Many people will be looking ahead to spending time with loved ones over the Christmas and New Year period.
But there is a team of dedicated council staff who will be working around the clock to ensure the safety of some of the East Riding’s most vulnerable residents while giving their friends and family that all important peace of mind.
Over the past 12 months the Lifeline service has dealt with almost 430,000 incoming and outgoing calls for residents who rely on the service to provide 24/7 reassurance, support and if needs be an emergency response.
Of these calls, the latest statistics show that 99.7% of these calls were responded to within three minutes, and 97% were responded to in under a minute.
In addition to this the service, which is based at the Lifeline control centre in Driffield with community responders covering the whole of the East Riding, also dealt with over 4,500 out of hours customer service calls over the same time period, from 1 November 2015 to 21 December 2016.
Councillor Richard Harrap, council portfolio holder for adult and carer services, said: “The volume of calls handled by the Lifeline team this year is testament to the fact that the service really is a vital life line for so many people across the East Riding.
“The Lifeline team work tirelessly all year round to provide this essential service which brings so much reassurance and comfort to those who use the service and their loved ones.”
Now the team are gearing up for the busy Christmas and New Year period, over which the service typically deals with thousands of calls.
The Lifeline service consists of a range of sensors that are placed in a person’s home to support independent living.
They are linked to the control centre which is manned by trained operators who are ready to take the most appropriate action should someone trigger a sensor or press the red button on their home or personal lifeline system.
This action could be contacting a family member, neighbour, doctor, Lifeline responder or the emergency services.
By giving the gift of Lifeline to a loved one this Christmas, family and friends can enjoy reassurance and peace of mind over the festive period and beyond.
John Skidmore, director of corporate strategy and commissioning, said: “For thousands of people across the East Riding the Lifeline service is just that, a vital life line providing reassurance, help and support not only to those who have the service installed but to their family and friends who can rest assured that someone is looking out for their loved ones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year.
“The Lifeline team do a fantastic job, giving up time with their loved ones at Christmas to ensure some of the region’s most vulnerable residents are safe and well.
“It has been a busy year for the service and 2017 looks set to be just as busy.”
The service is available to any vulnerable person of any age who is in need of added help and reassurance to continue living independently.
This could include a disabled person, people who have been discharged from hospital, people at risk of domestic violence, racial harassment, repeat victimisation or distraction burglary.
The service can also give carers a respite by for example taking away the need for those all important ‘just in case’ checks which are instead carried out by the Lifeline system.
