“As I live alone, I felt rather nervous when I was woken one night by the sound of someone at my front door. I had my ‘buzzer’ by the bed and remembered being told it was not just for medical emergencies, so I pressed it.
I heard the response from the unit but, as it was downstairs, my reply could not be heard. Then the telephone by my bed rang and a woman’s voice asked if I was alright. I told her what had happened, was told not to worry, she would contact the police but I must NOT go downstairs until they came.
Very shortly after, two policemen came to my door. They asked what had happened; one came in while the other checked round outside my home. There were signs that someone had been at my door but no one was there now. The policemen asked how I had got their help so I showed them the ‘buzzer’ and unit. They were quite impressed then told me that, as I am elderly and live alone, I would be put on their ‘vulnerable’ register.
I was very thankful for the response from the Helpline, even more so when I got a call 20 minutes later from the caring lady to see if I was alright now. It is a wonderful service and I thank you all.”
Mrs Scott, Helpline Customer
A unit was installed for a gentleman in Fleetwood on a Wednesday as per his daughter’s request because his health had been deteriorating and he had suffered from blackouts more frequently.
The gentleman’s daughter received a call on the Friday (two days after the unit was installed) to say that he had pressed his pendant and the Control Centre could not get a response from him.
When his daughter went round she found him unconscious on the kitchen floor and the house was absolutely full of gas which had come from his cooker. It appeared that he had gone to make something to eat and blacked out whilst switching on one of the gas hobs, but had managed to press the pendant before losing consciousness. As a result of this he was admitted to hospital as he suffered two broken ribs from the fall, but obviously had the alert not been raised via the Helpline the consequences could have been far, far worse.
The gentleman’s daughter has described the Helpline service as an “absolute godsend” and could not thank us enough for the prompt response and the peace of mind, reassurance and confidence she now has since having the system installed.
Helpline Customer, Fleetwood
I was sitting in my lounge chair when I became aware that it was 11am and that something was not right. I pressed my pendant, the Helpline operator answered and sent for the paramedics. I was taken to hospital and had suffered a bad Heart attack “the Helpline saved my life” Having had the Helpline since 1998 I can live in my own home on my own and feel safe.
Thank you Helpline
Mrs J F Davies, Helpline Customer
