| This article regards the automated reminder/check-in service and one-time reminder only. For articles regarding the in-person service please go here. |
CareCalls supports those at the earlier stages of care to maintain independence for longer and helps with memory and home safety challenges.
CareCalls is available to anyone who wishes to use it. We only require a referral from a health or social care professional in cases where the service is going to be funded by their local authority (if you need to check for available funding in your area you can do so here). If you intend to pay for the service privately then the decision to use the service is entirely with the person receiving the service along with those supporting them.
Either way, we do maintain recommended criteria for use of the service. This article will help you make an educated decision on whether to give it a try.
Remembering important tasks
- CareCalls can help to prompt any task, for example, medication, hydration or meals. It works best as an initial prompt to begin an activity but is less effective for extensive step-by-step instructions. We recommend keeping prompts as simple and short as possible.
- CareCalls can support those managing poor short-term memory. It may be less effective for those with poor working memory (remembering the last few minutes/seconds).
- CareCalls works best for users who want to maintain their independence and are prepared to follow through on a task that is being prompted. It is less effective for those who are resisting the need to perform a task.
- CareCalls can support a single user with many different tasks throughout the day, as each message can be different and can be customised to each task.
- CareCalls can support those requiring many prompts and/or those needing those prompts to be at consistent and exact times throughout the day/week.
- The One-off reminder service can prompt one-off events such as a doctor’s appointment.
Reducing the response time to emergencies
- CareCalls can help to alert people to a health emergency. It is most effective in situations where a user can’t communicate, can’t reach the phone or is unconscious.
- If users wish to have the alert functionality, they must have one or more people who can follow up if a reminder/check-in is not responded to. CareCalls does not contact emergency services or send someone over to the address ourselves.
General
- Users can currently receive the CareCalls service by phone or SMS. The main priority when choosing should be the personal preference of the person receiving the reminder/check-in. That said, an SMS may work better for those with hearing difficulties or anxieties around answering the phone but, otherwise, a phone call is often most effective as the sustained ring is much harder to miss than an SMS notification.
- Users must have a mobile or landline handset that is working properly, a package with a phone network provider (BT, EE, Vodafone e.t.c) and a working phone line.
- If a user has poor mobility or takes time to respond to the phone you can extend the ring time in our management dashboard.
- If the user has a call guardian call blocker (to stop unwanted calls) you can add CareCalls to a whitelist which means we can bypass it.
- The CareCalls service is not suitable for solving problems with isolation or loneliness.
Information required to set up a service
Still unsure if CareCalls is an appropriate solution?
CareCalls is designed so you can set up, try, and, if need be, cancel the service in a matter of minutes and at no cost. If you are unsure whether CareCalls can help then we suggest simply giving it a try and keeping a close eye on the person during the free trial period. You can also talk to us on the phone to explore any concerns you may have.
If you have decided to use CareCalls we highly recommend checking out our article about getting the most out of the CareCalls service.
Set up CareCalls now
