I’m a physician and my wife works in domiciliary care and we regularly hear from families who aren’t confident that care visits are happening as scheduled — especially when they live far away and can’t check in person.
I know some agencies offer family apps or portals where you can see visit logs. But from what we’ve seen, those systems are controlled by the agency itself, the data is entered by the agency’s own staff, on the agency’s own system. If a visit is missed or cut short, the family is relying on the same organisation to honestly report that. It’s a bit like asking someone to mark their own homework.
I’m exploring whether families would value something independent, a simple record of visits that you own and control, completely separate from the care agency’s systems.
The idea: a QR code you place by the front door or key safe. The carer scans it when they arrive/leave (takes a few seconds on their phone). You get a notification, and you can see a simple log showing when visits happened and how long they lasted. If nobody shows up, you get an alert straightaway not from the agency, but from your own system.
The agency can’t edit it, delay it, or filter what you see. It’s your independent record.
I would really value hearing from anyone here:
Have you ever doubted whether visits were happening as reported by the agency?
Would an independent record like this be useful, or does the agency’s own portal give you enough confidence?
What concerns would you have about something like this?
Not selling anything, this doesn’t exist yet. Just trying to understand whether it would genuinely help before I invest time building it.
I was told before my son with LD started care with a new company that they used a system called Nourish. I’d have full access. 6 years later I’m still waiting. I know from time sheets there’s a big fiddle going on with hours, roughly £150-200 a week being claimed for hours never provided, I’ve taken pictures of the time sheets which have 8 days a week, including TWO Fridays! ( No, I’m not joking! I used to run accounts for a hospital). However, the staff are the best he’s ever had, M regards them as his family.
Thank you for sharing this, that’s exactly the kind of situation I keep hearing about. The fact that you’re having to photograph timesheets and spot errors yourself is precisely the gap I’m trying to address. Can I ask: would a simple independent log of when someone actually arrived and left have helped you identify those discrepancies sooner?
No, because the LA never sees them. When I’ve raised the issue with the LA I’m told the hours are used flexibly and they are “confident” that he’s had the full 34 hours a week, because the agency send a summary of hours. When I’ve asked what happens to the spare hours when he’s been home for an entire week, I’m told there aren’t any. One week we went on holiday and it was agreed they’d pick him up from me at 2pm. I was shattered, looking forward to going to bed asap. Only to find an email saying it “wasn’t convenient, could I take him back? No, I was utterly exhausted. Finally someone came about 8pm. I’m under instructions from a senior consultant never to care for anyone ever again. Ignored by SSD and the agency. If I don’t do things with M that he loves, no one else will!
Thank you for sharing all of this, it’s really helpful and I’m sorry you’ve had to fight so hard for basic transparency. I’ll keep you posted if this idea goes anywhere.
I’d like to see routine spot checks by the LA to the clients home, just once a year would be fine unless relatives complain. Maybe even more important is an agreed money management forms, social workers who understood them, and staff who could even use a calculator. SSD told me it was optimistic of me to assume they could! CSCI had very clear rules on this subject. When M’s books were checked by an LA appointed auditor, they found £2,500 had been misspent in 10 months!
That’s a lot to have dealt with, and I can hear the frustration. The lack of basic oversight and accountability you’re describing is exactly the kind of thing that shouldn’t be left to families to uncover on their own. Thank you for sharing, it’s genuinely helpful to hear these experiences.
@Kikky I should be shock but nothing much surprises me now. Especially, in these circumstances. I think the idea of alternate means for carer agency visiting logs should be looked at and if necessary, overhauled. Some “carers” are only bothered about money. Apart from my mum (who is in a care home, against her wishes and mine) , I’ve visited friends of my mother’s and they’ve told me that these people don’t do half of what they claim to do. And, I’ve also read stories of similar incidents across the UK. Your idea of a QR code to login to start work would be a good idea. I would support that. Also, the agency bosses should be checking up on their work to. As I said, a good idea, I hope it’s implemented. Could your idea also help people who are unpaid, full-time carers? Something to think about.
You have to trust the agency to a certain extent, my dad has 4 visits a day double handed, this evening they were in and out in 10 minutes. My wife has an issue with this but I don’t, as long as dad is looked after to a reasonable standard I’m happy, he wants to be at home and I don’t want to do his personal care. OK sometimes things are a bit slap dash but when it really matters they do a fantastic job, why would I want to make their job harder.