Council’s Financial Cuts
Previously, Hampshire County Council was known to be offering free careline and alarm services to qualifiable individuals in the elderly community. However, it has been reported today that the Hampshire County Council is cutting the numbers who will receive this. Now, the free service will only be provided to those in the greatest need after undergoing an assessment. Hampshire County Council’s choice to remove this service comes from their cutback schemes to save £4 million… Attracting criticisms from both residents, loved ones and campaigners.
Unfortunately, this situation is not new in Hampshire. And, further budget cuts are a growing trend; not just in Hampshire but to Councils and Authorities across the country. Only last week, Hampshire County Council said their target was to save £43m by 2021. Conservative council leader Keith Mans said 10 years of cuts had made future savings “more difficult”. So, their saving targets will be at a definite challenge to the department.
Sadly, facing these cuts can also bring insecurity and fear.
On top of making it harder to qualify for the service, other Councils and Authorities are increasing their prices or withdrawing the service completely. It’s believed the problem comes from operating in a small geographical area. Each council is left to budget between meeting the needs of all demographics, and without the right funding, some can easily be left worse off than others.
The Personal Alarm Services
Personal alarm services can have significant costs. When operating a 24-hour service, with highly and suitably trained employees, not forgetting the equipment, soon produces a large monthly sum… Especially in Hampshire’s case. There is a huge struggle to make a profit or break even in these cases which is why many council bodies across the UK can’t provide or continue the caring service.
This is where the differences between Authorities and private companies can begin to appear. Hampshire County Council has demonstrated the impact on the public of council cuts – reducing access to these personal alarm services.
Unlike location-based councils and authorities, operators such as Lifeline24 are not geographically restricted. And do not have other matters to share their attention with. Private companies operating in the UK can provide services across the country, to clients all over the UK. Furthermore, this allows a private company like Lifeline24 to provide a much more efficient accredited service than an authority can. With a larger client base, there is no financial insecurity. Personal alarm prices can remain permanently low with the highest quality service.
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