Meet the team
It’s been a busy year for us, and we’ve had a few changes across the team. Here’s a quick update on who’s who!
Older Persons Services Manager
Toni Sagnia stepped up to the team manager’s role when Penny left and we are now pleased to say that this has been made permanent.
Toni manages both the Lifeline and sheltered housing services.
Older Persons Support Officers (OPSOs)
Our OPSOs are based in our sheltered housing schemes but also carry out service visits for Lifeline. Your annual visit is likely to be carried out be them.
Pictured below (left to right) are (standing)
Yoan Appasamy, Tracy Smith, Toni Sagnia and Angela Gamman and seated are Jennifer Glen, Sarah Bourne and Lindsey Hide.
Also in the team, but not in the picture, is Linda Hewitt.
Lifeline managers
Rachel Savage has been joined by Max Hassam as Lifeline Manager, you may have met them when you had your Lifeline installed or if you’ve had a problem with it.
Lifeline Administrator
Vicky Simon continues to support the team with phone calls, appointments and a cheery smile.
Lifeline charges from April 2026
The charge for Lifeline from April will be £5.39* per week. There is a seven per cent increase on last year’s charges for a Lifeline and other telecare. We considered this carefully and feel this still offers great value for money, but we need to cover our costs. The rental charge includes a responsive repair and replacement service of our equipment, an annual service visit from the Lifeline team and access to an operator 24 hours a day at the Alarm Receiving Centre.
The rental cost for smoke detectors linked to the Lifeline is now £0.88*, the extra charge for additional pendants is now £1.21*, fall detectors are now £2.40*.
*All prices are per week and plus VAT if applicable.
VAT relief
If you’re disabled or have a long-term illness it may be possible to claim VAT relief. Find out more on gov.uk/financial-help-disabled/vat-relief
Digital switch
At the end of 2025, we had 802 customers and 95 per cent of these had a digital Lifeline.
We are working to make sure the remaining five per cent have an updated, working system in place before the Public Switched Telephone Network is switched off by January 2027.
You can find out more about this switch at: gov.uk/guidance/moving-landlines-to-digital-technologies
A key benefit of a digital Lifeline is that you can choose where the unit goes, and we’ll check the signal strength and suggest a better location if needed.
Tell your friends about us
Word of mouth from our users is the best recommendation we can get so please tell your friends, family and any one you know about us.
Angela, one of our new customers, told us:
“My experience with Crawley Lifeline was excellent.
“Rachel was most helpful, setting up the equipment, testing the pendant in every room (and the garden) and explaining everything clearly.
“It’s very reassuring to know that help is always at hand, and I especially like the fact that the pendant can be worn in the shower as it is waterproof.”
John said this about our service:
“The service is second to none. I have needed to use it a couple of times personally and several times when my wife has had a fall and on each occasion, they have helped me immensely.
“Fair enough, you could call for help yourself, but they take that strain away from you and really seem to care about the outcome. They ring back after the event to ensure that the emergency services have been to help you.
“I cannot thank them enough for their help.”
Test your pendant –keep it working
Please test your pendant every month to make sure it works when you need it. Regular use keeps the battery healthy and ensures everything is working properly.
Press the button on your pendant or wristband and when the operator answers, just say you’re testing it.
The monitoring centre are happy to hear from you. Your monthly test helps them spot early signs that your pendant might need replacing. If it does, they’ll let us know and we will arrange a free replacement
The new units will remind you every 30 days. You’ll hear a message and the info button on the base unit will turn blue.
A great service
Lifeline underwent an internal audit in the last few months and the results are in.
We weren’t perfect but the team is clear on the gaps that were found and is taking action to address them.
We are spreading service visits equally over the year so you might find your month changes. This means we will deal with all outstanding visits. Please make sure you keep any appointment. The OPSOs will complete extra visits every month until they are cleared.
Contract monitoring is now being consistently recorded and we are investigating better logging of faults and completion times.
Staff have also been reminded to use the team email inbox rather than personal emails to ensure record keeping is consistent.
With these in place we can be assured that our performance reports will provide a clear picture of the service.
In simple terms
An internal audit independently looks at how well our main checks and processes manage risks and support our aims and it also offers advice on how we can improve.
Scammers, fraudsters, conmen
If you receive an unexpected letter, phone call, email or visit, be cautious, it could be a scam!
Scam attempts typically start with someone making contact ‘out of the blue’.
The fraudsters can be extremely convincing. Their aim is to catch you ‘off guard’, to win your trust, and to take your money.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So, if your instincts tell you that a fraudster might be targeting you, don’t disclose any information or take any action until you have spoken to a trusted friend or relative.
You can also ask for advice from the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06
Also, bookmark crawley.gov.uk/verify to see our current and upcoming communication plans.
Doorstep callers
If someone you don’t know offers to do work at your property, sell you goods or buy items from you, just say ‘no thanks’, shut the door if you have opened it and ask them to leave.
If you are uncomfortable about a doorstep caller, you can press your Lifeline button for reassurance.
All Lifeline staff have photo identification, please ask to see it if they call on you. If you are unsure press your button to check.
If you are a council tenant our repairs team will always have identification to show who they are and if you are not sure you can ring the Repairs team to check before letting them in.
Reporting fraud or scams
If you, or someone you know, is vulnerable and has been a victim of fraud contact Sussex Police on 101.
To report fraud or attempted fraud visit the Action Fraud website reportfraud.police.uk or call them on 0300 123 2040
For consumer advice, or to report a concern to Trading Standards, contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.
Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Lines are closed on bank holidays.
Keeping safe
Have you had a safe and well visit?
A safe and well visit is a free service carried out by West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service. It involves a pre-arranged visit to your home when they’ll come and have a look around with you and offer advice on how you could make it safer and if necessary fit smoke alarms and talk to you about a linked smoke detector.
Visits are tailored to you and normally last between 30 to 45 minutes. The fire service personnel who visit always carry identification.
Find out more at westsussex.gov.uk/safeandwell You can ask for a visit by emailing safeandwell@westsussex.gov.uk or calling 0345 8729 719 or ask us to refer you.
Linked smoke alarms
There is no doubt that smoke alarms save lives and having them linked to your Lifeline unit means they can raise the alarm if you can’t. An automatic call to the monitoring centre will happen, if they go off.
The centre will call you through the Lifeline to make sure it’s not a false alarm or you’ve only burnt the toast, before calling the emergency services.
There is a small weekly charge as we need to cover our costs to provide them and this will be charged by invoice with your Lifeline rental charge.
Other telecare
We also have a range of other monitoring devices, including fall detectors, if you want to know more about these, you will find our contact details on the back page.
Puzzle time
Puzzle time
Find the words in the puzzle. Words can go in any direction. Words can share letters as they cross over each other.
TONI YOAN SAFE WELL OLDER VISIT TRACY SARAH LINDA ANGELA PERSONS MANAGER SUPPORT LIFELINE HOUSING LINDSEY SERVICES OFFICERS JENNIFER SHELTERED
Contact us
Always use your button in an emergency whatever time of day it is.
Only use the details below for non-emergency contacts. Call the team on 01293 438468 during office hours (8.30am to 4.30pm) or outside office hours contact our colleagues at Mole Valley Life on 0300 123 7718.
Email: lifeline@crawley.gov.uk
Website: crawley.gov.uk/lifeline
easywordsearchmaker.com - for personal use only
Address: Town Hall, The Boulevard, Crawley RH10 1UZ easywordsearchmaker.com - for personal use only
Lifeline will respond to calls about lost pendants and faults by the next working day.
SPRING 2026 • ISSUE 17
Printed and published by Crawley Borough Council
