Care Call privacy notice

Who we are and what we do

We are the Care Call. We provide personal emergency alarms,  to vulnerable and infirmed residents in Gateshead. The alarms facilitate our service users to contact our 24-hours Control Centre to seek assistance for medical and other social emergencies. We are based at the Civic Centre. 

You can contact us on 0191 4333000

More information can be found on our Care Call page.

Why we need your information and how we use it

We need your information to help us to provide the best service to you.

The information we collect and the information provided to us is used to assist us when receiving emergency calls the data we hold is shared with the emergency services and our visiting and response service to help provide emergency assistance to our customers.

What type of information is collected from you

We collect personal information such as your:

• name
• address
• telephone number 
• medical history
• financial details for payments

This helps us to determine what type of assistance you may require and where to send it to. We also collect information about your contacts so that, with your consent, we can inform them about your interactions with us and other agencies.

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

We will not share your information with anyone without your prior consent, unless we are required to do so by law.

We may be required to share your data with the police, fire brigade, ambulance and other relevant agencies as required in an emergency.

How information about you will be used

We use information about our customers to plan and undertake the delivery of services. We use your data in line with the principles set out in the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018.

Some examples of how we use your data are provided below; please note this is not an exhaustive list:

• to enable us to provide an emergency lifeline service
• the emergency and other relevant services 
• to provide additional support / assistance to you
• to ensure that we meet your specific needs
• we record all calls into the service via our Telecare Monitoring System - these calls may be used for training purposes or to review case call handling

Data security is very important to us. We will ensure that:

• your data is kept safe and secure at all times
• handle your information responsibly and respect your confidentially
• only collect and process data where it is necessary for us to do so
• securely delete / destroy data when it is no longer required
• be open with you about how we use your data and who we may share it with
• respect your privacy rights

How long we keep your information

We retain your information for the duration you are a lifeline customer. When you cancel your service with us your data will be archived, we archive data every year, the data is then encrypted and held securely for a further six years.

Protecting your information

Details on the protection of you information can be found on our privacy policy page.

How you can access, update, or correct your information

The Data Protection law gives you the right to apply for a copy of information about yourself. This is called a Subject Access Request. Find out more on how to access information on our Data Protection page.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly.   We are working to make our record keeping more efficient.  In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please call us on 0191 4333000

Your information choice and rights

Where we use your personal data for other purposes other than what you have consented or where we have to fulfil a statutory obligation, or where the data protection law allows, then we will let you know so that you can make an informed choice about how your information is used.

If you do not want your information to be used for any purpose beyond providing the services you have agreed to receive, such as; sharing it with our partners or providers for service delivery planning or improvement of services.

However, if you opt out or withdraw consent from certain processing of your information, we may not be able to deliver certain services to you. 

You may not be able to object to your information being used, held, or shared under certain circumstances. For example, where we have a duty to safeguard a vulnerable adult or a child, or the prevention and detection of crime, or where we are required to fulfil our statutory obligations.

Where you would like to withdraw your consent or opt-out of any other use of your information, please write to:

Information Rights , Corporate Services and Governance, 1st Floor, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead,NE8 1HH