Bill's story

Bill is 85 and lives on his own in an independent living community for older people in the Clifton area of Nottingham.

Despite having had a stroke and managing other health issues including diabetes and high blood pressure, Bill is still very active - regularly getting out and about attending community group sessions in his local area.

Bill was widowed from his wife Mavis in 2024. Mavis had dementia and before moving into a care home, Bill was the sole carer for his wife.

To support them, Bill and Mavis had the Nottingham on Call service, something Bill continues to have today, providing him with peace of mind that help is available just by pressing his care alarm button that he wears around his wrist. As well as his care alarm, Bill also has a key safe and a falls detector.

And it was when Bill was caring for his wife, that Nottingham on Call came to his aid, as Bill explains:

"It was about 10pm on a Sunday night in March 2022. I was giving my wife her night time medication. Due to her dementia, Mavis could sometimes get quite physical with me and, on this occasion, hit me and I fell to the floor.

"Having broken my hip in the past, I immediately knew that I'd broken my other hip as a result of the fall.

"I was on the floor in the kitchen and pressed the button on my wrist pendant. The folks at Nottingham on Call immediately came through on the care alarm and I was able to tell them what had happened and that I needed help.

"Nottingham on Call called an ambulance for me - although was told that the wait time was going to be anywhere from between three to six hours.

"Knowing that I had my wife with me who needed support and my dog, the call centre staff kept checking in on me to see how I was.

"And, as an example of how caring they were, one of the staff members, who was coming off shift, said she'd come over to see me on her way home.

"Within half an hour she arrived and was able to let herself in using the Nottingham on Call key safe that I also have fitted next to my front door.

"She did all she could to keep both my wife and I comfortable until the paramedic came.

"I spent more than three months in hospital and my wife moved into residential care where she stayed until she passed away in April 2024.

"I'm forever grateful for the kindness and compassion the Nottingham on Call staff provided to me and my wife when we needed it the most and can't thank enough the lady who came out to us after her shift finished.

"Nottingham on Call went above and beyond for us and I can't recommend them enough for anybody who might just need that help when you least expect it."