Social alarm services in Germany

Current situation and trends in a diverse market environment.

In Germany, social alarms are usually offered as telephone-based emergency services to elderly and disabled people. A body worn alarm device enables the users to initiate an alarm call from home by simply pushing a button. The call is then received at an emergency service centre. Three main service concepts can be observed:

• the staff of the service centre receiving the call informs an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) when an emergency call comes in;
• the service centre employs own field staff to respond to incoming emergency call;
• apart from responding to emergency calls, the service centre provides complementing services - e.g. social advice - remotely.

In Germany, social alarms are provided by different types of organisation such as social service provider organisations and private enterprises which sometimes co-operate with local social services providers. The development of innovative service concepts is seen as an im-portant means of coping with an increasingly competitive environment.