Comparing the features of key‐safe access solutions to support community care

Key‐safes have become a backbone of community care, enabling formal carers to access the homes of people receiving routine homecare services or emergency services such as telecare. People need to have confidence in their security features if they are to wholeheartedly accept the need for keeping a key available in a safe at all times. A project was undertaken to compare the features of a number of popular key‐safes on the market in the UK, considering security as the most important factor but also including the subjective opinions of a panel of relevant stakeholders on issues such as aesthetics, value for money and usability. It was found that the newest device on the market, the Supra C500, was significantly more secure than its rivals, and was the only model in our trial to satisfy domestic security standards for front doors. It is proposed that all key‐safes should be required to achieve a national standard for resistance to forced entry before they can be considered for use as part of a homecare or telecare package in the UK.