A Bracknell Forest service that provides emergency help to some of the most vulnerable people in the region is celebrating after scooping an excellence award.
Forestcare, Bracknell Forest Council’s emergency response service which monitors Lifeline alarms in the community and in sheltered housing and provides out-of-hours assistance to a number of local authorities, has recently been awarded an accreditation by the Telecare Services Association (TSA).
Forestcare is the first service to be recognised by the national TSA body in the county – the accreditation recognises excellence in the telecare industry.
Forestcare is responsible for:
* installing and monitoring Lifeline alarms for individuals and organisations in the Berkshire area;
* monitoring alarms in sheltered and supported accommodation and acting as keyholder to provide a mobile response when the scheme manager is unavailable or has gone home for the evening;
* renting sensors and other assistive technology equipment, such as monitored smoke and carbon dioxide alarms linked to Lifelines;
* monitoring lone workers, like social workers, so they are safe to work in the community by themselves;
* dealing with emergency calls to Bracknell Forest Council (and other local councils) when main council offices are shut.
Claire Bennett, Forestcare manager, said: “This accreditation is a real testament to how hard our staff work in Forestcare to provide an excellent service to all clients. Not only is our service recognised as excellent by the leading industry body but it’s also the first in the county to gain this recognition.
"I’m pleased the TSA has recognised our hard work and we will continue to look at ways to improve our service to make it even better."
Bracknell Forest Council