'They should be ashamed' - Yorkshire woman’s son slams 40 per cent care alarm price rise

The 58-year-old man, who lives and works in London and wishes to remain anonymous, said: “My mother is 94 and lives alone near Beighton. She has many health problems including a heart condition, diabetes and osteoporosis and is very frail and at risk of falls.

“She only has her pension to live on and relies on the Care Alarm system, which she accesses by a button worn on her wrist on a bracelet.

“She got the alarm after a fall three years ago, when she could not get up and spent several hours on the floor before being found by a concerned neighbour. She was in hospital for three months as a result of the fall.

“She is very upset that the cost of this vital service has risen from £21 a month to more than £30 a month, an increase of OVER 40 per cent, leaving her even less money to spend on food and bills.

“It has caused her great distress and even made her question whether she can afford to carry on having the service. It is a disgrace that Sheffield City Council can increase the charge by so much.

“How can they justify this? Do they care nothing for their elderly and infirm? I live four hours away and visit regularly but can’t be there at short notice.

“The Care Alarm is a lifeline to many people and Sheffield City Council should be ashamed.”

A spokesperson for the city council responded: “For the first time in nine years the fee for the City Wide Care Alarms service has increased. It is now £30.39 per month and those who use the service were informed of this rise in advance of the changes.

“The council needed to increase these fees to account for the additional costs, such as SIM cards, due to the move from an analogue to a digital service, and to ensure that the highly-valued service is sustainable for the benefit of its 8,000 customers.

“The service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at a cost of just over £1 per day.”

The council’s adult health and social care policy committee last week (March 26) approved the introduction of a Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Service, which would bring in more online support to allow people to live independently at home. This could include medication management, virtual home care visits, rehabilitation devices and sensors that detect if people need help without them having to call for it.

More than 8,000 people currently use the City Wide Care Alarms service, which should complete its digital switchover by December this year.