FAQs

All the information on the products and services we offer, including the costs are here on our support packages page.

Nottingham on Call currently sets up payment plans via Direct Debit which are collected on (or first Monday after) the 1st of the month. There are some occasions where customers are not able to set up Direct Debit payments from their bank accounts. On these occasions it is possible for customers to make payments via a "bar coded letter". This can be taken to a bank or post office and an amount paid off the account.

There is a £30 one off installation charge for the Nottingham on Call service. This covers the alarm installation, set up and testing. This £30 installation charge is collected on the first Direct Debit payment.

All care alarm, pendant and other equipment remains the property of Nottingham on Call. You are in effect leasing the equipment via your monthly charges. As soon as the equipment is no longer needed you must contact Nottingham on Call to be able have the equipment returned. Where equipment is not returned a charge will be levied to cover the replacement costs of the equipment.

If you find that you are getting into difficulties with paying your charges, or have a short term cash flow problem please get in touch with our Admin Team on 0115 946 9101 Option 3 and they will be able to talk through options. If you are not able to afford the level of charges it might be possible to reduce your package size to reduce costs. If no payments are made / Direct Debit mandate cancelled then arrears will start to build up.

We will get in touch with you to advise that payments have not been received and debt is building.

Ultimately your service is at risk with payments not being made and debt building so it is always best to speak to us in the first instance. 

If you are being referred to us by a healthcare professional. The service advisors will need information about the person being referred for the service - about them, about where they live, about their medical circumstances, and who will act as a responder. The service advisor will suggest a package of equipment which meets your needs and then advise on what this would cost and what is needed for installation. 

Usually we are able to arrange an installation of equipment between 10 to 15 working days following a referral being made. Often we can install sooner, but cannot guarantee this. 

Having next of kin / responders set up for a customer allows for better support for the customer when help is required but is not essential. The exception is where a customer has bed / chair / door sensors as part of their equipment package where next of kin / responders are essential. 

The installer will introduce themselves and show their ID badge. They will explain what is needed to be done for the installation. This includes installing the equipment, testing the equipment, and showing how it works.   They will also go through the installation paperwork. This is an installation checklist, getting the Direct Debit, VAT Exemption forms completed and the service agreement signed. 

We will install a keysafe somewhere discreet but accessible, as agreed with the customer.  For example, round the back of the house, behind bins, by drainpipes, etc. If not a homeowner landlord permission must be sought prior to installation. 

Previously yes a landline was needed for a care alarm to work.  The care alarm was plugged into the landline, and your telephone handset into the back of the care alarm so both would work. Now all care alarms operate with SIM cards sending alerts via mobile networks so landlines are no longer used. This means that the care alarm can be plugged into a power socket where you are most likely to need it, rather than being plugged where the landline socket was. 

We will never contact you out the blue and ask for personal details. If you receive a call and they say they calling from Nottingham On Call. Hang up and give us a call on 0115 746 9777,

We recommend that you wear your pendant at all times. You never know when you may need it.

All new care alarms connect easily to the mobile phone network. The setup is very easy and won't take long to get you up and running

Raising an alert is easy, just press the emergency call button that is located on your wearable device. This will connect you to our local repsonse centre. 

Yes. Your care alarm has a back up battery installed so that if there is a power cut it will remain working.  The battery will last for up to 40 hours which should be plenty of time for power to be resumed in the event of a power cut. All the sensors linked to the care alarm, including your pendant, are battery operated so will work in the event of no power. 

Yes.  The lanyard to wear your pendant around your neck has a strangle proof connection which means it will snap if stretched, and therefore is safe to wear in bed.  If you are uncertain about wearing it in bed, ensure you place it so it can easily be reached from the bed if needed, and ensure put on when getting out of bed e.g. in the morning or in the night if you go to the loo. Your pendant is waterproof and can be worn safely in the shower or bath.  

This is not an issue and will not affect you using your Careline alarm. Whilst the alarm unit is very loud and the is microphone very sensitive, we understand that there are occasions when our customers will be too far away from the alarm to hear it.

In this case, our Care Team will quickly realise that you are not close to the alarm unit and take action. We will firstly call your landline to check whether you are nearer a telephone. The next step will be contacting your nominated contacts or calling the emergency services.

All telephone landlines are being switched off by January 2027. Communications providers e.g. BT / Virgin will be contacting customers directly to arrange to switch off your landline before 2027 and install a digital hub instead - you will be able to make telephone calls as normal with your telephone plugged into your digital hub, unless when there is a power cut.  

When you are contacted by your communication provider to say they are switching off your landline, get in touch with Nottingham on Call and we will advise you on next steps to keep your alarm working.  The best thing to do at this stage is to have a digital alarm installed at a small additional £1.50 weekly charge. 

If you concerned about your care alarm and other equipment not working, being faulty, or even concerned about any lights flashing on your care alarm then please get in touch straight away.  You can press your pendant to be able to speak to a call handler,  or telephone 0115 7469777.

If you are not able to locate your pendant then contact Nottingham on Call to let us know.  In some circumstances we are able to provide a replacement at no charge. However, it may be that a replacement pendant charge is levied which is £50. 

Your pendant is connected to your care alarm via radio signal.  This means that if your are in a different room to your care alarm and need to press your pendant, it will connect to the care alarm and raise at alert at the Nottingham on Call response centre.  

When your alarm is installed the installer will carry out a pendant range test to ensure the pendant will connect to your alarm in every room of your house.  There is a pendant range of up to 300 metres - so depending on the size of your garden it should also connect when you are outside.  

However, remember the further you are away from the care alarm it is less likely we will be able to communicate with you through the alarm.   

Nottingham on call provides a service to people living in the City of Nottingham, plus the local authority areas of Gedling, Broxtowe, Ashfield District Councils and parts of Rushcliffe Borough Council nearer the City.

We do not provide a service to people living in the Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, and Bassetlaw local authority areas. To see a map of the areas we cover, click here. 

When you press your pendant or one of your sensors triggers, it will raise an alert in our call centre which will bring up your details.

One of our call handlers will try and communicate with you through your alarm so see if you are OK and what the nature of your call is. If you are able to confirm you are OK and don't need help we will close the call and make a note on your record.  

If you do need some help we will either contact your next of kin / responders to come to your home to help, or we will escalate your call to the emergency services - ambulance, fire or police - as appropriate.

Nottingham on Call does not operate a falls lifting service.  If you have fallen and are injured we will dial 999 and request an ambulance, giving your medical details and circumstances so they can prioritise the call.

We will then inform your next of kin.  If you are uninjured then we will attempt to contact your next of kin / responders to come to assist you.  

If they are not able to / we can't contact them then we will dial 999 and request an ambulance. However this will be treated as a low priority call by them so could take many hours to attend. We will however stay in contact with you until help arrives. 

We will always try and communicate with you through the loudspeaker / microphone in your care alarm. However if you are not near your alarm and can't hear us or we aren’t able to communicate with you, we will send one of our team to your home to see what help might be needed.

We call this a No Response call out.  We will enter your property via the keysafe and assess what your needs are.  Any help needed can be raised once we know the situation.