Deaf Action is a deaf-led charity that has been working for an equal and better future for deaf, deafened, deaf-blind and hard of hearing people since 1835. This vision remains at the heart of everything they do today and is central to all the services they provide.

For more information, please visit their website by following the link here.

East Lothian Community Alarm Telecare Service (ELCATS) is a landline, telephone-based system which you can use to summon help, call assistance, or give you reassurance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The main role of the Community Alarm Telecare Service is to obtain help for an older or disabled person when an emergency arises.

The user has a pendant button that is worn around the neck or on the wrist, which is connected to an alarm receiving centre, where there is always a call operator on duty to respond immediately. The service relies on a network of local contacts and, where possible, they require you to provide them with the names of at least two local key-holders, who can be called upon if required to check on you.

To help you and your key-holder further, the service is supported 24/7 by response staff from East Lothian Emergency Care Service (ECS). The call operator can call them out to assist you and/or your key-holder if required.

The pendant has a range of about 50 meters and will cover the area of the average house and garden.

There is a small charge for this service.

East Lothian Community Alarm Telecare Service (ELCATS) is a landline, telephone-based system which you can use to summon help, call assistance, or give you reassurance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The main role of the Community Alarm Telecare Service is to obtain help for an older or disabled person when an emergency arises.

The user has a pendant button that is worn around the neck or on the wrist, which is connected to an alarm receiving centre, where there is always a call operator on duty to respond immediately. The service relies on a network of local contacts and, where possible, they require you to provide them with the names of at least two local key-holders, who can be called upon if required to check on you.

To help you and your key-holder further, the service is supported 24/7 by response staff from East Lothian Emergency Care Service (ECS). The call operator can call them out to assist you and/or your key-holder if required.

The pendant has a range of about 50 meters and will cover the area of the average house and garden.

There is a small charge for this service.

From your answers you have indicated that noise from your neighbours is regularly disturbing your sleep.

Further information regarding noisy neighbours and anti social behaviour is available on the East Lothian Council web site, which you can visit by following the link here.

You can also report anti social behaviour by using the information below.

Contact information
Website: East Lothian Council
Email: asb@eastlothian.gov.uk
Phone: 0845 604 8518

If you are having difficulty with any aspect of taking medicines, then you can ask your GP about the option of a ‘blister pack,' which is a free NHS service.

Blister packs provide clearly marked day and dosage times, and all the medicines you need to take at one time are together in an individual section, making taking medication much easier.

Your GP will provide a prescription and will request that your medication is dispensed on a weekly basis from your local pharmacy. Some pharmacies can arrange delivery of blister packs.

There is also equipment and services that you can privately purchase to help with things like:

• making tablets easier to take out of containers
• remembering to take medicines at the right time
• organising each dose
• alerting that a dose has been missed
• pill crushers

You can find out more about the products available by visiting The Disabled Living Centre, where you can look at and try equipment and get advice about what might work for you.

To find out more and arrange a visit to The Disabled Living Centre, please use the details below.

Contact information
Phone: 0131 537 9190
Address: Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh

You can also visit the independent living shop All Mobility to view and privately purchase medication aids. To get in touch, please use the following information. 

Contact information
Phone: 0131 629 0081
Address: 187 North High Street, Musselburgh, EH21 6AN

The East Lothian Council Community Alarm Telecare Service can also offer some technology options to remind you to take you medication.

Options include:

• a reminder message that can be recorded onto your Community Alarm Home Unit
• an automatic medication dispenser that will bleep to let you know your tablets are due

This equipment can be linked to the Community Response Team at the alarm-receiving centre (ARC), or it can be provided not-linked (stand-alone). A small charge may apply for this service.

To refer for this service, please contact our Adult Well-being Social Work team on 01875 824309.

Your answers have indicated that you have regretted letting someone into your home, e.g. someone claiming to be from a utility company or a pushy sales person.

East Lothian Council Trading Standards would like to hear from you if you have a complaint or evidence of:

• counterfeit goods (clothing, DVD’s, alcohol etc) being sold in East Lothian
• shops selling age restricted products to young people, i.e. cigarettes being sold to young people under 18
• bogus workmen or cowboy builders
• someone who has been a victim of a scam

You can contact East Lothian Trading Standards by using the details below.

Contact information
Website: East Lothian Trading Standards
Email: ehts@eastlothian.gov.uk
Phone: 01620 827365

As part of the Fire Scotland commitment to building a safer Scotland, the fire service offer everyone in Scotland a free home fire safety visit. If you would like to request a free fire safety check, please contact the Fire Service on 0800 0731999 and ask for the Community Fire Safety Department.

If you say that you are calling to request a fire safety check they will arrange this for you. The length of time that you wait for this service will depend on the demand that the fire service have at the time.

There is no charge made for this service at the current time and they will fit smoke alarms free of charge where required.

You can also contact your local East Lothian Fire Station by using the information below.

Contact information
Phone: 0131 228 2401
Text: FIRE 80800

You can also complete an online Fire Safety in the home self assessment, and if necessary book a Fire Safety Check here.

The Herbert Protocol is a form which family members or carers complete for a person living with dementia or at risk of going missing.

Families of a person with the condition are asked to download the Herbert Protocol form and provide information such as places of importance to them, often visited places, health issues and places they have been found in the past if reported missing.

The protocol can be printed out and stored in a safe, easily accessible place in the person’s home or kept by a family member electronically.

It enables police officers to quickly obtain vital information about vulnerable people who have been reported missing.

The form is available to download from Police Scotland’s website: https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/missing-persons/the-herbert-protocol/

For further information, please watch the video in the following link: https://vimeo.com/user101520179/download/654102285/73eb8214a8

The Upwards and Onwards film can be found on NHS Inform and explains several things to do with falling.

For example:

• How to get up from a fall.
• What to do if you can't get up.
• How to prevent falls.

You can either watch the whole film or a specific section.

Visit www.nhsinform.scot and search for 'What to do if you fall' to find the videos.

There is also a leaflet attached which describes how you can help someone if they fall.

Associated materials

• What to do if someone falls