Otter Alongside
Alongside your family, at every stage
Six short guides for the families of the people we care for — from the first "should we get help?" conversation to the very end. Free to read, written plainly, and backed by a real office you can ring.
Start wherever you are.
Families told us the hardest part wasn't the care — it was never quite knowing what happens next, or what to ask.
So we wrote it down. Each guide follows a stage of the journey, in plain English, with the honest bits left in. Read the one that matches where you are; ignore the rest until you need them.
The six guides
Thinking about care for someone you love — raising it with them, what it costs, and an honest section on when you might not need us yet.
Getting the care app running if you want it, who you'll actually speak to, and the questions everyone asks at the start.
Care reviews, changing the plan when it stops fitting, and how to tell us something without feeling like a nuisance.
Getting more help, hospital stays and coming home, dementia progressing — and the honest conversation about what's next.
For the family member doing the caring: the help you're entitled to, a proper break, and people who understand it.
For families nearing the end. Here when you want it — there's no need to read it before you do.
In a hurry?
The questions families ask us most, with short answers that link into the guides — the app that isn't called Otter, what we can and can't share, who to ring at 2am.
The Mental Capacity Act — a simple guide
Our own two-page guide to the law that protects your relative's right to make their own decisions — the five principles, and the misunderstandings we hear most. Print it and keep it with the care folder.
If you're still deciding, start with Before we start. If we're already looking after someone you love, start with Your first month — or just ring, and a person who knows your family will pick up. And there's a page written for the person we care for, in their own words: Your care with Otter.
