Nottingham’s Telecare Service Future-Proofed with Rapid Digital Upgrade
Nottingham on Call (NoC), the alarm response service run by Nottingham City Council Housing Services, has taken a major step forward in safeguarding its vulnerable residents. Through a swift and effective partnership with Careium, NoC has accelerated its digital evolution to ensure its lifeline service remains uninterrupted, no matter what.
NoC provides a critical safety net for thousands of older and disabled people across Nottingham and the wider area, supporting residents in sheltered housing and private homes alike. At the heart of this service is the team in its monitoring centre, who respond to emergency calls 24/7.
“Getting ahead of the curve means we’re not just complying with a deadline, we’re creating a smarter, more resilient service for the long term. It’s been a true partnership, and it puts us in a fantastic position to keep improving how we look after our residents..”
Dave Miles, Nottingham on Call Development Manager
To future-proof this vital hub against potential disruptions, from power outages to unforeseen events, NoC began an upgrade to implement BT SmartNumbers. This intelligent system guarantees that emergency calls can always be routed to an operator, even if the primary centre faces an issue. However, the team identified a pressing challenge: many residents still relied on older, analogue alarm units that could not communicate reliably over modern digital networks.
Dave Miles, Nottingham on Call Development Manager explained: “SmartNumbers protect our call centre, but we also had to ensure that when a resident presses their pendant, the call comes through loud and clear, with all the crucial information our team needs to respond.”
Facing a tight deadline to complete the upgrade, NoC turned to Careium to supply 700 state-of-the-art digital Eliza S alarm units at pace. The partnership mobilised rapidly, with Careium arranging delivery within just seven days, allowing NoC to immediately begin transitioning over 1,100 analogue users to reliable digital technology.
“This wasn’t just about supplying equipment; it was about supporting a shared mission to protect Nottingham’s most vulnerable.We worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the NoC team to navigate logistics, timelines and budgets efficiently, especially important for a council committed to both careful management of public funds and service quality” explains Wayne O’Donnell, Careium’s Head of Product Sales.
Thanks to this proactive collaboration, NoC is now on track to become a fully digital service by February 2026, almost a full year ahead of the national deadline. This achievement not only future-proofs the service against the UK’s digital phone network switchover but also provides a firm foundation for the next phase of telecare innovation.
NoC can now look ahead to further modernising its monitoring centre platform in 2026 and exploring new ways to support residents through Careium products such as the GPS-enabled Amy watch to help residents even when they are out and about.
