It is reasonable for care leaders to ask what happens if the internet connection is unavailable or there is a power cut. It is not reasonable to imply that every digital alarm or care record will immediately stop working. Different systems have different local batteries, connectivity, offline functions and monitoring arrangements. We need to establish what applies to the actual service.
Understand: one hour means one particular thing
Ofcom's guidance concerns access to emergency organisations during a power cut for customers dependent on a landline. Communications providers are expected to provide at least one hour of emergency calling access for relevant customers, with a free solution where required. This is not a universal one-hour battery specification for alarm receiving centres, resident call systems, routers, building panels or digital care records. S06
Care organisations should understand the battery and connectivity arrangements for each system on which care depends, including any network switches, routers, alarm controllers and alternative communications. The appropriate duration and solution depend on local needs, risk assessment and professional advice. A blanket four- or eight-hour target does not explain what this particular service needs. Ask the responsible suppliers to explain the duration and safeguards appropriate to your arrangements.
Recognise: the practical questions behind a blackout exercise
Imagine that the normal connection is unavailable overnight. How would staff know that an alarm pathway was affected? Could they reach the right on-call and supplier contacts?
Could they access critical information safely through approved offline or alternative methods? Who would reassure residents and families where necessary? How would the service confirm that the usual arrangement was working again?
Those questions are as important as a device's battery specification. The responses must align with each person's care plan and the provider's established business continuity, safeguarding, fire and emergency processes.
One useful action
Choose an existing continuity discussion or team meeting and walk through one paper scenario: 'At 3 am, we discover that this essential communication route is unavailable. Who notices? Who responds? How does care continue safely? Who tells whom?'
Write down one improvement. This can be as modest as updating an out-of-hours supplier number or clarifying who receives failure alerts. You do not need to stage a building-wide outage to learn something useful.
Testing safely
Any live power, network or alarm simulation must be designed and supervised by the competent technical and safety teams with an agreed test plan, temporary protection and a stop or rollback condition. Do not tell care staff to turn off the mains, disconnect routers or disable a live alarm system as a self-test. Confirm beforehand whether residents, staff, the ARC, the fire-safety lead, building owners and other responders need to be notified.
What if our records are cloud-based?
Ask the software provider about permitted offline access, synchronisation behaviour, device security and the safe alternative process when a connection is lost. Never assume local synchronisation is available. Equally, do not automatically recommend printing personal care data every day. The service should agree any secure contingency access with its clinical, operational and information-governance leads.
Keep this one record
The scenario, participants, action agreed, owner and review date. Link it to the same local readiness record rather than starting another continuity file.
Connected reporting
Previous: Chapter 4.
Existing reporting: Digital continuity: can the care service depend on its systems? and When care systems fail, who tells whom?.
Next: Chapter 6: Know what has been proved.