A first visit with half the information
A new client is starting on Monday after a hospital discharge. The manager did the assessment on Friday, in the client's home, with notes on paper. The home environment check was partly done. The family were given the service agreement to sign and return. The rota was set up on Friday evening.
On Monday morning, the first carer arrives. The care plan is not on the app yet. She does not know where the key safe is or that the client has a dog. The service agreement has not come back. The key contact for the family is only in the manager's notebook.
Why new clients start unprepared
Setting up a new client involves several steps: assessment, care plan, home environment risk check, consent and agreement forms, contact details, access arrangements, rota set-up and carer briefing. Different people do different steps, and each has its own paperwork.
Starts are often urgent. Hospital discharges and crisis referrals come with short notice, and the agency wants to say yes. The steps get done in whatever order time allows, and some are finished after the first calls.
There is no single view of what is done. The manager holds the checklist in their head, and when they are busy, steps slip.
Hospital discharges are the most pressured case. The ward wants the client home, the family wants care in place, and the agency may have a day or less to get ready. It is exactly when a clear checklist matters most, and exactly when it is least likely to exist.
What an unprepared start costs
| Missing step | Effect |
|---|---|
| Care plan not on the app | First carers working without instructions |
| Risk check incomplete | Hazards in the home not known |
| Agreement unsigned | Terms unclear if questions arise |
| Access details missing | Carers unable to get in |
| Contacts not recorded | Nobody to call if something goes wrong |
The first visits shape the family's view of the agency. A carer who arrives knowing the client's name, needs and routine makes a very different impression from one who has to ask.
A new client checklist
- A checklist built from your onboarding process, created automatically when a new client is accepted, with an owner for each step.
- Assessment and home environment risk check forms on a tablet, completed at the visit and saved directly, based on your templates.
- Service agreement, consents and contact forms sent to the client or family by secure link, with e-signatures and reminders.
- Care plan summary and access details pushed to your care management platform or carer app, through its API, before the first call.
- A first-call briefing sent to each carer on the first week's calls, with a confirmation they have read it.
- A readiness view for the manager showing every upcoming start and what is still outstanding.
The content of assessments and care plans is your team's professional work. We make sure each step is done, recorded and shared before the first call.
Starts that are ready on day one
When a new client is accepted, the checklist appears and owners get their tasks. The manager completes the assessment on the tablet. The family signs online. By Monday, the care plan is on the app, the carers have read the briefing and the access details are there.
Urgent starts still happen. The difference is that everyone can see what is still missing and chase it, rather than finding out on the doorstep.
Is this how new clients start?
- First carers arrive before the care plan is on the app
- Home environment checks are finished after the start
- Service agreements come back weeks later
- Family contacts are in the manager's notebook
- Nobody can see which upcoming starts are ready