A HOUSEBOUND widow claims that council workers turned up at her door and removed her emergency alarm after she said she could not afford to pay new charges.

Patricia Notman, 70, said she was stunned to receive a letter from East Lothian Council to say she would be charged £104 for six months’ use of the alarm under the new £4-a-week charge.

And she said that when she made it clear she did not have the money to pay, the council sent workers to her house to take the alarm away.

Mrs Notman, who lives in Aberlady, said: “It felt very much a case of ‘can’t pay, we’ll take it away’. I was shell-shocked.

“I’ve been left vulnerable because I couldn’t find the money they were demanding. The workers who came to my house said I wasn’t alone and hundreds of other community alarms had already been returned.”

East Lothian Council said it had not removed any community alarms for “non-payment of bill”, stating that if a tenant suggested they no longer wanted the service then it would arrange for the alarm’s return to the local authority.  The council also insisted that the letters to tenants were “notifications” of a bill they would be issued in October.

However, Carers of East Lothian has expressed its concern that the sudden arrival of the bill notices has led to a large number of alarms being returned.

The council said that, since it announced plans to increase charges in February, 201 community alarms had been returned, with 86 users citing the cost as the reason.

Of the others returned, 80 were because the users had died or moved into long-term care, while 35 people said they no longer required them or gave another reason.

The council approved an increase in the cost of its community alarm service from £2 a week to £4 a week as part of its budget for the current financial year in February.

But it is understood council tenants had not been paying the £2 fee since 2015 after problems with Universal Credit led to the charges being suspended pending a review.

Mrs Notman, who has daily care visits and struggles to leave her house to visit her GP due to emphysema, said she was shocked by the bill.

She said: “I received the letter and got in touch to say I didn’t have the money; I was concerned about being in arrears as I have never been in that situation in my life.

“Then they arrived at the door and took away the alarm.”

When the charges were introduced, SNP councillors raised concerns that it would lead to a high number of alarms being returned by people unwilling, or unable, to pay.

A council spokesperson said: “No alarms have been removed because of ‘non-payment of bill’. If someone suggests they no longer wish to continue the service they are asked to return the alarm to their nearest council office or the council will arrange pick-up of the unit.

“If someone does suggest they no longer want the service due to the increased cost we suggest an assessment of their needs to determine their requirements. We also advise service users to contact welfare rights to ensure that they have access to all benefits they may be entitled to which can help with the cost of continuing the service.”

Councillor Stuart Currie, SNP Group leader, said: “You do not receive a community alarm because you ask for it, you are assessed as needing it. We are trying to prevent people being admitted to hospital.

“These are vulnerable people relying on these alarms and this action has put this lady at risk.”

Councillor Fiona O’Donnell (Lab), cabinet spokesperson for social care, said: “I fully understand the concerns the increase in charges have caused for people who use the service, and for families and carers.

“That is why we are ensuring we monitor closely the responses and the reasons why somebody chooses to withdraw from the service.

“Nobody should be at risk because they cannot afford the increase and I would encourage people to get in touch with customer services if they are concerned.

“I also appreciate that for council tenants this is a new charge, but it wasn’t fair to continue with having one group paying and another not, especially when that was not related to ability to pay.

Protect services “We have taken these difficult decisions to protect services and to cope with increasing demand.”

Andrew Tweedy, director of Carers of East Lothian, pointed out the bill for the alarms was one of three additional charges some vulnerable people were facing, with the council increasing care at home service charges for under-65s and bringing in new charges for attending resource centres.

The community alarm service helps people who need extra support to stay in their own homes, as they can get assistance by pressing a button on an alarm unit or pendant.

Mr Tweedy said: “All of the discussions in the council were about the level of weekly charge but they then issued invoices for six months in advance, meaning that people have received bills for over £100.

“Such a large bill will have come as quite a shock to people and it is quite likely that this has been a significant part of the reason so many people have decided to give up their alarm.

“The fact that people are giving up their alarms in such large numbers raises concerns these are potentially very vulnerable people being left without any way of calling for help if they have an accident.

“It is simply not fair to keep asking some of the most vulnerable people in our community to pay more and more for essential services.”

Brian Sloan, chief executive of Age Scotland, said: “Community alarms are a vital service that help older and more vulnerable people live independently. Raising the cost could have a serious impact on their safety, resulting in delays getting medical help if needed.

“This seems a very short-sighted decision, since it is likely to have a knock-on effect on health and social services.”