A NEW partnership will help vulnerable people receive emergency help when needed.
Age UK Berkshire says it is adding Thames Water’s priority service to its information and advice line service. This, it says, will make it easier for the charity’s service users to receive extra support in emergencies.
Thames Water customers who have long-term health conditions, mobility issues or qualify for a state pension can join the free priority services register – a secure database of customers who would struggle to get by should their home’s water supply be disrupted.
In such circumstances, Thames Water’s care team can deliver bottled water directly to their homes if they are unable to get to a collection hub.
The system also gives them advanced warning of planned work which may risk an interruption to their water supply and provides tailored communication services.
The joint project aims to help up to 500 Age UK Berkshire service users a year.
Olivia Johnson, partnerships lead at Thames Water, said: “We aim to keep our taps running every day of the year, however many of our older customers might need an extra helping hand if something goes wrong with their water supply and we have support measures in place to help them if it does.
“Working in partnership with Age UK Berkshire is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to those customers who may not have access to the internet or prefer accessing advice on the phone to encourage them to sign up to our priority services.”
And the project has been welcomed by Age UK Berkshire.
Its chief executive, Fiona Price, said: “The Thames Water priority service is really beneficial for the older people we support and by working together our aim is to make sure that older people have access to this valuable service should they need it.”
Douglas, 93, an Age UK Berkshire service user from Reading, is one of the people who have benefited from the register.
He said: “I thought I would never need this service that Age UK Berkshire helped sign me up to. But we had a recent issue with water supply in my area and Thames Water called me and delivered water directly to my door. I didn’t need to worry, it was a great help.”
For more details, log on to www.thameswater.co.uk/priorityservices or call 0800 009 3652
