will be clearly explained to people that if they do not have a key safe or there are other issues gaining access when there is a concern for welfare, this is likely to result in forced entry and repair costs that will fall to the person.

Careline will only respond to the registered home address. People using AT in the community will need contacts that are able to respond.

Careline will contact Access and Response or the relevant neighbourhood duty team in the event of an incident that has immediate implications for someone’s wider care and support needs. The relevant team will then be responsible for contacting other providers and updating Mosaic as appropriate.

If the service does not appear to be working effectively and appropriately for an individual, Careline will liaise with the individual and other health and care practitioners as relevant to consider the options. Examples could include repeated damage to equipment or very high alarm calls. These options may include considering:

• whether different equipment settings and/or service protocols may help
• whether AT is no longer an effective way to support the person
• whether other elements of the person’s care and support arrangements are not sufficiently meeting their needs.

Mental Health

Bespoke protocols should link the monitoring and response arrangements back to the Care Programme Approach.

Supported Living

• In supported living arrangements, the default service would be a 'carer alert' model where the provider directly manages the assistive technology solution, with Careline retaining responsibility for equipment maintenance and repair. An alternative option for supported living with floating support or shared support, a carer alert that defaults to Careline as a back-up arrangement could be the service model. The service model will be considered for a whole supported living unit in discussions between the allocated practitioner and provider, taking account of the needs of specific individuals living there.
• Supported Living – monitoring and responding will normally be down to the providers, so there is a need to be clear about roles and responsibilities between the provider and Careline. For example, if the provider has 24 hour support (even if off site /roaming) then they would have to have back up /escalation arrangements.
• Supported Living Charging – individuals will be charged as normal, dependent on whether they are in receipt of means tested benefits. There are no additional charges for any shared AT in common areas.