Revised eligibility criteria

Following a review of our community alarm service the East Ayrshire Integrated Joint Board has approved revised criteria for the provision of technology enabled care in East Ayrshire.

Community alarms have been a core response to the needs of older people and people with disabilities in East Ayrshire since the 1980s. The model of provision and response has evolved over the years, particularly over the last few years with the digitisation of the UK telephone network – all community alarms in East Ayrshire are now fully digital and no longer require to be connected to a physical telephone line in people’s homes.

To ensure we are providing the best value service, new criteria for the provision of alarms is being introduced with immediate effect and all new referrals for an alarm will be subject to an assessment against these criteria. The criteria are broadly in line with the majority of local authorities across Scotland and is only for new referrals and will not affect existing service users.

The revised criteria are intended to support proportionate and effective provision, which maximises independence and targets East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s resources where these are needed most. It aligns with the focus on signposting towards increasingly available commercial products and solutions, such as Amazon Alexa and smart watch technology.

Visit East Ayrshire Council’s website for more information and details of the criteria