Warning of 'dire situation' over care service closure

There have been warnings that vulnerable and elderly people in a remote area of Derbyshire will be left in a "dire situation" after a council announced it would be closing a 24-hour telecare alarm service.

Carelink users in the High Peak - who pay about £10 per week for the service - can summon help for emergencies at the press of a button and be met with trained staff within the hour.

Almost 3,000 calls were made to the service last year, many of which were for falls in people's homes.

However, Labour-led High Peak Borough Council says it can no longer safely staff the discretionary service.

The authority says it has eight staff, but needs 20 to run a safe service.

Local clinicians have warned the council that vulnerable people across the region will be left in a "dire situation" without Carelink, which makes use of specialist inflatable equipment to assist people who have fallen on the floor.

Council data shows between April 2025 and March 2026, Carelink attended 2,839 emergency calls, with 96% responded to within 45 minutes.

During the same period, 885 falls involving elderly and vulnerable people were reported, with 92% responded to within 45 minutes.

The council has not been able to offer a like-for-like service that includes trained staff physically attending to people in their homes.

Chesterfield Borough Council is also closing a similar service, Careline, this August, for financial reasons following a public consultation.

The services became available via the borough councils after Derbyshire County Council withdrew its support for 24/7 falls provision from around 2019.

However, High Peak Borough Council did not carry out a public consultation before announcing the end of Carelink and no meetings to date have taken place at council level whereby the public can attend.

The BBC witnessed doctors turned away from a meeting after Labour councillors voted to have it take place in private.

Karen Dodd, from Buxton, has cerebal paulsy which can hamper balance and coordination.

The 59-year-old started using the service six years ago when she lost her husband and has used it several times over the years after suffering falls in her home.

"I feel very secure with Carelink", she said. "They are here within 20 minutes and just get me up off the floor. I think it would be a waste to call an ambulance.

"People who rely on Carelink have mainly no family around them. My nearest family is Ashton-under-Lyne."

Families with elderly parents also fear the impact of the service's closure.

Christine Campbell's 90-year-old father Ron Ashworth, who lives in Chapel-en-le-Frith, has a severe heart condition.

She says he is "worried sick" about losing the service after seeing how well it supported his late wife Beryl in her later years.

"You can ring for an ambulance [but] that ambulance very often will say we'll be with you within eight to ten hours," she said.

"The thought of my dad or another vulnerable person on their own in pain waiting is unbearable... for me, it's a complete dereliction of duty in care."

Dave Mellor's 83-year-old father, Nigel also from Chapel-en-le-Frith had a stroke several years ago that affected his balance, as well as persistent pneumonia which also impacts coordination.

Nigel has had three falls within the past few weeks alone.

"They come out and within 20 minutes they've got him back up again," he said.

"I'm reasonably strong but I cannot get him up because he's a dead weight.

"If [Carelink] goes I honestly don't know what we're going to do."

Several GPs and other medical professionals in the area have expressed concerns to the council about the consequences of removing Carelink for local health services in a joint letter seen by the BBC.

Dr Sarah Parnecott, consultant lead at Blythe House Hospice, told the council she had only found out about the decision on Facebook.

"It is utterly appalling," she said. "Vulnerable people are going to be in a dire situation."

Dr Natalie Fielding, a partner at Thornbrook GP surgery, said the local ambulance service will not carry out 'safe and well' checks and the GP visiting service was already "stretched to capacity".

Fiona Sloman, cabinet member for housing at High Peak Borough Council, said the authority had tried to address the staffing problems it says are responsible for the closure "for many years".

"We have a massive safeguarding issue. And we don't want to find ourselves charged with a corporate manslaughter charge," she said.

"We just have no choice", she said, adding: "It's nothing to do with finances."

Asked why there has been no public consultation, she said she did not want to give people "false hope".

"If we ask people what they think, and they say, 'keep it open', and we don't have any choice, that's not fair to them."

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