Carelink Community Alarm Services

Carelink provides a high quality 24 hour, 7 day a week Community Alarm (Lifeline) service to Older and Vulnerable People in theSedgefield Borough Council, Wear Valley and Teesdale District Council areas of County Durham.

The Carelink system can be installed in any type of property.  All you need to have is a BT phone line and a nearby electricity socket that we can connect a Lifeline unit to.

Cost

Carelink costs under £3.00 per week, however for people on low income, finincial assistance may be available in the form of a Supporting People Grant.

All emergancy calls made from a Lifeline unit to te Sedgefeild Control Centre at Chilton are free.

If you think you qualify for this, please do not hesitate to contact Carelink

What you get for your money?

All customers will receive a Lifeline unit and one Personal Radio Trigger called a 'pendant' which are connected via the BT phone line and internet to our purpose built Control Centre at Chilton. The Centre is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are recorded for security and accreditation purposes.

All calls to Carelink are at no cost to the service user

During 'normal' office hours (weekdays) Carelink employs a range of staff to provide and deliver the service to over 7,500 homes throughout South Durham.  These staff are predominately based in or work from various Sheltered Housing Centres throughout the area.

Outside of 'normal' working hours, i.e. weekday evenings, throughout the night, weekends and Bank Holidays, a team of Mobile Responders are on hand to help and respond to clients homes

.

How to Apply

Once your request form  is received a member of our highly trained staff will visit you, demonstrate the equipment and explain the advantages of Carelink to you. They will then leave you to decide whether or not you wish to have the system installed (no pressure or obligation.)

Should you decide to go ahead with Carelink, as long as you have a BT telephone line and a suitable socket, the equipment can be installed within as little as 2 hours.

You can download a copy of of the request form by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

Sheltered Accommodation

Sheltered Housing can be a flat or bungalow especially built with the needs of elderly or disabled people in mind.  Sedgefield Borough Council and various Register Social Landlords manage sheltered accommodation like this across the whole of the Borough.  If you live in the Wear Valley or Teesdale Districts, we can put you in touch with various organisations who mange/provide similar accomodation.

How do I Apply for Sheltered Accommodation?

You will need to complete an application form, these are available from any of the local Area Housing Offices, or can be sent to you by post . Housing staff will be pleased to help you complete a form if you require assistance or put you in touch with other similar providers.

For further information regarding our service contact us by :-

Sedgefield Carelink
Community Care Force Centre
Central Depot
Chilton Industrial Estate
Chilton
Durham
DL17 OSD

Tel: 01388 721351

Fax: 01388 720586

Email: carelink@sedgefield.gov.uk