FAQ's
Real questions. Real answers.
At Family Sure, we know you have questions — and we’re here to make everything clear. Explore the answers below or reach out directly if you need more guidance.
Who does the Family Sure service cater for?
The Family Sure service focuses on members of the aged community living in some form of isolation but is by no means limited to people living in these circumstances. Other members of the community this service caters for include:
- People who are neurodivergent, living with:
- Autism
- A Global Delay
- ADHD
- Dyslexia
- People with a physical disability
- People who have mild to moderate mental health conditions
- People who live alone following a medical procedure and have restricted movement or outside contact
To find out whether this service is suitable for your loved one, we recommend calling one of our friendly Family Sure consultants for a confidential discussion. The consultant will discuss the needs of your loved one and provide advice on the suitability of the service.
Who may not qualify for the Family Sure service?
Whilst the Family Sure service looks to cater for everyone, the overwhelming demand for this service combined with complex needs of participants means that Family Sure cannot accept every application. We appreciate the unique personality and needs of every person and assess every application on its individual merit.
The reasons a potential participant may not qualify or be removed from the service include:
- Ongoing aggressive and abusive behaviour.
- The participant is unwilling to actively engage with the service.
- The participant is living with Alzheimer’s or dementia to a level which makes the service unsuitable.
- Geographic isolation, preventing access to our trade network service.
- High levels of service and response, or multiple false alarms.
- Next of kin are unavailable for contact in the event of an escalation.
How does Family Sure prevent my loved one being scammed?
A scammer may target the vulnerable using one of the following methods:
- Tradespeople offering services at artificially inflated and extreme prices, often for comparatively small repairs.
- The “Gypsy tradie” scam, where the occupant of a home is approached by an alleged tradesperson pushing the need for “urgent” – but unnecessary – repairs. They will facilitate a money transfer or take the victim to the bank to make a large withdrawal yet never complete the work, often returning multiple times to harass the victim for more money.
- Criminals posing as salespeople or charity workers, looking to gain large amounts of money from the person.
- Con artist who develop a friendship with the vulnerable which, once established, becomes the basis of requests for loans which are never repaid, the gifting of cash or being written into a will or property title.
- Technology-based scams via phone, SMS, email and websites.
- Through genuine conversations, Family Sure can keep the participants aware of new scamming trends and explain indicators to be on the lookout for.
- Family Sure notifies the family of any new “friends” that the participant may be talking to, relaying any indications that this friendship could be related to scam activity.
- Family Sure recommends that all participants check with our staff before making large financial transactions, to help in identifying whether it is a potential scam.
- When a scam is identified, Family Sure can help limit the participant’s exposure and cost by directing them in the steps to take to prevent further exposure.
- Family Sure provides access to a network of tradespersons and services in your local area. For any service or trade requirement, we will recommend up to three providers to quote for the work. Each service provider has been vetted by our team to make sure they are worthy of your business. With three quotes from vetted professionals, you can be assured of quality work at the best price.
What is an “Escalation Procedure” and how does it work?
Family Sure operates as a telephone check-in service. As such, there may be times where we attempt contact but the participant is not available to take the call.
The Escalation Policy is offered as a part of the Family Sure service and outlines the procedures our staff follow should a participant not answer the phone.
This procedure will be discussed with the customer during an inception meeting, and an appropriate response process will be documented for each participant. This response process will outline how many additional attempts are made, the timing between additional attempted calls, and an escalation point – next of kin, Police or other contact – in the event of no answer.
There may be times when there is no choice but to call the Police or escalate to Emergency Services, due to safety concerns prior to or at the time a family member is notified. This will be done to maximise the safety of the participant.
In the medium term, Family Sure will introduce a response service to check on participants who do not respond. This will remove the burden on families, and provide an alternative to front-line services who may attach a low priority to such calls. This additional service will be open to certain categories of membership at an additional fee.
Can Family Sure cater for my loved one for a short period of time, such as when I am away for a holiday or business trip?
Yes, we can. We understand that proximity and lifestyle may allow you to care for your loved one most of the time. Should a planned or unexpected event occur – a medical issue, increased work demands or a family holiday – you may be unable to provide your desired level of contact and care.
Family Sure can assist in relieving some of that burden. To find out more, please call one of our Relationship Managers to discuss how we can assist your need for short to mid-term care.
Couldn’t I do this myself?
Yes. But we do understand that things get chaotic sometimes. Despite your best efforts to check-in, life happens and you realise it has been days or weeks since you last spoke to the loved one who relies on you. Also, when you speak to your family, they want to feel like you are ringing because you genuinely care. They don’t want to burden you or become a chore you must attend to.
Family Sure will never miss a call. We will have real conversations so that your loved one feels reassured, not lonely or susceptible, all while keeping you informed.
My family member has a mobile phone, so they don’t need this service.
- The phone being in reach if your loved one has fallen.
- Your loved one being conscious to answer.
- The phone being charged and having credit.
- Having the mental capacity during or after an incident to make a call.
- Your loved one having a strong familiarity with technology.
Connection is so vital in an increasingly disconnected world. Family Sure uses the phone to connect and raises the alarm when contact isn’t achieved.
Finally, a mobile phone does not prevent your loved one from getting scammed and may open your loved one up to new forms of compromise. Family Sure can assist in identifying and preventing mobile phone and other scams.
The investment of a daily check across the week is outside of my budget.
While we recommend calling every day to ensure your loved one is safe and not isolated for long periods of time, our service provides a range of frequency options including daily, three days per week and a one call per week service. The choice is yours.
Some of our clients also share the cost of the service between multiple family members, ensuring no one family member must carry the financial burden alone.
We ask that you consider the frailty of your loved ones and the very real risk that something could happen to them. From our experience, the cost of guilt following a negative incident with a loved one will always outstrip the investment required to ensure their safety.
My loved one has a duress button or a personal medical alert device.
- People that need these devices may forget to keep the device with them at home or outside, making them ineffective should an incident occur.
- Medical alert devices often rely on the user having a fall or your loved one activating the alert function manually. This has limited functionality as certain medical episodes such as strokes can cause paralysis and prevent aperson from being able to activate the device. Additionally, if your loved one has an episode in a chair or whilst in bed, the fall alert will not be triggered, and they could be left without assistance for days.
- Family Sure does not require charging or fresh batteries to make your loved one safe.
- Medical alarms and medical alert devices do not reduce loneliness and isolation like Family Sure does.
- Medical duress alarms and / or medical call buttons do not recognise rapid cognitive decline which might be an indicator of more serious issues that are occurring for your loved one.
- Duress buttons and medical alarms will not give answers to common questions your loved one may have when issues arise.
- Fall recognition devices and medical alert alarms are unable to help prevent your family member being scammed. The Family Sure team are trained to assist in detecting and avoiding scams.
Doesn’t the Apple Watch provide the same service through its ‘Fall Detection’ feature?
- The Apple Watch needs to be charged regularly, creating a number of points of potential failure. This may include the battery running out without the wearer realising, and no protection while charging.
- Your loved one may forget to put the watch on. As the Apple Watch needs regular charging, it may be taken off and easily forgotten. When you consider the times you forget your watch, keys, purse or wallet, this becomes a point of failure and increases the risk to your loved one.
- Smart watch ‘Fall Detection’ alerts rely on the user experiencing a fall. This limited functionality means that if your loved one has an episode in a chair or whilst in bed, the fall alert will not be triggered, and they could be left without assistance for days.
- The Apple Watch does not reduce loneliness and isolation. Through conversations and meaningful connection, Family Sure does.
- The Apple Watch ‘Fall Detection’ feature does not recognise rapid cognitive decline as an indicator of more serious issues your loved one may be experiencing.
- The Apple Watch ‘Fall Detection’ feature is unable to give answers to common questions, should your loved one need help when issues arise.
- The Apple Watch ‘Fall Detection’ feature does not prevent your family member from being scammed. The Family Sure team are trained to assist in detecting and avoiding scams.
Could I get the neighbours to help do this instead?
There’s a well-known quote – “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”. In today’s world, do you want to leave the welfare of your loved ones in the hands of strangers?
Sadly, there are a number of reasons this could be a bad idea:
- Too polite to say no: your loved one’s neighbours may be just as busy as you are, but too polite to deny your request. While they accept with the best of intentions, the reality is they have no more time than you and are just as likely to forget to regularly check-in, leaving you with a false sense of security.
- No failsafe option: should your neighbour forget to regularly check-in, what system is in place to make sure that your loved one is cared for?
- Not nice people: as former first responders, we have seen too many times people stealing, assaulting and manipulating their vulnerable neighbours. For your reassurance, all Family Sure staff undergo a Criminal Record check and are subject to strict privacy and confidentiality contract clauses and policies.
- Longevity: your loved one’s neighbours may help for a little while, but it’s a lot to ask them for a long-term commitment. Family Sure operates on a zero-fail policy, with each check-in backed by a call, a report and a clearly defined escalation policy should there be any problem reaching your loved one.
Does Home Care do something like this?
No. Home Care will assist with household tasks but will not provide a check-in service.
The Family Sure welfare check-in system keeps track of your loved one, as we can also monitor issues that may require Home Care attention.