Otter Alongside
Short answers to the things we're asked most. If yours isn't here, ring us — we'd rather you asked than wondered.
Fourteen questions, grouped by when they tend to come up. The answers are deliberately short — each one links to the stage page that covers it properly.
Four questions
No. Ringing us commits you to nothing, and the home visit is free with no obligation. Plenty of people who ring don't need care yet — we'd rather tell you that than sell you something.
We publish our full rates rather than making you ask — hourly visiting care, overnight and live-in are all on the cost of home care page. What you'd actually pay depends on how much help is needed and when, so we'd rather talk it through than quote a number that turns out to be wrong.
Often, yes — and much of it goes unclaimed for years. Attendance Allowance isn't means-tested. A Carer's Assessment is free and your legal right. None of it comes to us; we'd just rather you knew.
If your relative can make their own decisions, the choice is theirs — even if you disagree, and even if you're the one picking up the pieces.
A first no is normal and rarely final; starting with something small and practical often shifts it.
Four questions · only if you've asked for access
Because it isn't called Otter. The app is Access Care Planning — look for the red circle. It's the care system we use rather than something we built, so it carries their name.
Ask us — it isn't set up automatically, and your relative (or their representative) agrees to it first. Up to three people, view-only, and access can be removed at any time just by asking.
No — this catches almost everyone. You have to follow your relative's records first: tap the three-dot menu, choose Follow Cases, type their first name.
Not at all. Most families choose a phone call when something matters and otherwise let us get on with it. Both are completely fine.
Four questions
Yes — most changes are a phone call. The earlier you tell us, the better the chance of keeping the same familiar faces on the rota.
Never — and you won't be causing trouble. Early and small is far easier to put right than late and large.
If it's serious we'll come out in person, including at weekends, and we'll tell you what changed as a result.
The same number, always:
01225 690022 day or nightOutside office hours — 8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday — it reaches our on-call team, who can always get to a manager.
Tell us as soon as you can and we'll pause everything — and ring us the moment you hear a discharge date, even a vague one.
Coming home is the risky bit, not going in.
Two questions · about you, not your relative
If you're doing the shopping, sorting medication, ringing the GP or lying awake wondering — yes. Almost everything written for "carers" is meant for you, and people miss years of help because they didn't think the word meant them.
Yes, and it isn't giving up — a carer who gets a proper break is usually the reason someone stays at home longer. Respite can be a few reliable hours a week or a longer block.
Ring the office, or say it to whoever's next at the door. Both reach the same place, and no question is too small.
Your choices are remembered next time.
You'll always reach a real person here — not a bot. We're a small local team, so if we're with a client we'll get back to you shortly. Office hours Mon–Fri, 9–5.
Call us01225 690022 · usually the quickest