Personal Stories
Charles (80) lives alone and is supported by his daughter, Ann who lives nearby. He first had a Lifeline community alarm and pendant installed three years ago.
Charles was recently reassessed and recommended to have further equipment installed to help with a growing problem of dementia. A door exit sensor was fitted as well as a smoke alarm. The exit sensor can detect when the front door is opened and whether the resident has gone out or is still within the house. Since being fitted, the sensor has been activated up to six times a day but normally our operator uses the Lifeline link to have a brief chat to Charles to check he is ok and remind him to close the door.
Daughter Ann said "I am confidant that there is someone watching over Dad when I am not with him. The combination of the Lifeline equipment and the Carer who calls daily has meant that Dad can stay safely in his own home."
Nancy Flanagan MBE is Chairperson to VNC Lifeline and one of the driving forces behind the set-up and growth of the service. Since 2001, she has also been a customer and has a Lifeline unit and pendant.
Last summer, Nancy tripped and fell in her own home, striking her head on the hearth and suffering an horrendous head wound. Despite her injury, she was able to use her Lifeline unit to contact us. We immediately organised for an ambulance and then contacted one of her daughters Pauline to inform her of the accident.
Nancy's injury required 36 stitches but she has since made a full recovery. She said "I've spent years telling people how good the Lifeline service is, but didn't honestly expect to be using it myself. I was badly shaken when I had the accident but the girls in the Control Room were great. They had the ambulance there in no time and my daughter was there to go with me to the hospital."
Paula, aged 43, is a full-time carer for her mother, Agnes, who is suffering from dementia. Paula was struggling to cope with the increasing demands of caring for her mum, particularly as she was getting a very poor quality of sleep because she was constantly listening for problems. We installed a bed sensor for Agnes and a property exit sensor. These were linked to her Lifeline system but also to a wrist pager worn by Paula during the day and to a vibrating pad under her pillow during the night.
The pager allows Paula to follow a more natural routine without worrying that her mum is in a different room. For the first time in years, she is getting a good night's sleep, confident that the pillow alert will wake her in the event of a problem.
Amanda, aged 37, suffers from seizures as a result of a brain tumour. Her eight year old daughter lives with her.
Amanda recognizes the early signs of the seizures and uses her Lifeline to alert us to her condition. We check that she is sitting on the floor to prevent injury from falling and talk to her and her daughter to reassure them until the seizure finishes. As well as providing a comforting presence we are there to call for emergency support if the seizure does not follow the normal pattern.
Having a Lifeline service means that Amanda and her daughter can live normally within the challenges of her condition.
J, aged 33, has learning difficulties and lives alone in her flat. She has been a Lifeline customer for the last seven years and is a regular caller to our support staff. To date, J has not had to face any emergency situations but uses the service most days simply to say hello and have a brief chat with a friendly voice.
George, aged 91, has had his Lifeline service since 2003. He lives alone and despite suffering from arthritis and having a history of high blood pressure and heart attacks.
In March 2010, George used his Lifeline to let us know that he was experiencing chest pains. We immediately called the ambulance service and his daughter and kept talking to George until the paramedics arrived and used his Keysafe to gain entry.
His daughter Vivian said "When I arrived, the paramedics were already resuscitating Dad. Everything worked perfectly. Without Lifeline and the paramedics, Dad would not be alive today. It is the best £2.99 a week that I spend."
P, aged 54, lives alone but has a son with a drug and alcohol dependency issue. Although the son does not live with P, he frequently calls seeking money and the visits result in verbal, and sometimes physical, abuse.
P is one of several Lifeline customers who have their records flagged as potential sufferers of domestic violence. When she calls us, our telephone operators are trained not to talk initially but to listen for any signs of violence or threats of violence. They will immediately contact the police if they feel she is in danger and then decide whether to intervene directly. The call is automatically recorded and can be used as evidence to support a prosecution.
Lifeline cannot directly resolve the issues or the fear that P lives with but it gives her comfort that help is at hand and the recorded calls can act as a deterrent to situations escalating to violence.
Doris first had her Lifeline installed in 2001 to support her discharge from hospital. Besides being available 24/7 to support Doris in case of problems, the initial installation requested that we contact her each day at a fixed time to check that she was ok.
This worked so well that Doris asked that we continue to make the daily call as it gave her someone to have a brief chat to and gave her extra comfort that we knew she was well. There are equipment options that can alert us if a customer is not up and moving about by an agreed time but Doris is one of several customers who opt for the more personal touch.
