Keysafes

What do you do if an elderly relative lives alone, and has a carer visiting several times during the week, but on occasions has had problems getting to the front door.

It is not practical to have multiple spare keys cut and given out, nor is it safe to leave a key under the mat.

The best option is to fit a small keysafe outside the front door. The number can be given to the care company, or to any family members who need it.

This type of key security is also useful because the code can even be used by paramedics who may only have a few minutes to aid a patient in an emergency. Some recommend that when the emergency calls are placed, the key safe code be given to the emergency personnel so that entry into the home by force will not be required. There are many case histories that show that heart attack victims who have given the key safe code over the phone to the emergency staff were saved only because the paramedics were able to enter and revive the victims quickly. The few minutes that may have been wasted searching for a means of entry into a home may have cost a life.

It is also worth considering using the Lions Club "Message In A Bottle" scheme. Click here for details.

As a company, it is our policy not to hold keys on behalf of clients, so we ask that if a client may not always be able to answer the door that a keysafe is fitted.

Several different keysafes are shown below. These are firmly fixed to the wall near to the front door. They will normally hold one or two "Yale" type keys, and the access code can be changed as required.

It is also possible to replace the front door lock with a Combination Lock, either Mechanical or Electronic. These may be more convenient, but will cost more, and not all front doors can easily be retro-fitted with a combination lock.

Be aware that the push-button keysafes tend to have fewer actual combinations than the rotary type. A Rotary keysafe has 10,000 combinations, while a 10 button keysafe only has 1024 combinations, and a 12 button unit still only has 4096 combinations. That being said, in our 12 years of trading, we have never seen a keysafe breached. If someone is desperate to get in, it is quicker to break a window.

Also - Whilst not exactly a keysafe, it may be useful to know that it is possible to buy bolts with a built-in combination lock. This might be used for securing a cupboard containing drugs or similar material which a carer needs access to, but which a vulnerable person may need to be protected from. The benefit of a locking bolt, rather than a staple and hasp and padlock, is that there is nothing to misplace. Both Yale and Squire make these, and probably others as well, and they are available from Screwfix, and other suppliers. The Squire bolt (below left) looks to be the sturdier of the two. The combination can be easily reset once the bolt is unlocked.

Suggested Suppliers

Supplier Comments

Amazon www.amazon.co.uk

HomeBase Wokingham Rd, Bracknell, RG42 1NB

Keysafe.co.uk www.keysafe.co.uk

Screwfix Downmill Road, Bracknell,

The Safe Shop www.safe.co.uk

Toolstation Easthampstead Road, Bracknell, RG12