A man threatening suicide and armed with a knife was distracted long enough for paramedics to reach him thanks to the quick thinking and calm approach of Becky Surgison, a Telecare operator at Invicta Telecare.

Responding to an alarm call triggered by the man pressing the button on his Telecare pendant, Becky quickly suspected he had taken a potentially fatal overdose and also established that he had razor blades and a knife in his hands which he was threatening to use.  Unfazed, she took control of the situation immediately, calling the paramedics then continued to chat to him and successfully sidetracked him until the ambulance arrived at the scene.

This particular customer was obviously going through a very difficult time in his life.  Shortly after the first incident Becky took another call from him.  She instantly realised she had spoken to him just a few days earlier and felt he wasn't responding in a normal way.  There was no indication that he was trying to take his life again, however Becky intuitively felt that something was wrong.  She phoned the police who advised they would attend.  Immediately returning to the caller her fears for his welfare grew prompting her to ring the police back to check their whereabouts and to escalate the concern.  When the police arrived on sight they confirmed to the control centre that he had tried to commit suicide and that Becky's actions once again had saved his life.

Becky said, "Everyone is trained to deal with emergencies and help people who find themselves in distressing situations, but it doesn't make it any easier when you are faced with a traumatic call like this when you know you actions can literally mean life or death."

We identified that this particular customer had ongoing problems and fed this back to his housing association and enquired whether any further support could be given to him.  Telecare plays a vital role in understanding and assessing customer's particular concerns and needs.  The organisation proactively uses the information it receives from callers to work in partnership to provide the best possible support for each individual.

Fortunately, it appears that he has now managed to deal with his issues and no further calls have been received.

www.invictatelecare.co.uk