Welcome to our dedicated webpage for regular updates on the coronavirus. Updates will be posted in date order, and you will need to scroll down for older messages.

Central Lancashire Age Concern Coronavirus Helpline: 01772 552 850 option 0

As COVID-19 continues to spread, Progress Lifeline’s primary concern is the health and wellbeing of its customers and staff, as well as their families.

With the UK Government announcing that every Briton over the age of 70, or with underlying medical conditions should self-isolate at home for the next 12 weeks, there has never been a more important time to make sure loved ones are kept safe.

We would like to advise our customers of our response and availability of service during this time:

Emergency responder service	Lifting service	Installations and upgrades	Maintenance, service & repairs	Alarm replacements
a	a	a	a	a
No change	No change	Risk assessment based	Remotely or risk assessment based	Postage (where possible)

See below for full details

First of all, we would like to reassure our customers that Progress Lifeline’s top priority is to keep our 24-hour monitoring and response service operating as usual. If you find yourself in difficulty or need of reassurance - you must not delay - press your alert button immediately.

Progress Housing Group (our parent company) has established a Senior Management Incident Team. They are monitoring the situation daily. They will follow advice from Public Health England and the NHS to minimise the spread of the coronavirus.

As members of the Telecare Services Association (TSA) and holders of the Quality Standards Framework for Technology Enabled Care providers, we have activated our Business Continuity Plan that is designed to deal with emergencies such as this.

Progress Lifeline will continuously review its Business Continuity Plan and provide further information and advice as the situation evolves through social media and on the Progress Lifeline website.

Latest updates from NHS about coronavirus

Latest response from Government about coronavirus

Our response and available services:

• Emergency responder service: Our emergency responders are attending emergency call-outs when required. Where possible, our operators will assess your situation and take the necessary steps to protect your safety and that of our responders. All responders are provided with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment which is reviewed on a daily basis.
• Lifting service: Our responders are attending lifting service call-outs when required. Where possible, our operators will assess your situation and take the necessary steps to protect your safety and that of our responders. All responders are provided with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment which is reviewed on a daily basis.
• Installations and upgrades: New monitoring systems and upgrades are still being installed. Prior to your install appointment, our operations team will be in touch to check if you are currently self-isolating. Our install teams will endeavour to keep a distance of two meters from anyone in the property and avoid personal contact (no handshakes).
• Maintenance, service and repairs: Fortunately, most of our technical support can be carried out remotely. If a home or site visit is required, our engineers will fix the issues as quickly as possible. As above, prior to your appointment, our operations team will be in touch to check if you are currently self-isolating. Our install teams will endeavour to keep a distance of two meters from anyone in the property and avoid personal contact (no handshakes).
• Alarm replacements: If you have lost or damaged* your wrist or pendant alarm, we will post it out to you free of charge using Royal Mail’s next working day delivery service. Call us on 03333 204 999.
• Returning equipment: If you need to return equipment (unit, pendant, sensors, detectors, keysafes etc.), please call 03333 204 999 or email lifeline@progressgroup.org.uk for the latest returns policy and procedure.

Additional help and advice:

Shopping: List was last updated 18 March 2020

Please check with stores before visiting or ordering.

• Shop local: This is the perfect time to support local businesses by ordering supplies online and over the phone. Local shops are more likely to stock the items you need than supermarket chains. Some local farm shops are offering free delivery!
• Booths: 9.30-11:00 opening times for only the vulnerable and elderly. https://www.booths.co.uk/stores/
• Sainsburys Local: first-hour trading currently in place for the vulnerable and elderly this will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, check the website for more detail https://stores.sainsburys.co.uk/
• Iceland: 08:00-10:00 (2 hours) opening times for only the vulnerable and elderly. https://www.iceland.co.uk/store-finder
• Tesco: All stores to open 06:00-22:00 Monday-Saturday & 10:00-16:00 to enable staff to replenish shelves (some in-store pharmacies may stay open later). https://www.tesco.com/store-locator/uk/
• Asda: All stores to open 07:00-23:00 Monday-Saturday & 10:00-16:00 Sunday to enable staff to replenish shelves. https://storelocator.asda.com/
• Morrisons: https://my.morrisons.com/storefinder/
• Food Banks for Leyland, Chorley and Penwortham: Food banks are only open for those who have a referral from either a doctor, social worker, crisis management worker, etc. Hot food and drink services are not available. Food parcels can be collected by knocking on the door during opening hours. A member of staff will bring the food parcel out to you. It is advised that only one family member collects.

Other support:

• Find a local GP: To find your local GP, visit: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp
• AGE UK Telephone Befriending Service: – ‘Call in Time’ is a free telephone friendship service for people 60 and over. They'll match you up with a likeminded person who's keen to make a new friend, and every week they'll give you a call. For full details, visit: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/befriending-services/sign-up-for-telephone-befriending/
• The Silver Line Befriending Service: is the only free, confidential helpline providing information, friendship and advice to older people (over 55s) which is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. For full details, call 0800 4 70 80 90 or visit: https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/
• Facebook: The Coronavirus North West Support Group (Covid-19 2020) was set up on Facebook on Sunday (05 March 2020) and has attracted thousands of members. The group, which gets more than 130 posts a day, was set up by people from Preston to share news, advice and updates regarding the virus. Posts include information on food banks, shop supplies, advice on symptoms, school closures, and business information, and how to make self-isolation a little bit easier.

North West Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2301831146783974/

Lytham Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1531950220287671/

• Alzheimer’s Association: If you’re caring for a person living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, you may be more worried about coronavirus. There are some things you can do to help prevent the person from catching any viruses. For further information, visit: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/coronavirus-covid-19
• Samaritans: If you need to talk to someone, it is free to call the Samaritans from both landlines and mobiles, including pay-as-you-go mobiles. You do not need to have any credit or call allowance on your plan to call 116 123. For further information, visit: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
• As individuals: If you are fit and free of symptoms, you could help neighbours by posting notes and offering to do their shopping or collecting much-needed prescriptions etc.

If you would like to share other organisations that may help the vulnerable and the elderly during the pandemic, please email lifeline@progressgroup.org.uk with the details.

Thank you and please take care of yourself and each other.

*If the alarm equipment was damaged maliciously, replacements are not free and will be charged.

Last update: 13 March

As the current situation with Covid-19 develops, our commitment is to adhere to Public Health England guidance and the protocols advised by local and international authorities.

The wellbeing of our customers and our staff is our absolute priority, and you can be assured that health and safety have our complete attention. 

We will be following developments daily with intense scrutiny and providing updates as necessary.

Below is some more information about what we are doing as an organisation, as well as the measures you can take in order to help stop the spread of the virus.

Steps that we are taking:

• All of our employees are fully aware of the current requirements. They are undertaking extreme levels of health and safety procedure to ensure that the highest possible hygiene standards are maintained, throughout every aspect of our service, including visiting, and working in, your home.
• We are the following the Public Health England guidance in managing any member of staff returning from the affected areas abroad - or those who have family members or friends recently returned from these regions.

What you can do to help prevent the spread of coronavirus

Information for the public on the outbreak of coronavirus, including the current situation in the UK, is being updated daily by the lead agencies.

The NHS website has more information about how coronavirus is spread and answers common questions about the virus.

Key advice includes:

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• always wash your hands when you get home or into work
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
• try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell
• do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean
• avoid unnecessary close contact such as shaking hands

Feeling unwell or asked to self-isolate?

If you have a Progress Lifeline equipment installation appointment or are in need of our EHR services we may ask you about your health and your recent travel before we attend. This is to protect our employees and ensure we can maintain services.

You can contact us in a number of ways including email, website, social media and webchat. Any information you share will be kept confidential.

Impact on service delivery

We are currently delivering all services as usual. We will provide updates if this changes.

Further support

If you have any queries or concerns about your health, we would urge you to follow the advice from Public Health England or the NHS.

Please do get in touch with us if you want further advice on any other issues that may potentially arise from the situation by webchat or email enquiries@progressgroup.org.uk

Useful links

• General health advice for individuals, available from the NHS website.