Changes to the way alarm systems work via landlines
Do you have a community alarm and/or telecare service installed in your home, or do you have friends, neighbours or family members who do?
North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (NAHSCP) is appealing to all of its community alarm and telecare users to ensure they are aware that the way this equipment connects will be changing.
Current community alarm and telecare equipment connects by using a traditional analogue telephone line (where it is plugged into a telephone socket in the wall of your home).
However, analogue lines are currently being phased out across the UK and will be switched off by the end of 2025.
This means that new digital equipment will need to be installed in order to continue your service once this happens. All community alarm and telecare service users will receive their new equipment before the analogue lines are switched off.
To prepare for this change, communication providers (such as Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, Sky etc) will be gradually switching telephone lines from analogue to digital, with some providers having already started this process.
If a new phone or internet service is installed in your home, or if you change your package, it is likely that your provider will install a digital line rather than an analogue one.
This is a problem right now as the digital alarm equipment is not yet available for NAHSCP to purchase and install, and your current community alarm will not work with a digital line.
Even where you are not looking to change your line, you may still receive a letter from your telephone or internet provider advising you that your line is being changed to a digital one.
If you are thinking about changing your provider or telephone/internet package, or if your current provider contacts you to advise that they will need to install a digital line in your home, please inform them that you have community alarm and/or telecare equipment in your home and contact NAHSCP on the number below so that they can advise on what to do next.
If a family member or friend speaks to you about changing your telephone package on your behalf, please ask them to speak to NAHSCP first before signing up to any changes.
North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership will provide regular updates on what is happening and keep you informed on when you are likely to receive your new digital alarm equipment. Councillor Margaret Johnson, cabinet member for health and social care at North Ayrshire Council, added: “As the national phasing out of analogue phone lines is already under way, we want to inform all users of our telecare and community alarm services how this could affect their equipment if they were to switch to a digital line before we are able to install their new digital devices.
“While we have written to all of our service users to provide them with this information, we are aware that family members, friends and neighbours are often involved in the decision-making process when switching providers for household services, so it’s important that we are able to share this message with the general public to raise awareness.”
If you require further information, if you need to let NAHSCP know that your phone/internet package might be changing, or if you have any concerns that your community alarm/telecare equipment is not working, please call 01294 310222 and ask to speak to the community alarm care at home manager.