Out-of-hours alerts for care homes, pharmacies and clinics

A medicines fridge drifts out of range at 3am, a freezer fails over the weekend, a generator or door alarm trips. The alert is only useful if a person sees it in time. Tocsin texts and phones the right person and keeps going until someone answers.

No card needed for the trial. Tocsin is a product of Espresso Group Ltd, a UK company.

The problems it solves

• Fridges and freezers. Temperature monitor alerts for medicines, vaccines and food reach the person on duty, not just a mailbox.
• Building and plant faults. Boiler, hot water, generator and lift faults reach the maintenance contact or contractor on call.
• Alarms and doors. Door, fire panel and intruder alarm faults reach the manager on call, with a second contact as the next step.
• Cover that changes. Rotas for managers on call, with overrides for leave and swaps.

A fridge alert at 03:10

1. 03:10 Alert receivedThe temperature monitor emails Tocsin, marked critical.
2. 03:10 Text to the manager on callTocsin finds who covers that site tonight and texts them, with an email too.
3. 03:13 No answer, so the phone ringsA call reads the alert aloud, twice, in a clear British voice.
4. 03:15 Manager replies "ACK"Escalation stops. The record shows who was contacted and when they took it on.

If nobody had answered, the next step would have contacted the deputy or the owner.

Set up in an afternoon

1. Add your people. Managers on call, deputies, maintenance contacts and contractors, each with a mobile number.
2. Build the rota. A schedule for each home, branch or clinic, with overrides for leave and swaps.
3. Decide who gets called. Text first, call two minutes later, then the next person.
4. Connect your systems. Point each monitor's or system's urgent alerts at its own Tocsin address, and route each to the right schedule.

Connecting your systems

Tocsin accepts alerts from anything that can send an email or a webhook, so there is nothing to install. Many temperature and humidity monitors, building systems and alarm panels can send an email when something goes wrong. Words like "critical" or "P1" in an email subject set the severity, and repeat alerts about the same problem are merged. Each email inbox accepts mail only from the senders you list.

Email inboxes are included on the Team plan. We haven't built a connection to any particular product, so check that yours can send email or webhook notifications. If you're not sure, ask us. Tocsin is not a substitute for resident call systems, fire alarms or any other life-safety or clinical alarm, which must work on their own. It makes sure a person hears about fridge, plant and building faults, and it does not make any claim about compliance with inspection or regulatory requirements.

Why it suits care homes and pharmacies

• The right person for each site. Route by home or branch, so a manager is not called about one they don't cover.
• It doesn't stop at the first try. Text, then phone, then the next person.
• Contractors included. Anyone with a mobile can be on a rota.
• No app to install. Texts and calls work on any phone.
• A clear record. When a fault was reported, who was contacted, who took it on and when.

What it costs

The Team plan is £25 a month + VAT for your organisation and includes unlimited schedules, phone call alerts, custom escalation policies and email inboxes. Texts and phone calls use prepaid credits, one credit each, from 20p down to 10p in bigger bundles. A text followed by a call to one engineer uses two credits, 40p at the standard rate. Emails are free. The free trial covers everything by email so you can try it first.