"You have to be prepared for anything" - a day in the life of an emergency social care responder

From running out of milk to needing to be rescued from underneath fallen furniture, the work of teams in Leeds helping people retain independence in their own homes is never the same day twice.
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During the coronavirus crisis, the hidden heroes at Leeds City Council's adult social care department have been working every day behind the scenes and the headlines to help keep vulnerable adults safe - while at the same time easing pressure on the NHS.

This week, the Yorkshire Evening Post is shining a spotlight on our care workers and the different roles they play in helping adults from 18 to 80 and beyond be safe at home.

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Martin Brandreth is a telecare installation response technician. The work of him and his team is to provide older people living at home with falls alarms, bracelets and pendants which help them to live in their own homes with the comfort of knowing that if they have an emergency, the Telecare team will be notified.

Communication equipment is vital for helping people to keep living at home.Communication equipment is vital for helping people to keep living at home.
Communication equipment is vital for helping people to keep living at home.

24 hours

In addition to installing and maintaining the kit, the team also respond, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, should someone have a fall or need help and with that brings the unknown.

He explains: "If you are covering response you don't know what you are going to get. You could have no response calls on one shift and the following day you could have ten. People don't know when they are going to fall or have an emergency.

"I have been to some strange ones where people have furniture on top of them and you wonder how they got there and there has been furniture everywhere. We try and get as much information as possible, but for some you are going in blind and have to be prepared for anything."

The work of the Telecare team in Leeds is vital in helping people return home after a stay in hospital.The work of the Telecare team in Leeds is vital in helping people return home after a stay in hospital.
The work of the Telecare team in Leeds is vital in helping people return home after a stay in hospital.
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They have specialist equipment to help lift people if they have fallen and it often negates the need for an ambulance unless treatment is needed - and then there are other types of calls.

Mr Brandreth said: "We get some people that ring two or three times a day and we just have a chat to them and ask how they are. We get some at 8am to say the carers have not been, but we know they are coming at 8.30am, and we get some to say they cannot find the TV remote or that they have not got enough milk so we get in touch with a family member."

New normal?

Despite social distancing guidelines at home and the workplace, some tasks don't stay outside the two metres so the telecare team have been kitted out with even more personal protective equipment than they were using before - and Mr Brandreth thinks this will become the "new normal".

Prior to the outbreak of coronavirus, staff had aprons, gloves and hand sanitiser when working in people's homes as standard but it has now been increased to overalls, face-masks and visors.

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He said: "Initially I did think what will people think when we turn up in full PPE. Now you see people in the street wearing face-masks. This is becoming the new normal I feel. Personally, I feel wary of any contact even when I am not work. But within my job, I am here to provide a service. We need to look after these people and get them home as soon as possible."

The people the telecare team provides a service for could be young adults with epilepsy, old age pensioners or people with physical and sensory disabilities. He says there has been a 30 per cent increase in calls that are for people returning home from hospital - some of whom have had coronavirus. But regardless, the way the team do the installation of equipment has changed.

New ways of working

If someone is leaving hospital it might be that the install is done the day before and a family member is shown how to use the kit from the other side of the room so they can relay the instructions, or, in some cases kit is dropped off at the door with instructions and telecare staff wait in the van while a test is done to make sure it works.

Mr Brandreth added: "Because of the equipment we use is online, some we can pre-programme in the office before we take it to the property. We give the instructions on the door step in a step by step guide and do test calls to make sure there are no issues.

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"One of the biggest hurdles has been residential care homes. We normally cover these but they have been completely closed off and we can't go in. Any issues regarding faults with equipment we are having to leave at the door of the building and email staff guides in basic maintenance.

"We are constantly trying to find new ways of providing the service."