Telecare pendants and the PSTN switch-off: what you must do

The one rule that matters most

If you take nothing else from this page, take this. The UK government's Telecare National Action Plan sets a clear safeguard:

A telecare user should not be moved to a digital phone line unless the phone provider, the telecare service, the supplier, or the user has confirmed the telecare still works.

So the goal is simple: make sure nobody switches you or your relative to a digital line before someone has checked the pendant or alarm will keep working. The analogue network switches off on 31 January 2027, and more than 2 million people in the UK rely on telecare — most with devices that have historically worked over that old line.

Why this is serious, not just admin

A telecare alarm that signals over the phone line can fail in a way you'd never notice: the button still presses, but the call for help may not get through. With something a vulnerable person relies on in a fall or emergency, "we'll find out if it breaks" is not an option. That's the whole reason the government built safeguards around telecare specifically.

The power-cut gap to ask about

This is the part that surprises people. Government guidance is explicit:

Because telecare devices don't dial 999, there's no obligation to keep them working during a power cut.

An older analogue pendant typically kept going for 12 to 24 hours on its own internal battery in a power failure. A digital set-up is different — it may rely on the broadband router having battery back-up, or on a built-in mobile SIM reaching a phone mast. Don't assume; ask your telecare provider exactly how your device is protected when the power goes off.

What to do — two calls, now

1. Call your telecare or alarm service provider. Ask plainly: "Will this pendant keep working through and after the move to a digital phone line, and what happens in a power cut?" They are responsible for the device; they have the answer.
2. Tell your phone provider the line is used for telecare. The major phone companies have signed a government charter to protect vulnerable customers and to delay non-voluntary migrations where a telecare user is identified — but that only works if they know. Get it on record, ideally in writing.

If you're arranging this for someone else — a parent, a resident, a client — make both calls on their behalf, and in a care setting check the care provider and local authority are coordinating the migration.

What this page can't do

It can give you the government's rule and the right questions. It cannot confirm your specific device is safe, tell you which equipment to fit, or replace the assessment your telecare provider must make. Telecare is life-safety equipment for the person who depends on it — get the answer from your telecare service well before January 2027, and don't let anyone migrate the line until you have it.