The acquisition includes the contracts of 435 private clients. The Helpline service has been providing Technology Enabled Care services to clients in Tewkesbury and the wider Gloucestershire area for over 25 years. As part of the arrangement Careium has acquired the assets of Helpline and will be continuing to support the housing business as they develop and deliver services to their older people.
Carl-Johan Zetterberg Boudrie, President and CEO of Careium commented. “We have worked with Bromford for many years, providing alarm receiving services to their clients. We are delighted to expand this relationship by taking on their Helpline service whilst continuing to provide services to customers in their housing accommodation. As the UK’s analogue to digital shift is proving increasingly challenging for housing and technology enabled care suppliers and we are keen to provide ongoing support to those facing increasing investment and complex transition arrangements. We are delighted to welcome Helpline customers into Careium and look forward to exploring new ways of making a real difference to people in the local communities.”.
The UK is the largest telecare market in Europe with an estimated 2 million telecare connections. Most of these are analogue but with a digital shift on the way. As the market matures the UK is likely to see significant changes in the way such services are delivered.
Helen Shields, Bromford’s Head of Retirement Living & Centralised Support, added: “As we were already working with Careium to provide the response service for these customers, we decided that they were best company to take on the Helpline service. Importantly for us, not only will customers see no interruption to their service, but Careium is committed to investing in upgrading their existing equipment.”