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Phone helpline worries
SECRET plans to farm calls out from distressed pensioners to a call centre and cut jobs from a key frontline service have been exposed.
In an interview with the New Journal, a worker for Careline – who wants to remain anonymous to protect his job – exposed the plans.
Careline, which is based in an estate in Gospel Oak, is a phone helpline service for 4,000 pensioners, disabled, mental health patients.
By pressing a small pendant buzzer worn around their necks, users can alert the centre who then call them through an amplified system set up in their homes.
The worker said: “We enable people to live on their own and keep their independence. They don’t just ring us when they’re in trouble, some call us at 3am in the morning just to chat.
“A lot of them know us by name and just like the reassurance that we’re there. It will be very hard for them to accept change.”
Four job cuts from a 16-strong team are also planned by the housing department at the Town Hall.
A council press official admitted the cuts were to save money. He said: “It is very expensive to run the out-of-hours service, needing full time staff available at all times to handle emergency calls even when demand is very low.
“Overall the current proposals would see four posts removed, however we are still in discussion with staff and residents about the changes.”
Staff were warned off telling customers about the changes. The worker described it as a “gagging order,” but admitted they had been informing people on the quiet.
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