Peace of Mind When You Can't Be There
Regular, friendly welfare visits for people living independently, “providing reassurance that your loved one is well, comfortable and connected.”
Reassurance When You Can’t Be There
When someone you care about lives independently, it is not always possible to be there as often as you would like. Work, distance, family commitments or other circumstances can make regular visits difficult, and it is natural to want reassurance that they are doing well.
Our welfare checks provide regular, friendly visits at agreed times. We spend time with the person, check how they are getting on and provide reassuring human contact, while respecting their independence, choices and usual routines.
With the person’s consent and an agreed communication arrangement, we can also provide feedback to a nominated family member or contact, giving you reassurance when you cannot be there yourself.
What Happens During a Welfare Check?
Each visit is based on what has been agreed with the person and, where appropriate, their family or nominated contact. The aim is to provide friendly contact, reassurance and practical awareness of how the person is getting on.
A Friendly Check-In
Friendly conversation, regular contact and time to ask how the person is getting on.
General Wellbeing
We take notice of any obvious changes or concerns that may need to be discussed or shared appropriately.
Home Support
During a welfare visit, we can provide light practical help with everyday household tasks such as tidying, washing dishes, light cleaning, changing bedding, simple laundry and checking that essential household items are available.
Home & Routine
We can notice obvious issues affecting the person’s usual routine or immediate home environment.
Plans & Appointments
Where agreed, we can provide friendly reminders about appointments, activities or everyday arrangements.
Keeping You Informed
With the person’s consent, we can provide an agreed update to their nominated family member or contact after the visit.
What Happens If Something Doesn’t Seem Right?
If something appears unusual during a welfare visit, we follow the agreed communication and escalation arrangements.
This might include situations such as the person not answering the door, appearing noticeably unwell, seeming unusually confused or distressed, or there being an obvious concern within the home.
Where appropriate, we will try to contact the person’s nominated family member or emergency contact. If there appears to be an immediate risk to the person’s safety, emergency services may be contacted.
Our role is to notice, communicate and respond appropriately to concerns. Welfare checks are not a substitute for medical care, nursing assessment, emergency monitoring or regulated personal care.
Keeping Families Informed
For many families, one of the main reasons for arranging welfare checks is simply knowing that someone they trust has called in and that their loved one has had regular contact.
With the person’s consent, we can agree how updates should be shared with a nominated family member or contact. This might include confirmation that the visit took place, a brief update on how the person appeared to be getting on, or information about any concerns that were identified.
We respect the person’s privacy, independence and choices at all times, so any communication with family members is based on agreed consent and communication arrangements.
Who Can Benefit From Welfare Checks?
Welfare checks can be helpful for people who value their independence but would benefit from regular contact, reassurance and practical support:
- People who live alone and would benefit from regular friendly contact
- Older people whose family members live further away or cannot visit as often as they would like
- People who have recently experienced a change in circumstances and would benefit from additional reassurance
- People who would benefit from help with light household tasks and everyday routines
- Families who want an agreed way of knowing that regular visits have taken place
- People who want to remain independent at home while having a little extra support around them
Flexible Welfare Checks Around Your Needs:
Welfare checks can be arranged around the individual and their family circumstances. Visits may be regular, occasional or arranged for a particular period of time, depending on the level of reassurance and support required.
We can agree suitable days, times and visit frequency with you. If circumstances change, the arrangement can also be reviewed so that the support continues to fit the person’s needs and routine.
How Welfare Checks Start
1. Talk to Us
Tell us who the welfare checks are for, what you are concerned about and what type of reassurance or practical support would be helpful.
2. Discuss Their Needs
We talk through the person’s routine, preferences, communication arrangements and any practical points we should be aware of.
3.Agree the Welfare Plan
We agree the visit frequency, what each visit should include and how updates or concerns should be communicated.
4. Visits Begin
Visits start as agreed, with the arrangement reviewed if the person’s circumstances or support needs change.
What Welfare Checks Do Not Include
Our welfare check service is a non-regulated support service focused on regular contact, reassurance, practical assistance and communication.
It does not include regulated personal care such as washing, dressing or toileting, nor does it include nursing care, clinical assessment, medication administration or continuous emergency monitoring.
If a person’s needs change and regulated or clinical support becomes necessary, we would recommend that appropriate services are arranged.
Would Regular Welfare Checks Give You Peace of Mind?
Talk to Care on Call Health Care about arranging friendly, reliable welfare visits for someone you care about. We can discuss what would be most helpful and agree an arrangement that fits around their routine and circumstances.