Date set for closure of 24-hour care service

A 24-hour telecare alarm service supporting vulnerable and elderly people in a remote area of Derbyshire is to close in just under a fortnight, a council has announced.

Carelink users in the High Peak - who pay about £10 per week for the service - can summon help for emergencies at the press of a button and be met by trained staff within the hour.

Almost 3,000 calls were made to the service last year, many of which were for falls in people's homes.

But Labour-led High Peak Borough Council said in July it could no longer safely staff the discretionary service, and it would now close on 19 October.

It said while support for private residents, those in housing association homes and at Northlands retirement home was ending, residents in the council's sheltered accommodation would continue to receive warden support and a new out-of-hours support service.

The authority said it had eight staff, but needed 20 to run a safe Carelink service.

Local clinicians had warned the borough council vulnerable people across the region will be left in a "dire situation" without Carelink.

A council spokesperson said: "This has been a very difficult decision.

"Customer safety is our priority; however, despite our best efforts, we can no longer provide the service safely in its current form."

It added it had been working with customers to help them find alternative private provision.

Chesterfield Borough Council also shut a similar service, Careline, this August for financial reasons following a public consultation.

The services became available via the borough councils after Derbyshire County Council withdrew its support for 24/7 falls provision from about 2019.

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