The family of a Neilston man who survived a house fire praised the new initiative to fit a special smoke detector in the homes of the most vulnerable people in East Renfewshire.
The Community Health Care Partnership (CHCP) teamed up with Strathclyde Fire and Rescue to ensure that all locals who use telecare also get an integrated smoke detector fitted in their home linked to Safety Net, the Council's twenty-four hour monitoring centre.
The new partnership between the CHCP and the fire service made East Renfrewshire the first place in Scotland to link up with the fire service to jointly fund and install linked smoke alarms in the homes of vulnerable people.
The installation of integrated smoke detectors ensures fire accidents are detected at the earliest possible moment.
The special detector would raise an alarm at a 24-hour call response centre, where trained operators could then organise a physical response to be sent to the property within minutes. In addition it would also sound a normal audible alarm.
June McIntosh and her father , who is in his eighties and hearing impaired, are one of the first families in East Renfrewshire to benefit from the programme. When the fire brigade attended his home after a fire broke out there recently, officers suggested he would qualify for telecare. They put the council's community alarm team in touch who came out to his flat to assess his needs and arranged the installation of telecare.
Telecare now fitted in his home includes a vibrating pillow that will provide a smoke alarm alert if he is asleep when a fire starts, and a personal alarm he wars around his neck so he can easily raise an alarm for any reason. And as part of the partnership between East Renfrewshire Council and Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, the fire service also installed his property with a smoke detector that is linked to the Safety Net call handling centre, where the operator can arrange for the first fire service to attend if necessary.
June explains: "My father lives alone and didn't have a smoke alarm fitted because he wouldn't have heard it go off."
"The installation of telecare and this new smoke detector have made such a difference to us. After there was a fire in his home and before the fire service came to fit the detector, myself and my brother would drive up and down to his home in the middle of the night to check he was okay. We were living on our nerves."
"Now we know the fire brigade can be at his flat within minutes, if they are needed. It's a total relief. Besides that he can also press the button on his personal alarm if he needs help at anytime for any reason."
"If anyone has an elderly relative or someone that they care about, they should find out about telecare. It is fantastic and will give real peace of mind. It means there's always help at the end of the phone."
"My dad is much happier and feels safer now. It's been a resounding success."
www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk
