Key safes

[TeenDivided]

Will social services / home care support supply and fit key safes (even if we have to pay). DM having 4 visits daily, worried when I'm not here that Dad won't hear doorbell if I'm asleep.
We could do it, but another thing to organise ...

I can't imagine this is something social service will do for you. Contact the following organisation they will install them for you.

www.bluelamptrust.org.uk/bobby-scheme-landingpage/

@unicornsarereal72 That looks fab. Would be great for me in Hants but doesn't appear to cover Bucks. But I will search now I know such things exist. Plus it gives me an idea of a suitable product too.

Would a ring door bell help too. You could have it so that you get the alerts and could speak to visitors. It's also good to have so you can see who is accessing any key safe. You would need WiFi though

Worth asking social services or the home care team, my Dad had one fitted by the hospice team in bucks, I think it was a piece of equipment like hospital bed, frame etc. Lots of people will need them but aren't able to arrange/fit themselves. Worth an ask I would say.

Private care agency asked me to fit one of these for a relative as they didn’t always hear the bell. Truth was that he just didn’t want to let them in. Once the key safe was fitted, the cantankerous git used to hide the bloody key 🫣

fingers crossed you can get someone to fit it, my relative wasn’t local to us but I travelled up two or three times a week and dh came with me that time as he had the tools etc.

My parent has one. It was arranged through an integrated NHS home service who outsource to a local provider. We didn’t pay, I think it was treated like equipment.

Age UK will supply and fit them for a fee. Think it's about £35.

You can also get key safes which are padlocks, so if you had somewhere secure to padlock it to (metal gate maybe??) then you don't need to do any DIY. You can buy them from screwfix.

This reminds me that, annoying as it is, it is something to check when you visit that key remains in safe. Most of the time DP answers the door. But We had an issue recently when carer went to get key out but it was gone - I imagine another carer put it down in the house after using it to get in and forgot to replace.

DP was asleep and hard of hearing so didn’t hear doorbell, carer couldn’t get in and people with spare keys were being summoned when DP then appeared.

Council required us to fit it when mum had council carers but we ended up fixing it ourselves as there wasn't anyone who could.
Make sure you let the house insurers know one is being fitted - not usually a problem but they may have requirements for placement in order to keep valid insurance (ours had to be out of direct sight) so was fitted on the side wall between the meter boxes - my brother fitted it and it was pretty easy.
Also make sure you have spare keys, we found some carers didnt always return them to the box -leaving them on the side where mum promptly tidied them away to never be seen again - well until I emptied the house and found random stuff including a million keys all over the place tucked in drawers/ corners etc 🤔

This is all brilliant advice, and things I wouldn't have thought of. Keep it coming.

(Tbh 94yo Dad could probably fit it himself, but it would use up all his energy for the day, so I'd rather he saved it for other stuff).

@TeenDivided oops sorry about that thought they were national. Fingers crossed you can get it sorted. Age uk would be my port of call. For advice

Adult social care in my local authority arrange free keysafes when needed. Even for self funders. It may be different in your local authority though. And there may be a bit of a wait.

@TeenDivided

My Dad had one fitted by the company who supplied his red button, they also checked smoke alarms were the correct ones and changed them if not and supplied a carbon monoxide alarm.

You should be able to find out via your local council.

Local authority (in Scotland) did this as part of setting up the community alarm service (wearable pendant alarm in case of fall)

Depends on area. My dad had an adult social services assessment and they supplied and fitted the keysafe and various bits of equipment (chair raisers etc), and arranged a falls alarm. Most equipment was free, small one-off charge for the keysafe, discount on the monthly subscription for the alarm service.

Just check if you are getting a key safe that your insurer is ok with it. We tried to get one for my DM and it would have voided her insurance. Fortunately she soon moved to sheltered accom so crisis averted.

Ours was fitted by whoever the council got to set up my mum’s pendant alarm. We weren’t charged for it.

Same for my Mum. The council arranged it. She had to pay a fee for alarm but not the key safe.

Here there’s no charge for either although I have a feeling that may have changed now (mum’s is still free though). I think it changes a lot from one council to the next.