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Our introductory agency status

Arranging and maintaining care at home for a loved one can be unnecessarily complicated and costly, but it doesn’t have to be. At Elder, we’re here to break the mould.

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Our Intro Status
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    You choose the carer

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    Care can start in 24 hours

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    Personalised on-call support

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    35% cheaper than alternatives

What is an introductory agency?

An introductory agency is a service recognised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW), and the Care Inspectorate Scotland (CIS) under the Health & Social Care Act 2008.

Instead of employing carers directly, an introductory agency like Elder matches families with self-employed carers and supports the relationship, while you direct the day-to-day care.

What does Elder's introductory agency status mean for you?

Elder is a trusted introductory agency that connects families and self-employed carers, enabling one-to-one personalised care at home for your loved ones.

At Elder, we help families and self-employed carers do three critical things safely:

  • Find each other
  • Match with each other
  • Manage their ongoing relationship directly

As the CQC, CIW, and CIS recognise Elder as an introductory agency, registering with these independent bodies isn't required.

It means you direct and control the management of care on a daily basis. You're not alone, though: we're here to empower you with your own MyElder account, a specialist family support team, and ongoing clinical diligence.

What can and can't we do as an introductory agency?

    What we can do

    What we can do

    • Help you or your loved one find a suitable self-employed carer
    • Help source a replacement or substitute professional, as required, on an ongoing basis
    • Provide payroll services for you and your self-employed carer
    • Provide support services for you and your self-employed carer to help you with your own care management
    • Conduct regular check-ins to make sure you and your family are happy with the introductory agency service
    What we can't do

    What we can't do

    • Directly provide training, implement mandatory training, or manage the performance of self-employed carers
    • Create a care plan based on the needs of your loved one
    • Advise, direct or change how a self-employed carer provides care
    • Act as an advocate for your loved one, changing the care received or providing care advice
    • Review or manage the care plan in consultation with the your loved one
Older man taking his medication

How medication support works with self-employed carers

Self-employed carers on the Elder platform can only prompt your loved one to take their medication, as we don’t assess the self-employed carer’s skill base/qualifications for administering medication.

We always encourage carers to build the training and skills needed to support medication safely, but as an introductory agency, we have no ability to insist or mandate that this training is undertaken by self-employed carers. If you and your loved one choose to go ahead with a carer's services, you do so knowing that Elder has no oversight, control, or management of this aspect of care.

Any ongoing requirement to provide medication support is something you, your loved one, and your carer agree together directly, so it's shaped around exactly what your family needs.

How Elder supports you as an introductory agency

As an introductory agency, our role is to promote a safe introduction between families and carers. This includes verifying that carers are who they say they are, by collecting proof of address, background checks, a clean enhanced DBS, and right to work documentation.

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We want the relationship between you and your chosen care team to be successful and effortless

We provide the tools for you to manage your care schedule, review, vet and select carers, and share critical care-related information with your chosen carers, all in MyElder.

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We want to be there for you when it matters most

That's why at Elder, we have a robust team of support for families and self-employed carers on our platform. This can be when circumstances change, for unexpected emergencies, or if there are any concerns.

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We understand concerns arise from time to time

We’ve developed a thorough safeguarding process to help keep families safe. We review any instances where self-employed carers accessing our platform fall short of our expected standards, and take appropriate steps in line with that process.

Find your ideal carer

We have connected over 5000 families to carers so far.

Important documentation

    Our community standards

    Elder Community Standards

    Reinventing what it means to age requires a community built upon a strong foundation of safety, trust, integrity and transparency.

    Read Elder's community standards
    Safeguarding at elder

    Safeguarding at Elder

    At the heart of Elder are our Safety and Trust Principles. We believe every adult has the right to live safely, free from abuse and neglect.

    See how Elder handles safeguarding
    Elderly man walking in the park with his carer

    Quick guide for customers

    Reinventing what it means to age requires a community built upon a strong foundation of safety, trust, integrity and transparency.

    View our quick guide for customers

Frequently asked questions

phone0333 920 3648