How our alarms and sensors can help you
There are two types of home alarms:
- Wandsworth Telecare: available to those referred by social services
- WATCH lifeline: available to everyone
Home alarms can help you live independently. They are for:
- Disabled people
- Older people and
- People with specific medical needs.
Sensors are installed depending on the risks identified. They will send an alert to our control centre if triggered.
How they work
The home alarms send an alert to our 24-hour control centre when a sensor in your home is activated. An Emergency Response Officer may:
- Make a home visit
- Call the emergency services
- Contact a doctor, a friend, or a family member.
Pendant and button presses
Press the alarm button on the pendant to speak with the Emergency Response Officer.
The officer will
- Call your landline telephone if you do not respond
- Visit you if you still do not respond
Sensors
Wandsworth currently installs the following sensors:
- Bed/chair occupancy system
- Carbons monoxide detector
- Epilepsy sensor
- Fall detector
- Flood detector (overflowing bath or sink)
- Gas solutions
- Heat detector
- Property exit sensor
- Smoke detector
- Other sensors
Bed/chair occupancy system
This sensor monitors when your bed or chair is occupied.
It will trigger an alert if it senses you are not in the bed or chair for a certain period of time.
This can help if you fall and unable to get up from the floor.
This sensor can be linked to a lamp or light so it will turn on when you get up. It can also link to a pager to alert an onsite carer.
The officer will
- Visit if you say you have fallen
- Call your landline telephone if they are unable to get a response through the alarm unit. They will visit if you don't pick up the phone.
Carbon monoxide detector
This will detect carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, which may be released by a faulty gas appliance.
If the Carbon Monoxide detector is activated, the Emergency Response Officers at the WATCH Lifeline Control Centre will:
- Contact the Fire Brigade to request they visit the property to turn the gas supply off
- Contact the relevant responders to alert you/them of the problem. It is the property owner and/or their representatives responsibility to contact a registered gas engineer to check the gas appliances for potential carbon monoxide leakage.
The officer will speak with you through the alarm. If there is a problem with a gas appliance, they will:
- Advise you to turn off appliance and ventilate your home.
- Visit you to ventilate the property and turn off the appliance if you are unable to do so.
- Call you on your landline phone if you do not respond, and visit you if still no response
- Advise you to call a registered gas engineer to check your appliances
Epilepsy sensors
The sensor is designed to detect convulsions (shaking or jerking movements) and contact the monitoring centre when a seizure is detected. However partial seizures and seizures without movement will not be detected.
The sensor
- Is positioned between the bed base and mattress
- Requires a mains power supply. There is a back-up battery in case of power failure
- Can be calibrated and tailored to the individual service users need
- Can detect vocalised noises during a seizure with a built in microphone
A detected seizure will trigger a call to the Lifeline Emergency Control Centre. The Emergency Response Officers will call 999 for an ambulance and will meet the ambulance crew onsite to give them access.
If there is a key safe located outside the property, the key safe combination will be given to the ambulance service so they can access the property.
Fall detectors
You can wear these sensors on your wrist or as a pendant. If you have a serious fall, the sensor will trigger an alert.
The officer will
- Visit if you say you have fallen
- Call your landline telephone if they are unable to get a response through the alarm unit. They will visit if you don't pick up the phone.
There are two types of fall detector currently in use by Wandsworth Telecare:
- Pendant (tilt): There is a two tone warning if a fall is detected. If the fall detector is put back in its upright position, this warning tone will stop. These detectors cannot be worn in bed or if the wearer lies down to take naps and they must be hung from a hook, door handle, bed post etc when not in use. If not, it will call the control centre. The pendant has an alarm button which can also call the control centre.
- Wrist worn: This triggers if it detects an acceleration of movement which might be a result of falling. The detector also has an integral button which can be pressed to initiate a manual call.
A carer should provide assistance when putting detectors on/off the user.
Battery life
The battery life is about three years, depending on use. If low, it will send a signal to the WATCH Lifeline control centre and we will change the fall detector.
Testing the fall detector
- To test, press the alarm button on the falls detector. The WATCH Lifeline Control Centre will be called; tell them it's a test call and no action is required.
Flood detector
This will detect when a bath or sink overflows and causes flooding.
The officer will
- Let you know there is something overflowing in the bathroom or kitchen
- Call your landline telephone if they are unable to get a response through the alarm unit. They will visit if you don't pick up the phone
Gas solutions
There are two solutions if you leave your gas cooker unlit.
- A manual gas valve for your carer to turn the gas on/off
- A gas detector that will turn off the gas if the cooker is left unlit. The officer or your designated responder/family member will visit to reset the gas shut off valve
Heat detector
This sensor will detect a rapid rise in temperature or abnormally high temperature which might be caused by a pan left on the hob.
The officer will:
- Call the London Fire Brigade if you do not respond
- Close the alarm call if it is a false alarm (burnt cooking for example), and will call in 5 minutes to check you are ok and alarms have reset
- Visit you if you do not respond to the follow up call
- call the London Fire Brigade if there are more alarm calls
Property exit sensor
This sensor detects when a front door (or any other exterior door) is left open for a certain period of time and it will alert someone if you go outside alone.
The officer will
- Let you know the door is open and advise you to stay inside and close the door
- Call your family or designated responders
Smoke detector
This detector will trigger an alert if it senses smoke, and the warden will speak with you through the alarm.
The officer will
- Call the London Fire Brigade if you do not respond.
- Close the alarm call if it is a false alarm (burnt cooking for example)
- Will call in five minutes to check you are okay and that alarms have reset
- Visit you if you do not respond to the follow up call
- Call the London Fire Brigade if there are more alarm calls
Other sensors
Other sensors may be available - this can be discussed during the assessment.