As you will be very aware from recent Government and Media output, the country is experiencing a daily increase in the number of cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) being reported. In response to this country wide health emergency, we at First2HelpYou have drawn up the following response to provide our customers with information regarding our Service Continuity Plans and we would like to inform all our customers that First2HelpYou are operating ‘business as usual’.
We also want to reassure our customers that our Alarm Receiving Centre (First County Monitoring) have taken all necessary precautions to ensure that minimal service impact is encountered by our customers during these uncertain times. To this end, the protection, safeguarding and wellbeing of our staff is of paramount importance to our operation and the continued high quality of service that you are used to.
First County Monitoring has an extensive business continuity program that outlines our Emergency Response across a number of scenarios. We take a comprehensive approach to service continuity, including the potential effects of an outbreak such as COVID-19. Like many organisations, we are continually monitoring and following all government guidance provided by Public Health England and their recommendations with regards to the COVID-19 virus have been implemented. Due to the changing nature of the situation, please visit this GOV.UK webpage for the most up to date information published by the government:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
We are in continuous communication with our employees, reminding them of the importance of good hygiene, providing them with health education and support whenever needed. Employees who feel ill have been told not to report to work and we have specific quarantine and communication procedures in place should an employee be diagnosed with COVID-19 or is asked to self-isolate by a public health authority.
All visits to the ARC by Customers, Suppliers and Certification Bodies have now been suspended and access to the ARC is limited to essential staff only.
Where possible, Employees who will be required to self-isolate and can work from home, will be granted Secure Access (controlled via authorised contact) so that they can continue to work. This will not include Alarm, Lone Worker or CCTV Processing at this time, unless restrictions are implemented by the Government to restrict travel.
At present, any commitments in terms of attendance at major events or customer visits planned for later in the year are currently under review and we will keep our customers up to date with this via our social media channels and e-bulletins as the situation evolves.
In the event of a full Lockdown being announced by the Government, we will communicate what our Business Continuity Plans will be to our customers by email, social media and e-bulletins.