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Customer Service Plan
Emergency Welfare:
Emergency Welfare (EW) is an Openreach process focused on urgent, life-endangering situations where the end customer is solely reliant on a CP service (for their urgent, life-endangering need).
This process is only applicable when the service is being used for the urgent, life-endangering need, is itself solely dependent on an Openreach service, and the end customer has no access to a backup or an alternative that meets their (urgent, life-endangering) need.
A detailed view of what EW is and how it works can be found in the “Emergency Welfare best practice guide” via the Openreach Portal under the help and support section https://www.openreach.co.uk/cpportal/help/guides
The following end customers are classed as vulnerable, and may be eligible for Emergency Welfare:
· Wheelchair/severe mobility/disability
· Nearing the end of life, receiving palliative care or severe medical condition which is life threatening and relies on a working service
· Severe mental health problem/cognitive disability requiring regular contact/check ups
· Severely sick child
Please note: For a case to be eligible for EW, the end customer must fit one of the vulnerability categories above, AND also meet one of the impact-based eligibility criteria.
Vulnerable end customers who meet the vulnerability criteria stated above are not automatically eligible for EW.
End customer eligibility is defined using impact-based categories, focused on the effect of loss of service on the end customer. This is done to ensure that Openreach can provide this level of service to those who require it.
The key principle of emergency welfare is that the end customer’s life is in peril whilst they are without their service. In line with the intent of the process, an end customer wouldn’t be eligible for EW where they have access to a working alternative connection (e.g. mobile phone, second line), or a working backup connection that allows their device to continue working (e.g. sim card back up).
The table below further explains the impact-based categories:
Impact on End Customer Caused by Total Loss of Service |
Applicable Usage - Openreach Products |
Vulnerable end customer1 lives alone/left alone in the household for most of the day, and only has a single, Openreach based, communication service, unable to call for help/contact emergency services in a health related emergency situation |
· Copper telephony service – WLR3, MPF |
Vulnerable end customer1 actively monitored for emergency health reasons over an Openreach line only, with no backup service, becomes unmonitored which places this end customer in immediate danger |
· Careline / lifeline / health pendant / Fall detector - WLR3, MPF |
1 As defined by the vulnerability categories
If you have an end customer who you identify as nearing the end of life or receiving palliative care, please contact DSO on 0800 432 0582 option 3 to ensure rapid pick up of the request
Openreach requires that all Emergency Welfare Cases are submitted by a manager.
Before a case is submitted, the manager submitting the case should ask the questions listed below. This process is only to be used in exceptional cases when it is clear from the conversation with the customer or their representative that there is an urgent need. All answers must be provided to Openreach, input by the CP as part of the order/fault notes:
Question |
Rationale |
Has the end customer or their representative tested the line using a different telephone into the test socket within the NTE (where the test socket cannot be accessed, have they tried a different telephone into the NTE) |
This request is a key requirement; in exceptional circumstances where the above cannot be checked please ensure notes to this effect are placed on the fault so Openreach is aware. |
Has the number been dialed to confirm if the issue on the line can be line is actually working? |
Openreach has confirmed that a number of reported emergency welfare cases actually have service. |
What is the latest time an end customer would feel comfortable with an engineer visit? (Please advise the customer that it is possible the engineer may require an additional hour after entering the premises to complete the required work on site). |
Confirming this is important, as an elderly lady in her 90’s may not welcome a visit at 8am in the morning. |
When is access available? Openreach does not deem 24hr access on an Emergency Welfare Case as appropriate. Openreach will attempt to arrange a morning, afternoon or all day appointment within working hours. If an out of hours visit is required an access availability window should be provided with a start and end time. |
Please provide alternative contact names and numbers for access. |
The manager submitting the new welfare case, must use the ‘Welfare Case’ tool which is accessible on the Openreach portal. For more information on the ‘Welfare Case’ tool please refer to the associated guide via the Openreach Portal under the help and support section https://www.openreach.co.uk/cpportal/help/guides
The welfare case alerts the Welfare team to the order or fault that requires management via the Emergency Welfare process. Therefore, before a Welfare case can be raised for repair, a fault must already have been raised by the standard processes, and for provision an appointment must already exist for an order with no external line plant issues.
Openreach will then seek to improve the date to the best showing on our appointment book.
(We will not accept noisy faults as a welfare case).
CPs should use the portal to submit Emergency Welfare Cases. Only in exceptional cases should the pro-forma be used to submit a case. The pro-forma process will be retired from use on the 10/02/2021. To request a copy of the Pro-forma, please contact emergencywelfare@openreach.co.uk
Response time
Following the official acknowledgement of the case, Openreach aim to provide CPs with an update within 4 working hours, which will be available on the Openreach Fault Tracker and HUD.
Please note, emergency welfare case volumes will be under regular review to ensure the process is being utilised appropriately and fairly. Any misuse of the process may result in CP’s access to this process being restricted or temporarily removed.
Where an update is required on fault or order, this can be done using the portal tool (chat option) or through the following numbers - Provision and Repair: 0800 678 3085
Mon – Fri: 08:00 –19:00 / Sat: 8:00 – 17:30 / Sun 08:00 – 17:30
OOH Repair: 24/7
eChat (Maximum of 1 query per session, except where orders are at the same premises)
Log in to the Openreach portal and click on the EiVA Logo in the bottom right hand corner of the Dashboard page.
Tel: 0800 783 3333 – suspended until further notice
Always contact the Emergency Welfare team using Echat prior to any escalation.
Escalation Level: |
Escalation Handler: |
How to escalate to this level: |
Response time: |
When to escalate to this level: |
Level 1 |
General Welfare Escalation Agent |
Fill in escalation form here: https://www.formwize.openreach.co.uk/run/survey3.cfm?idx=505d04080b0a0c0b
|
Within 4 working hours of receipt. |
When the issue isn’t being resolved through standard contact channels. |
Level 2 |
Welfare Escalation Specialists |
Use the drop down on the eChat platform and request the eChat agent to move the escalation from Level 1 to Level 2. |
Within 3 working hours of receipt. |
When Level 1 action did not resolve the issue at hand or has not met SLA (is the SLA the response time?). |
Please provide the eChat agent with the escalation reference number, for them to move it to level 2. |
||||
Allow 3 hours for a response to the level 2 escalation, before escalating to level 3. |
||||
level 3 |
Welfare Managers |
Email: welfareescalations@openreach.co.uk pratik.majumdar@openreach.co.uk james.hutchinson@openreach.co.uk
|
Within 2 working hour of receipt. |
When Level 2 action did not resolve the issue at hand or has not met SLA. Please Cc in your manager when escalating at this level. |
Level 4 |
Senior Manager |
Rebecca.jones@openreach.co.uk |
Within 1 working hour of receipt. |
When Level 3 action did not resolve the issue at hand or has not met SLA. Please Cc in your manager when escalating at this level. |
NB: EMP Planned / Unplanned Outages - Manual Faults - If you are unable to raise a fault during an EMP planned / unplanned outage, you should request for this to be manually created, so we can progress your Emergency Welfare case. Please see section 4.3 Manual Fault Raising for further details.
A task can be passed to the DSO as a blue light case only if the reason for why it is critical is made clear during submission and it relates to a station/base/site for the following:
1. Police
2. Fire
3. Ambulance
4. Coastguard
5. Hospital
6. Medical Doctors surgery
7. Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)
8. Mountain Rescue
9. Lowland Rescue
10. Cave Rescue
11. Moorland Search and Rescue Services
12. Quicksand Search and Rescue Services
13. Mine Rescue
14. Bomb Disposal
Blue Light case volumes will be under regular review to ensure the process is being utilized appropriately and fairly. Any misuse of the process may result in CPs access to process being restricted or temporarily removed.
If the DSO is to be contacted please follow the DSO Referral Process, detailed in section 10 of the CSP.
All updates for the case will only be provided to the referral officer that submits the case.
The escalation contact is the DSO who can be contacted on 0800 432 0582.
For full details of the features, ordering restrictions and process please refer to the WLR3 calling and network features product description published on the Openreach web site: https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/customerzone/products/wlr3/callingandnetworkfeatures/callingandnetworkfeatures.do
Order requirements:
• Have sufficient evidence to ensure the end customer is suffering from a condition that requires them to utilise either the BCR or PCR features
• Have sufficient evidence to restrict the call patterns prior to either of these features being applied
• If required supply this evidence per CLI for audit purposes
To order please complete the proforma below and send to the emergency welfare team emergencywelfare@openreach.co.uk