Invicta Telecare asks - what did you do at work today?

Published by Barbara H for Invicta Telecare in Housing and also in Communities, Education, Environment, Health, Local Government

A man threatening suicide and armed with a knife was distracted long enough for paramedics to reach him thanks to the quick thinking and calm approach of Becky Surgison, a Telecare operator at Invicta Telecare.

Responding to an alarm call triggered by the man pressing the button on his Telecare pendant, Becky quickly suspected he had taken a potentially fatal overdose and established he had razor blades and a knife in his hands which he was threatening to use.  Unfazed, she took control of the situation immediately calling the paramedics then continued to chat to him and successfully sidetracked him until the ambulance arrived at the scene.

Becky said: “Everyone is trained to deal with emergencies and help people who find themselves in distressing situations, but it doesn’t make it any easier when you are faced with a traumatic call like this when you know your actions can literally mean life or death.”

Wendy Turner, Head of Invicta Telecare, said: “The role of our Telecare operators is often underestimated.  Every day our staff demonstrate they are true professionals and although this call was particularly difficult it is not unusual for us to handle multiple emergency situations 24/7.”

In the past six months Invicta Telecare’s busy monitoring centre has handled 603,090 calls and over 98.5% of these calls were answered within a staggering 60 seconds. 

Part of Circle Anglia – one of the UK’s leading providers of affordable housing - Invicta Telecare provides a comprehensive range of Telecare services to over 94,000 homes enabling vulnerable people, both young and old, to live safely, happily and independently in their own home.