The equipment
- The leased equipment is the Careline alarm unit, a pendant, and a fall detector or smoke alarm(s) where requested, provided to the Client by the Council under the terms of this agreement. Additional telecare equipment can be purchased separately from the Council at an additional charge by separate agreement...
- The analogue unit plugs into a normal domestic telephone line and into an adjacent thirteen-amp power supply.
- If you choose to have a digital alarm, the Council will provide you with this which operates from a mobile telephone connection using a SIM card provided within the unit.
- Please note you are unable to have a neck worn GPS alarm if you have a pacemaker fitted. If you have a pacemaker fitted in the future, it is strongly recommended you do not wear your GPS alarm around the neck.
- The equipment supplied is self-testing and will alert the call centre if there is a fault (for example low battery, mains failure). Any sensors must be connected to the Careline alarm unit in order to contact the call centre.
- A pendant is supplied with each unit. Additional pendants can be purchased separately. It is designed to be worn around the neck or wrist.
- The pendant is shower proof but is not designed for complete immersion in water over extended periods of time, e.g. it should not be worn in the bath.
- The Careline alarm unit, pendant and any rented peripherals will remain, at all times, the property of the Council
The service
The service comprises:
- the connection and installation of the Careline alarm unit in your property;
- rental of the unit, a pendant(s) and telecare devices where requested;
- faults visits; and
- Call centre monitoring.
The call centre monitoring service operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The call centre is operated by a third party service provider that has agreed to provide the service to the Council’s Clients. The Council will notify you in writing if there is a change in service provider and whether there are any consequential changes to the service.
When the call centre receives a call the operator will assess the information and, with discretion, may:
- notify the named contact specified by you; and or
- notify one or more of the emergency services (ambulance, fire, police) or your GP that a call has been received and the nature of the call/emergency.
The Council does not take responsibility for the actions of those contacted by the call centre such as actions, failures, or delays in response from the emergency services.
Your responsibilities
The analogue equipment installed in your property requires both a working telephone landline and an electricity supply. It is your responsibility to provide both of these and maintain them – without which the equipment will not function.
Where you have been provided with a digital alarm (from the council), you require a working mobile telephone signal and an electricity supply. Your equipment will require these to operate – without which the equipment will not function – and the Council cannot be held responsible for any loss of mobile phone signal.
You must allow the Council reasonable access to your property to install the Careline alarm unit into your property.
You must not allow anyone other than the Council officers or authorised representatives to attempt to make any alterations or repairs to the unit.
You must test the equipment once a month by pressing the button on the pendant and letting the operator know that you are just testing the equipment. You can keep a record of this using the form on the back of the user guide.
The Careline user guide tells you how the equipment works and you must use it in accordance with these instructions.
You must use the equipment for its intended purpose and not misuse or abuse it. You must make yourself familiar with the equipment and ensure that it is looked after so that it is in good working order when you need to use it in an emergency.
You should never seek to modify or open the equipment.
Any damage or loss of the equipment or part of the equipment caused by you is your responsibility and you may be charged for its repair or replacement. Please note that there is a charge for replacement of a lost/damaged pendant, for which you would be invoiced separately. You must call the Council’s Careline service as soon as the equipment develops a fault, 01483 523535. Failure to do so may mean that the equipment will not work should you require assistance.
You must pay the monthly charge for the rental of the Careline equipment and the call centre service.
Our responsibilities
The Council will install the Careline alarm unit in a safe and unobtrusive manner at your property using experienced installers and in line with manufacturer’s instructions.
The Council will provide a 24 hour a day, 365 days per year response to calls made on the equipment. This response will be provided by a third party service provider.
The Council will aim to repair faulty or defective equipment reported by you within two working days of having been informed of the problem.
The Council cannot be held responsible and will be under no liability for failure or non-performance of the equipment, or service, due to circumstances outside its control, including, but not limited to; failure of the Client to test the equipment and/or report faults, unexpected breakdown of the equipment, misuse of the equipment, loss of all or part of the equipment, loss of domestic landline connection or mobile telephone signal, alterations to the way the equipment was originally connected, power failure, adverse weather conditions, natural or man-made disasters etc.
The person installing the equipment at your home will fully explain how to use the equipment and provide you with a Careline user guide.
Charges
The monthly charge payable includes rental of the equipment and the call centre monitoring service. Your first invoice will be on a pro-rated basis.
The payment of the monthly charge is to be made by:
- a monthly direct debit payment or:
- by invoice and cheque payment. Please note that there is an extra charge of £2 per invoice raised.
The Council may increase the monthly charge payable on giving you at least one month’s prior written notice, or in accordance to VAT changes (where payable).
When making a call using the equipment you will incur a charge on your telephone bill if you have an analogue alarm. You are responsible for the payment of all telephone charges to your telephone service provider.
Data protection
You must provide us with the personal data as requested on our client information form. You must notify us or the call centre immediately of any changes including contact details and changes to your health and needs by pressing your alarm. It is important that this data is accurate and up to date. Failure to do so may delay help reaching you in an emergency.
Calls to the call centre are voice recorded and may be used in training and for monitoring purposes. The Council and the third party service provider may keep these call recording records for up to 12 months.
You agree to personal data on the client information form and other relevant service information being held and used by the Council and its third party service provider for the purposes of providing the service. This will be held whilst the agreement is in place and in line with our data retention policy.
The Council and its third party service provider will retain a database of information supplied by you. It will store and process the information held safely and securely in line with data protection legislation.
The Council and the third party service provider will disclose such information to third parties only if it considers it necessary in order to carry out its responsibilities to you under this agreement, in case of illness, injury, emergency or where permitted by law. You can find further information and the Council’s privacy policy on our website or by contacting the Council to obtain a copy of the policy.
Termination
You may terminate this agreement at any time within the first 14 calendar days after the equipment has been installed without incurring any charges, by notifying the Council in writing by letter, email, or by telephone.
The Council may end this agreement with 14 days’ notice if the following occurs:
- you do not fulfil your responsibilities as set out in this agreement; or
- you cease to live at the property.
On termination of this agreement any fitted smoke alarm will remain at your property. The smoke alarm(s) will continue to work with an audible sound should it detect any smoke. However, as the Careline unit will no longer be connected, the smoke alarm(s) will not call through to the call centre, but will only alert you to the smoke. It is your responsibility to maintain, clean and replace any batteries as and when needed. The Council cannot be held responsible and will not be liable for failure or non-performance of the smoke alarm(s) where this is the case.
Your termination of this agreement will take effect from the date of cancellation. No pro-rata refunds will be due for part months.
If this agreement is terminated the equipment must be returned to the Council. The Council will arrange for a member of staff to collect the equipment or agree a suitable method for you or another person to return it. Failure to return the equipment will result in a ‘non return’ charge being incurred, which currently stands at £100 for the Careline alarm unit.
The Council cannot be held responsible for any delay or loss of service provision as a result of circumstances beyond the control of the Council. The Council may terminate this agreement at any time by giving at least one month’s written notice.
Complaints
If you are not happy with something the Council (or someone acting on its behalf) has or has not done, or the standard of the service provided by the Council, you can make a complaint:
Level 1: If you are unable to resolve your complaint with the officer concerned, in the first instance you should put your complaint in writing to the Careline Service Manager at the Council at our address.
Level 2: If you are not happy with the result you should put your complaint in writing to the Head of Community Services at the Council at our address.
If you remain unhappy after the second stage of Waverley's complaints procedure, you can take your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. This is a free service and you can obtain further details by telephoning the Ombudsman’s Advice Team on 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983.
Please note that before raising your concerns with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, you should give Waverley a chance to sort out your complaint and complete our complaints process.
Council policies
A list of policies and copies of policy documents are available online at: www.waverley.gov.uk or by writing to the Council at our address. A charge may be made for copies of these documents.
Contacting the Careline service
Email: careline@waverley.gov.uk
Phone: 01483 523535
Address:
Waverley Careline
Waverley Borough Council
The Burys
Godalming
Surrey GU7 1HR