Charnwood Lifeline

Charnwood Lifeline supports independent living and provides peace of mind.

Read our feature on Charnwood Lifeline and how it can make a difference to you and your family via the link below:

Charnwood Lifeline Spotlight feature

What is it?

• monitoring/alert call emergency response 24 hours per day 7 days a week every week
• on call warden 24 hours per day 7 days a week every week
• a wearable pendant or wristband, alarm unit and key safe
• gives increased independence, confidence and security in the comfort of your own home
• managed by Charnwood Borough Council

Who qualifies for it?

There are no qualifying criterias for accessing the service. Regardless of your age or your circumstances, if you feel the Lifeline service is right for you, there is no reason why you can't use the service.

Although older and more vulnerable residents are a large part of our customer base, anyone can have a Lifeline. Our youngest customer is 27 years old, and we have fitted Lifelines for young people who want added reassurance and safety because they live alone.

Some of our customers have disabilities, are single parents, and others have got a Lifeline because they are new to the area and need time to find their feet. Isolation can be an issue for people, particularly during and post-Covid, so it’s nice for us to be a reassuring voice and presence for people.

We get a lot of referrals from other services such as social services, physiotherapists, and community therapy teams etc.

The language barrier is not an issue as we can fit a Lifeline for non-English speakers with the assistance of family members, carers or a translator.

Even for customers who are visually or hearing impaired, Lifeline can work because if they press the lifeline pendant, we can contact their family, next of kin or emergency services.

We adjust to suit the needs of our customers.

If you live in Charnwood you can have a Lifeline – whether you live in a mansion, a flat or a home. One of our customers lives in a narrow boat! All customers are welcome.

Important changes to packages as of January 1, 2024

As of January 1, 2024, the Standard Lifeline packages will no longer be available.

We are withdrawing the Standard Lifeline packages in preparation for the digital switch over on all UK telephone lines. The digital roll out has already started within Charnwood, and by the end of 2025 all UK telephone lines will be on the new Digital Network.

Our standard lifeline units rely on a working landline telephone, and they will not be 100% reliable with the new digital network, the standard lifeline would not be able to make an emergency call if there is a power failure as the digital phoneline goes down.

Our GSM Smart Hub packages (found in our costs and packages) are still available.

We have now launched our new Digital Lifeline Reach IP Lifelines.

Advantages of the new Reach IP Lifeline

• Works using the mobile network with a built-in roaming SIM card, this allows the unit to use all mobile networks always ensuring the best connectivity.
• A built in 5-day back-up battery, the equipment will work if the unit has been unplugged or in the event of a power-cut.
• The Pendant is waterproof and can be worn in multiple ways.
• Longest pendant range up to 300 meters from the home unit.
• All calls to the monitoring centre are included within your quarterly charge, no unexpected phone bills.

 Cost

The cost of new Reach IP will start from £67.86 per quarter or £5.22 per week.

Smart Hub GSM Lifeline

Charnwood Lifeline provides a Lifeline which does not require a landline telephone. More people are opting to use mobile phones and have their landlines disconnected, which would have previously meant a Lifeline would not have been an option, but now we have the Smart Hub.

How it works

The Smart Hub just plugs into an electric socket, and has a 40hour battery in the event of a power failure. Instead of a landline It works using a GSM connection (Global System for Mobile communication), like a mobile phone but instead of using one particular network, a special SIM card is used called a World SIM. The World SIM constantly searches and uses the strongest mobile network which ensures that the best signal and coverage is available at all times.

It comes with a pendant which will activate an alarm call anywhere around the home and garden. Where our trained Operators will speak to the customer through the built in intercom system to establish what the situation is and get the most appropriate form of help. If contact cannot be made through the intercom system then the customer’s nominated key-holders or our On-Call Warden would be called to attend.

Keysafes are fitted as standard, to give emergency access for our On-Call Warden, or the Emergency Services if required.

How can I get a Lifeline?

For more information, including prices, please contact Charnwood Lifeline on 01509 643970 or visit the Charnwood Lifeline webpage.

Lifeline pricing

Prices from April 1, 2024 can be found in the document below:

• ​​Charnwood Lifeline Costs and Packages from April 1, 2024 (PDF Document, 0.19 Mb)

The lifeline alarm charge can be reduced if you are eligible for a Home Safety Grant.

What is included?

Lifeline

• Lifeline alarm unit – including all the cables and power supplies
• Lifeline pendant – including a lanyard for wearing around your neck or wristband if preferred
• Secure coded key safe – a secure coded box which holds a spare key to your property
• Access to 24 hour on call Warden – 365 days per year
• Access to 24 hour monitoring/alert call response 365 days per year

We encourage all our customers to allow us to fit a key safe to ensure quick access to the emergency services or one of our on-call wardens when needed.

Extras (at an additional cost)

Fall Detector

• Fall Detector device
• Can be worn on your wrist or as a pendant
• Choice of two models
• 24 hour on call warden 365 days per year
• 24 hour monitoring/alert call response 365 days per year

You can read full product descriptions for all the detectors available.

You can also read about our smoke detectors, which are also available.

How does it work? 

You are given a pendant to wear, this can be neck or wrist worn, which you can activate if you need any help in an emergency, for example if you have had a fall or are feeling unwell such as dizziness or shortness of breath or any severe chest pains. It can also be used if you are feeling anxious, have received bogus phone calls or visitors, if your smoke alarm goes off or more.

Once an alarm is raised our local operators in Loughborough will call you to check if you are okay and see if you need any further assistance.  If you do not answer they will then get in touch with the named contact you give us or send a warden to your home to check that you are okay. If necessary our operators will notify the emergency services to ensure your safety.

A secure coded key safe is provided so that our warden or the emergency services can get into your home quickly if needed.

If you are prone to falls you may want to consider the option of one of our Fall Detectors. These devices provide extra confidence and peace of mind as it can detect if you were upright before and have suddenly fallen and are lying on the floor and are unable to get back up.

If you are unable to press the alarm and don’t go back to an upright position it can be set to automatically send an alarm to our local operators in Loughborough. 

How do I get it?

To sign up to the service simply request a sign-up pack by contacting Charnwood Lifeline on 01509 643970 or email OnlineLifelineEnquiries@charnwood.gov.uk. You can also download and print out the pack in the 'Related documents' section below.

Once you have received the pack, please complete the sign-up forms (please do not post your completed forms back to us, we will collect them when we deliver your lifeline equipment), then contact Charnwood Lifeline to arrange an appointment for your Lifeline equipment to be delivered.

Customer feedback

We receive great feedback from our customers on a regular basis. Read some of these comments below:

What do our customers say?