Contact the council leader

Gordon Keymer, CBE, Leader of the Council

As a district council, we provide many different services, but one very important and vital one is the community alarm.

The community alarm service enables older, disabled or vulnerable people to live independently at home. It offers reassurance to family and friends that help is available at any time.

If the person needs help, all they have to do is press a button which can be on a pendant or phone and the call goes straight to an emergency call centre.

Trained operators deal with all calls, offering reassurance and contacting family, neighbours or emergency services as necessary. The call centre is fully staffed and available to take calls day or night.

The service provides not only our vulnerable clients with peace of mind, but is also a support to family and friends, who may live some distance away from their loved ones.

Our staff work hard to provide an excellent service, so we were delighted with the results of a recent satisfaction survey we sent to our 850 Community Alarm clients. The results were very positive, but I have picked out some key ones below:

 99% would recommend the service to others.
 90% think the staff are polite and well presented.
 98% find the equipment easy to use.
 94% feel the service represents value for money.

In addition to the basic alarm and pendant, additional equipment is available to support clients in their own homes, including detectors, which can monitor people who have fallen, or are wandering, smoke alarms and other assistive technology.

We are working closely with health and social services to ensure our most vulnerable residents can benefit from the advances in new alarm technology.

This valuable service only costs £3.50 per week for the basic equipment (there is an additional charge for sensors). In some circumstances the alarm and sensors can be provided for up to 12 weeks on a free trial.

If you know someone who could benefit from this service please call 01883 716636, or e-mail communityalarms@tandridge.gov.uk for more details.

Contacting me
Don't forget, I am keen to hear of any difficulties you are having with the services supplied by Tandridge District Council or any comments you want to make about those services. I can be contacted:

• By phone on: 01883 732747(24 hour answerphone)
• In writing to: Council Offices, Station Road East, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0BT
• By e-mail: Gordon Keymer