Equip Yourself for Independent Living

Even if you are used to living independently at home, you still might need to know that you can call on help in a crisis.

There is technology available right now that makes it easy for you to call for help - day or night - if you have a fall, are taken ill or you are frightened by an unwelcome visitor. We even have equipment that can automatically alert our control centre if the bath or sink overflows, or if there is smoke in the house. This sort of equipment - and the emergency response service backing it up - can give you, your friends and family real peace of mind that someone will step in if you have a problem.

We also have a system called Just Checking, which is usually used for a short time to find out how safe somebody is in their own home and work out how much support they need. Just Checking is a set of movement detectors that are installed temporarily in someone's home - with their permission of course. Information about the person's routine is then analysed by computer and shows, for example, whether they are getting up and moving about the house at odd times in the night, or perhaps leaving a front or back door open.

In many cases, Just Checking can reassure people that they are more able to live independently than they, their relatives or other people thought.