Residents' panel survey - 'Keeping in touch'

We asked members of our Residents' Panel for their opinions about the Telecare service. This community alarm service uses sensors placed in a person's home to detect things like fires, bogus callers and falls.

We also asked for their views about Your County, our residents' magazine. Your County is one of the main methods we use to keep residents across East Sussex informed about our services.

We were keen to find out if panel members use the Internet and what they think about new ways of communicating, such as using social media.

Have your say

We have asked some of these questions before and by asking the same people the same questions again we are able to see how our performance has changed over time.

Read more about these services:

Who can take part

Only Residents' Panel members could take part in this survey by post or online.

Find out more about the panel, and how to join:

This consultation took place from 5 July 2011 until 12 August 2011. We received 879 responses, a response rate of 49%.

What you told us

Telecare Service

  • Just 2% (19 respondents) had used the Telecare service and over a third (35%) told us they hadn't heard about it.
  • There were mixed views about what the Telecare service is.

Your County – tell us what you think

  • Most (87%) felt the magazine was easy to read.
  • Over two thirds (70%) found the articles useful.
  • Four fifths (83%) recalled receiving the magazine at least once in the last 12 months.

Do you use the Internet?

  • Four fifths (80%) have access to the Internet.
  • Most access it from their own, a family or friend's home.
  • Over a tenth (14%) access it via a mobile phone.
  • Three fifths (60%) had visited the County Council's website to find out news or information about the County Council, their local community or to take part in a consultation.

New ways of communicating

  • A small number (14%) had made a comment on a blog or news story online.
  • Less than a tenth (7%) use Twitter and two tenths (23%) use Facebook at least once a month.
  • Just over half (55%) of those who use ‘social media' use it to keep in touch with family and friends, a quarter (23%) use it to find and share information and a tenth (11%) use it for entertainment and gossip
  • Respondents still favour the more traditional methods such as newspapers, TV and radio to get their news.

What happens next

The feedback from this survey will be used to inform our decision making.

Enquiries

If you have any queries about this survey, please contact our Consultation and Engagement Manager.

Acrobat (PDF)
Keeping in touch - survey results (370k)
Full results of the survey asking residents about our Telecare community alarm service, our residents' magazine 'Your County' and using the Internet and social media. Published October 2011 (102 pages)