Check devices & alarms

Care homes and sheltered housing: the landline switch

In brief

  • Care homes and sheltered-housing schemes often have multiple devices that rely on the analogue phone line: warden-call units, personal alarms, fire communicators, lift phones, and door entry systems.
  • Each of these devices must be individually checked and, where necessary, upgraded before the building's line moves to digital voice.
  • Scheme managers and registered care providers have a regulatory duty to ensure resident safety during the migration. CQC and local-authority commissioners expect this to be documented.
  • Start with a written audit of every device, its supplier, and its compatibility status, then plan replacements in the order of safety risk.

Why care homes and sheltered housing need a dedicated plan

A private home usually has one or two devices connected to the phone line. A care home or sheltered-housing scheme often has ten or more: each resident's lifeline pendant base unit, a warden-call system serving the whole building, fire-alarm signalling to a monitoring centre, a lift emergency phone, door entry panels, and the staff landline. Every one of these has to work through the digital voice switch or a resident could be left without the ability to call for help.

The regulatory exposure is also higher than for a private home. Registered care providers are accountable to the Care Quality Commission (or equivalents in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) for resident safety, and commissioners expect documented risk assessments of the switch. Sheltered-housing landlords face similar obligations under housing and equality legislation.

Devices to audit

Walk the whole building and identify everything that is connected to a phone socket, a router phone port, or a dedicated alarm-signalling line. Typical list:

Audit template for managers

For each device, record:

The business device audit checklist gives a printable version you can adapt.

What to ask your telecare / warden-call supplier

What to ask your phone provider

Timing and responsibility

Every link in the chain has a different timeline:

The manager's job is to pull those timelines into a single plan and push back on any party that would migrate the line before the dependent devices are ready. Ofcom and DSIT have both made clear that providers should not migrate lines where a vulnerable user's safety equipment has not been confirmed compatible.

Common questions from care-home and sheltered-housing managers

Do CQC-registered providers have to document the landline switch?

Yes in practice. The Care Quality Commission expects registered providers to assess risks that could affect resident safety and to evidence the mitigations. Losing telecare signalling is a direct safety risk, so a written risk assessment covering the landline switch should sit in the home's records.

Who pays for replacement warden-call or lifeline units?

It varies. In some local authorities the telecare contract includes free replacement of incompatible base units. In others the housing provider pays, or the cost is split. Start the conversation with the commissioning local authority and the supplier at the same time.

Can we delay the switch for the whole building until every device is ready?

In practice yes, if you formally tell the phone provider that the premises is safety-critical and devices are not yet compatible. Providers are not supposed to force a migration that leaves vulnerable users without a working alarm. Get the pause in writing.

What about the lift emergency phone?

Covered separately in our lifts and emergency lines guide. In brief: get a GSM or SIP replacement fitted by the lift maintenance company before the building's phone line is migrated. Lifts must have working emergency communication at all times.