Almost £3m to replace Kirklees emergency alarm system

Kirklees Council's cabinet will be asked to approve the first part of the spending on Tuesday

Almost £2.7m is to be spent to provide vulnerable people living in West Yorkshire with new digital alarms.

The devices allow around 7,000 people to call for help in an emergency.

Kirklees Council said the existing "carephones" have to be upgraded as the analogue network they use is due to be switched off.

The council said there had been a rise in demand for the service over the last three years, with a 15% increase in the number of calls.

The devices allow users to carry on living independently with the means of calling for help if they require urgent assistance.

The telecare packages are regularly provided to support patients as part of hospital discharge. It helps hospitals manage patient flow and reduces the risk of a re-admission because of a delayed response to a medical emergency.

'Reducing pressure'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, work on replacing the phones will start this month with an expected completion date of December 2023.

The Openreach network which currently supports the service is due to be shut down by the end of 2025.

Almost £1.4m will be spent on the phones, with a further cost of £1.3m for SIM cards over the next four years.

Councillor Mus Khan, the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said: "By investing in digital carephones we aim to ensure residents get access to the social care they require to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

"The investment will also help our emergency services colleagues by reducing pressure on blue light services and preventing avoidable hospital admissions."

Six new members of staff will be hired, which is included in the cost of making the changes.

The council's cabinet will be asked to approve the first part of the spending on Tuesday.