Telecare Services team receives highest accolade in audit
The City Telecare Services team has received a nationally recognised accreditation for the 13th year running
From left to right: Rachael Gorst, Rachel Ciupek, Steve Gould, Andre Coelho, Colleen O'Neill
The team has been successful in obtaining accreditation with the Telecare Services Association (TSA)* following a recent audit. This provides assurance that the team is recognised as compliant with the TSA Quality Standards Framework in referral, service tailoring, installation, monitoring and response for all Telecare services.
Southampton City Council’s City Telecare Services team offers 24 hour help to more than 6,300 city residents (and over 2,700 Portsmouth residents). The primary service is an emergency response for vulnerable residents at home, if they feel unwell, suffer a fall or need other support. They can touch a button on a wristband or pendant to raise the alarm. The Responding Team has attended over 3000 emergency calls so far this year.
To achieve the accreditation, City Telecare Services had to show evidence that they had achieved various key performance indicators throughout the year. These included answering over 97.5% of alarm calls within 60 seconds and Responding Support Officers arriving at a customers’ property within 45 minutes of their call, resulting in an average response time of 25 minutes being achieved.
The Telecare Services team has played a vital role in our city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining its 24x7 support during a particularly difficult time. It’s also evolving and investing in the future: the local First Responding team has two new electric vehicles for use when doing emergency home visits, making the fleet cleaner and greener.
Councillor Ivan White, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said: “Our Telecare services really help to empower older and disabled people to live independent lives for longer. Knowing that there is help at hand when they need it is not only important for the people themselves but crucially also for their family and friends. The audit confirms that our services in Southampton continue to exceed the national standards.”
Lisa Haynes, Head of Supported Housing and Community Support commented: “We are so pleased to be able to say that the services we provide to the community are of an exceptional standard. Naturally, that’s what we strive to do, and it is great to be recognised for that. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with many additional challenges, but I am so proud of how my team has continued to provide an outstanding service.”
City residents interested in City Telecare Services, including the dedicated responding service, should visit our Telecare pages or call 03332 079937.
*The TSA is governed by TEC Quality, the nationally recognised representative body for technology enabled care. TEC Quality has been set up to develop and run the Quality Standards Framework, a team of independent auditors, review and certify organisations against these standards.
