CARELINK

IN response to Councillor Elizabeth Wood's letter regarding the Carelink service (HAS, Page 11, Aug 8), the Liberal Democrats' motion was fully debated by Sedgefield borough councillors at their council meeting on Friday, July 27.

A full and balanced report appeared in The Northern Echo on July 30 and I would suggest that Coun Wood reads this.

While the Government has changed the way in which the community alarm service is funded, Coun Wood is wrong to say the service has been downgraded.

Carelink's performance speaks for itself: 98 per cent customer satisfaction; 100 per cent of incidents responded to within the 60-minute target time and 90 per cent within 20 minutes; 98.5 per cent of all calls responded to within 60 seconds.

Carelink monitoring and response is only one of a suite of services focused on the elderly and the vulnerable with the greatest need.

Everyone who receives the service is being visited and assessed so that, together with colleagues in housing, health and social care, we can deliver the very best services for them. - Councillor Kath Conroy, portfolio holder for community health, Sedgefield Borough Council.