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Scaling Care with Heart
The Inclusion Bites Podcast
Scaling Care with Heart
JL
Speaker
Joanne Lockwood
AD
Speaker
Amrit Dhaliwal
00:00 "From Restaurants to Care Franchise" 05:34 Elderly Care: Independence and Support 07:59 Rethinking Care Sector Funding 10:57 Redefining Home Care Through Franchising 14:21 "15-Minute Home Care Concerns" 20:03 Preventative Care Avoids Greater Costs 21:15 Scaling Solutions in Domiciliary Care 25:08 "Value-Based Recruitment Strategy" 29:15 Upskilling Unlocks Scalable Success 32:56…
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“But when I think about the time and the emotional investment, the financial reward just wasn't really there comparatively.”
“the government's really kind of left us to our own devices. We get paid through local authority contracts, a rate that is not sustainable and is not reasonable. You know, we can't run sustainable businesses from that”
“Redefining Home Care "And then that will attract really interesting talent from different sectors who will come with their own thinking and help redefine home care, which, you know, happens to be the wolf inches strap line.”
“Elderly father in law wants a breakfast roughly at breakfast time and when someone turns up at 11, he's in the mood for lunch and he's had to make his own breakfast. And that defeats the whole object of the care because we didn't want him walking around his property with a zimmer frame, potentially tripping over or falling or knocking something or having to bend down.”
“Challenges of Aging at Home "Certainly all of my parents, parents in law, I've wanted to stay at home as long as possible but it gets to a point where you just can't do it. You haven't got the accessible property, there's no, there's no help to make it accessible in some cases doesn't need to be huge amounts but you know getting a hospital bed in there or, or getting some other way or the toilets upstairs, the kitchen's downstairs. Where do you put somebody? There's, there's no stair lift or anything else in the, in the property. It's complicated.”
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Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world? Remember, everyone not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo and share storeys that resonate deep within.
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Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show. So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.
And today is episode 198 with the title Scaling Care With Heart. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Amrit Dhaliwal. Amrit is a dynamic entrepreneur and CEO transforming the UK home care through a purpose led franchising model that blends innovation, quality and social impact. When I asked Amrit to describe his superpower, he said that it is turning traditional sectors into scalable purpose led ventures. Hello, Amrit, welcome to the show.
Hi, Jo, thank you for having me here.
Great to be on the show. Absolute pleasure. We were just chatting away in the green room about my own experience in social care care homes and so through parents and parents in law. So I'm sure we've got lots to talk about. So. And you're based in London, is that right?
I am, that's right, yes.
Wow. Fantastic. It's nice to have someone in the same time zone for a change.
There we go. Yeah. Makes a change for you, I think you were saying.
Yeah, it does. And we probably share in the same rain cloud at the moment. It's absolutely pouting down here and I think it probably must be all over the country right now.
Yeah, absolutely.
So, Amrit, you are, by the sounds of it, a sea, a serial entrepreneur and getting involved with many, many, many different startups and models. So what got you into the home care business and what is your. With a heart, if you like, what's your passion for this?
I think, like most good things in my life, Jo, this was also my wife's idea. So we're sitting in a Cafe in 2012 and I was like, trisha, I've got lots to give and I don't know who wants it. You know, I was in restaurants and catering businesses at the time and I was working long hours and so on and the return was fine. But when I think about the time and the emotional investment, the financial reward just wasn't really there comparatively. And my wife's a dentist, her family's been in nursing homes for the last 30 odd years and she said heavy thought about domiciliary care and I was about 25 or 26 at the time and I, you know, said what you would expect any 25 year old to say, which was, what the hell is that? You know. And the next thing I know I'm speaking to all the different franchises around the country. I bought a home care franchise within, you know, 60 days of this conversation. I'm then running my care businesses and then going out to Oxfordshire for my doing that, driving three hours to Richmond where my restaurants were and so on.
And this is 2012 in September I signed the contract. In November I got my care Quality Commission registration and In I think 2013, sort of February, I took my first client on and it was around March or April 2013 that I realised that this was it, this was what I needed to do for the next 20 years. I needed to fix home care, fix franchising and both of those things in the home care space in the UK were a bit archaic and I thought there's got to be other people like me that want to run businesses and scale them and just don't know how. And I felt like the market was set up very much for people that were from the sector and I really wasn't. I still see myself as very much a home care outsider, but working from within. And I've set up Wolfinch with that in mind for entrepreneurs that want to get involved in the sector but want more of a plug and play model and to help them scale.
That's often the way though, isn't it? Many businesses are the founder is the inventor, the idea person, the creator of something. But sometimes the better businesses are run by people who are one step backwards. They're not driving from their passion of the solution, they're driving from their passion of the business itself. To create a sustainable business model that serves its customers looks at all the dynamics. Whereas the inventor mindset is too focused on the product sometimes.
Yeah, I mean, I think, I think it's kind of both end, you know, for me the problem I was trying to solve was something else. It wasn't that I had been actually really conveniently at that time, my grandfather, my late grandfather had come over from India from Punjab he'd lived in a village that my families lived in for many generations and there is no care. You, you, you take care of your elderly and so on. But as, as it happens, all of the kids have moved away in Canada, America, the UK and so on, all in search for a better life. And so, you know, my grandfather fly over here and he spent a couple of years with us. Now that time I really got a firsthand experience on what it felt like to have elderly people living with you and how you can support them and how you need to keep people independent but still keep, keep. It's kind of a blend between independence and, and giving somebody that support. And I think that's the hard part.
And I really sort of saw that firsthand and then I went into sort of thinking, well, okay, you're right, great. So I can see there's a need for this. So I become a franchisee myself to try and fix that need. And then as a franchisee I saw, well, here's a different problem. You know, the problem is actually in the systems and in how archaic the whole model is. So then I went off to fix that problem and actually that I thought was the longer term problem because actually the mission piece is finding more people like me that want to do that or more people like me back in 2012 that want to do that now. You know, when I look at it, I think in last five years I probably could have earned a lot more money being a home care provider and just scaling my own home care businesses. But I can make a lot more impact being the CEO of Wolf Inch and scaling it through franchising and going nationwide.
That's interesting. Yeah. So you, you have the passion, but you also have the entrepreneurial skills, as you say, to, to franchise it out, to have a wider impact. So you said, well, to paraphrase you, the home care system is broken or was broken and has been broken. What were the key things in there that you identified that needed fixing right now that you tackled?
There's a multitude of things. I actually wrote a book that came out earlier this year and all the proceeds go to the care workers charity. It's called Time to Thrive, the Home Care Revolution. And in that I set out a 12 step model. But I think anyone within the sector understands the way that the sector is funded is problematic. So, you know, the government's really kind of left us to our own devices. We get paid through local authority contracts, a rate that is not sustainable and is not reasonable. You know, we can't run sustainable businesses from that and therefore, and I saw this back in 2012 and I thought, well, okay, the whole market's running after these governments contracts, I'm going to run in the other direction and focus on building a private business, self funded business, which I did, went from zero to a million in that few years and really built this very kind of sustainable margins led business which allowed me to provide a better quality service because I could hire staff that were calmer, it was more sustainable, I paid them very well and so on and we were able to spend that time training them.
And then if I think about that today, I mean, that problem still remains in a different way today. And then for me, I think a lot of it comes down to the way that the market is branded. And I think, well, okay, the NHS is not branded the way home care is branded. And if I think about the campaigns that have been done for nurses, we think about a nurse and think, wow, that is a really professional role and it's really supportive. But we think about care workers and there's almost a level of embarrassment saying, well, I'm a care worker and that is unbelievable to me. I think, you know, it's work that I couldn't do. It's amazing work that I think is so important. And if we think about the lockdown and Covid and so on, I mean, care workers that kept the country spinning, you know, the wheels would have fallen off.
But I feel like we as a country do not do enough to kind of help rebrand that. So part of my mission is rebranding the role of the care worker, professionalising it, really dressing it up and putting it out there. And then, you know, I'm 38 and so when I talk to my friends about being in home care, they're like, what the hell is that? Come on, you know, that's so cool. And so on. And they're all in finance and this and that and all of the sexy stuff. But the way I sort of see it, I think, well, okay, well why can we not rebrand the role of the entrepreneur within this sector? This sector is operated due to and by entrepreneurs. It is not led by the government. On the whole, you know, it is very much entrepreneurs that are in the sector driving it and creating change.
And so I kind of think, well, you know, when we're in the age of your Gary Vees and your Alex Amozies and, you know, your Cody Sanchez is, you know, entrepreneurialism is cool, but home care isn't yet. And so what can we do about that? And I And then that will attract really interesting talent from different sectors who will come with their own thinking and help redefine home care, which, you know, happens to be the wolf inches strap line. Because I really do believe that, I think that you can truly do that through, through the power of franchising. Because people like yourself might wake up one morning, think, gosh, you know, this would be an interesting thing to do and you come with your own skill set. Bring that here. I think, well, okay, gosh, how do we, how do we then? You know, I've got a friend of mine that's creative and, and, and he's been paramount in, in helping morph my thinking in how the brand looks and feels and so on. And, and it's just different people that can impact along the way in very different ways.
Yeah, I mean I'm currently, I suppose indirectly through parents, a procurer of domiciliary or residential care. And you're right, we've noticed that it's frustrating, very frustrating, especially when you're dealing with local authority. You have the interviews, they tell you, yes, you can qualify for 15 minutes a day or half an hour a day. And this is what we've contracted with the provider to provide. Then we found it very frustrating and that the provider turns up intermittently, different times, there's no stability there. Elderly father in law wants a breakfast roughly at breakfast time and when someone turns up at 11, he's in the mood for lunch and he's had to make his own breakfast. And that defeats the whole object of the care because we didn't want him walking around his property with a zimmer frame, potentially tripping over or falling or knocking something or having to bend down. And so we found the actual provision of service to be very variable.
And whether that's because it's a local authority funded scheme or whether we, because I believe we now have the right to opt out of this local government and take the funding and do your own procurement, which we didn't opt to do. We opted to keep it through the local government at this time. But we probably end up going through the same provider anyway. And it's, it's very frustrating as a, at this side of the fence trying to liaise the companies who are doing their best. Absolutely doing their best, juggling multiple balls, I'm sure, and people who care deeply to get it right. But from a customer perspective it's not quite there yet.
And I think a lot of that comes down to the way that the government buys care. And so, you know, One of my sort of big pieces has been really moving away from that. And I think, you know, when we, on the whole, when we work with the local authority or government, we work with them in the capacity of kind of direct payments. That personal budget that you're referring to now, where we don't have that, we tend to work with private pay. And it means that both yourself as a procurer and us as a provider have control in the situation. And there's no third party that's not there. You single action. That should be 15 minutes.
Gosh, what can you do in 15 minutes? You know, that should be illegal as far as I'm concerned. You know, you can't go into someone's property and do anything in 15 minutes, apart from cheque that they are there and okay, and then it's time to put your coat on and leave and it's just, it's not feasible. I mean, you know, also when you think about that, you think, well, how much is that care worker being paid to go to that 15 minute visit? Then they're driving there, they're driving back, you know, the time, the mileage and all that. It's unreasonable in my opinion, to ask them to do that. You know, unless someone lives in some sort of housing colony and there's, you know, five houses there and you're going back door to door or whatever and it's, you know, 30 seconds between houses. Okay. You know, but the reality of that situation is how disruptive for that elderly person at home thinking, you know, maybe they've got dementia, maybe they've got other, other sort of situations going on. And I think someone's rushing in, rushing out maybe.
And also you cannot blame the care worker because they're trying to fit in all of these things. You can't even blame the provider. They're trying to keep a sustainable business, to keep the care workers going, keeping clients healthy and so on. And you know, but the way that the work is contracted is problematic, I think. Yeah, as providers, I think, you know, really we, we need to march with our vote with our feet and just march away from that, that, that local authority work unless it is fairly commissioned.
Yeah. I was a trustee of a charity in Portsmouth seven or eight years ago and we, we as a charity provided domiciliary care. I remember we ended up having to walk away from contracts because they just weren't viable. You, you couldn't deliver and they were trying to bid 15 minute contracts almost at minimum wage at the time. And that doesn't give any Scope for travel, doesn't give any scope for time off, doesn't give any scope for training or anything else, or personal, other personal needs. And it was just unsustainable. Providers were losing money on every visit, on every contract, and they just thought.
Well, and that's so reasonable, right? As a provider, you are also an entrepreneur. You might have shareholders responsibility to them as well, you know, both to provide a really good quality service, pay your staff really well, but also to enjoy dividends. As a. As a shareholder, I think there's nothing wrong or inappropriate in that. You know, it's a way that the system is all kind of curated. I think it's really important to have everyone in that system should win. You know, the carer should win, the client should win, the entrepreneur behind the service should win, you know, the community should win. And as a result, the greater economy will win.
And I think, you know, if we think about it from the abundance model, I think there's. There's a lot to be said there. I actually have my own podcast called Walking With Wolf Inch and the episode's not out yet, but it will be by the time this episode's out. I had an interview with Professor Martin Green and a really interesting gentleman. He's the CEO of the Care Care England and he talks in that episode about how the NHS is funded. And actually, if we took a portion of that funding, gave it to the social care sector as a. Social care providers would be able to reduce the amount of burden that is levied onto the nhs. And actually we're talking about about a tiny proportion of that, that, that funding, but it's just not there, you know, because actually home care or care doesn't win votes, you know, and that's fundamentally where we're at.
I think you said it earlier about the. It's not seen as a glamorous thing, is it? Nurses and hospitals somehow are vote winners and they're seen as glamorous.
Well, they've been rebranded. So, you know, 10 or 15 years ago, I remember there's this wonderful campaign around the NHS and nurses. It's wonderful. You know, if you think about all of the sort of civil type services, you know, the army and so on and the raf. I mean, you see adverts on tv. Where is that for social care? You know, we are the reason that people are kept at home or out of hospital and, you know, a bed at hospital. I think the last count was. I think this number is.
Has. Has gone up. It certainly will by the time this episode's out but it's over £800 a night, you know, and you think gosh, you know that is a phenomenal amount of, of, of investment from the, the taxpayers money. And, and I think. But we're able to remedy that. And also most people don't want to be in hospital. They, they, you know, most people want to be at home.
Yeah, that's for sure. Certainly all of my parents, parents in law, I've wanted to stay at home as long as possible but it gets to a point where you just can't do it. You haven't got the accessible property, there's no, there's no help to make it accessible in some cases doesn't need to be huge amounts but you know getting a hospital bed in there or, or getting some other way or the toilets upstairs, the kitchen's downstairs. Where do you put somebody? There's, there's no stair lift or anything else in the, in the property. It's complicated. And I look at what happened with my father in law beginning of this year. He had a fall, not his first fall. He probably clumsy, he was trying to use a rollator instead of a Zimmer frame type model.
He probably tipped it, it fell and it ends up in a pile on the floor, walking frame on top of him, two broken ribs and it took until the care visit later that day to find him and end up in hospital potentially they thought he was going to end up on palliative care and end of life but he managed to do an azimuth and pull it around and it got better. But I look at the time that my wife was off work with that, at the worry that we had as a family, the time I had to take off work. So we're self employed but both of us and she couldn't earn, she couldn't deliver the business. Then you think about all the time invested in the actual hospitalisation of my father in law for that 10 days, 15 days and then having to off board him out of hospital, onboarding back into domiciliary care. That whole process, the number of people involved in that, how do you have proper care at the beginning then that would have cut out all of this anguish and time from the working generation and the hospitalisation and the care he needed. So you're right, the prevention in that scenario would have been a better investment.
Yeah. And I think this is where my mind is really at with the way that we're scaling Wolf Inch. It's really focusing on prevention, it's focusing on where we ought to be focusing As a community, as a nation? And I think really that for me is all part of creating, creating a solution because we all know the problem and certainly if you're within the sector, you know what the problems are and we can sit and we can talk for an hour about all of the problems that are there, which is vast, or we can actually start taking some action and saying, well, okay, what am I doing differently as a provider? Am I charging enough so I can pay my staff enough? Am I. So is the local authority paying me? If they're not, am I going to focus on private pay work? And, and how do I then start to create a business out of private pay work? And actually, is there a franchise model I can get involved in? Are there coaches or what have you? How do I actually scale that to ensure that that business is sustainable? And I think that's it really. I mean, I'm very process driven and focused on results and I think it really serves itself well within, within the domiciliary care market, is there a challenge.
On the supply side of the talent of the resources, the care workers? Is there a challenge getting people to steer as a worthy profession to invest in, or are we still struggling to get the resourcing?
I think there's a few different challenges. Certainly, as we currently speak, there's been changes within the way that you're getting staff from abroad and that's problematic because that really alleviated a lot of the issues that we had in the market. It creates an increase in supply. So you've got that problem, then you've got problem on a more local market. But for me, and again, maybe I'm too simplistic, but for me, I think often the problem is a lack of activity problem. And I think if you're able to get out there enough and you are making enough phone calls and you speak to enough people, you will get a member of staff and you sort of look at a kind of sort of two to one ratio when you're, when you're looking at clients to care workers, invariably, and actually that works. Right, so you don't need lots of carers to make a successful home care business. You know, a successful home care business might look like about a million pounds in revenue with you know, maybe 40 odd clients and maybe you know, sort of 25 care workers.
So it's not a huge, we're not talking huge numbers of people, but then I think the focus needs to be very much on retention of those people. So, yes, you know, my first home care business was Oxfordshire, so Very affluent area. And you know, I realised really early doors I'm not going to get tens of people applying to my job every day. And I spoke to a colleague of mine within the sector from a different brand and said, oh, so you know, what are you doing? How are you getting staff? I mean he was sort of five years ahead of me and said, well I spent about this is back in 2013 he was spending 1500 pounds a month on indeed adverts and the gosh, I don't have 1500 pounds a month for a start. And second of all, you know, he's getting 10 people in but then losing nine and then having a net growth of one. I was like this is, this has got to be something, something else. And I was talking to multiple other providers and everyone's in a similar situation, different version of. And I thought, well okay, now what? And then I sort of went back to the office and I remember looking at my, my team.
So what is our difference? How do we change this? Because I don't have 1500 pounds a month and I don't want to grow by a net of one people. So how do I change this? Okay, so I'm doing all of this activity so we're going to get really focused on who we're hiring and we're going to say no a lot, which is actually unheard of within sector. And so we're going to say no to people that we've think don't want to do this are not people I would hire from my own parents. And we're just going to say no to basically 50% of the applicants that come. And so we're going to get super focused on who do we want and what is the purpose of getting this, taking this job, you know, and I really thought about that and I started doing value based recruitment and so that really helped. So that one thing alone made me get the right place. And so the right care workers were coming in and they were sticking around longer just automatically because they wanted to be there. So I didn't have that churn just from that one after.
And then I thought okay, well now, so I've got care workers here, I'm not go. There's, there's an even, you know, further reduce the supply. So now they've become even more like gold dust to me. So now what? And I thought well okay, so, so now I need to, there's not lots of them. I need to get to know these people, every member of staff, you know, the dog's name and who's got chickens and how many kids have they got and what's their names? And, you know, they've just run a marathon doing X, you know, oh, someone's working in a mini field factory. Great. You get to know people and then you start to understand what motivates people. What is it? Is it money? Is it purpose? Is it the fact that they want to be at little Timmy's football match on a Wednesday afternoon? Every Wednesday.
Great. You know, let's get to know these people. Because actually, if I was a consultant and I had a client that was generating £50,000 a year for me, I'd be falling over myself. I would be sending them birthday cards for their children's birthdays, for goodness sakes. A care worker who's generating the same for a business. We're like, oh, whatever. Sarah's gone, Samantha's come in. We just don't have that thinking there.
And so I flipped that thinking and I said this to my core team in the office. You think I'm paying your salary? You are dead wrong. It's the coward. They are driving the whole thing. So how do we keep them going? How do we keep them in this business? And then it was thinking, well, how do I increase the supply? And that comes down to simple. Let's get out there. Let's, you know, let's do the press ups. And if we're not doing the press ups and then complaining about, I'm not getting care workers in, I don't buy that.
You know, I think it all comes down to, right, let's do more work, work. Let's change your work. Let's tinker with it. Let's drive the data. You know, I did this. That didn't really work. Is it because the system open or is it a volume problem? And invariably it's a volume problem. You know, I had a, a friend of mine in the sector, he said, oh, well, I sent out 300 leaflets and nothing came back through it.
And I thought, okay, cool. So. And then what'd you do, you know, all that work, Nothing. I was, okay, so have you, have you tried sending out 3,000 leaflets? And so he sent out 3,000 leaflets and he got something back from it. I was like, great, so now what happened if you send out 3,000 leaflets every day, you know, for example, and yes, and there's a budget issue and whatever, but actually. And then what happens if I'm doing that every day, but then I'm also, you know, asking those people that coming in or for their referrals and then know six months later I'm speaking to said careworks, I've been working with me and I think they're wonderful. Hey, who else do you know that is like you, that is your friend as a value set that can work for us. And all of a sudden you'll keep growing by one, two, five people.
And if you can retain those people, you will develop a sustained scalable business but also you'll do something really magical which is upskilling that same person. Now what you find with businesses with a lot of churn is that they never, they've never got anyone around to upskill them. You know, they can't teach them the next thing and the next thing with medication and the whatever else it might be. But if you've got somebody that is sticking around for a five year period or you can really say hey look, you know, I've got this next course and we're doing this thing on ossipro and their diabetes and then so on and then so forth and all of a sudden five years later you've got this wowzers care worker that is just phenomenal. And they can talk to a tissue viability nurse for you and they can talk to district nurses and they can have these really meaningful conversations that historically have all been reserved for management staff. And my thinking is flipping that on its head. It's thinking why can we not give the care workers some of the most responsible work within the business? Because they are the ones that are out there the whole time. You know, the only thing stopping us is upskilling them.
Yeah. I go back to when I was a trustee of this local charity providing dogma care. The training, the compliance, the CQC regulations, so much so that we, this, this charity even started its own training business, E Learning company because it was cheaper to build its own E Learning platform to train its staff and then sell it to other training care providers than it was to sort of outsource somebody else. Because you know, you haven't, you've got, you know, you need people trained in stoma care, you need people trained in being able to give a certain type of injection or diabetes or whatever it may be, foot care, all these other type things. So you need people who are a multifaceted rounded professionals and I think that's what we probably forget. We think home care is just incontinence or feeding or cleaning. It's the whole load of specialisms there that you have to be a nurse in a package really, don't you? You have to be able to provide all the things that you would get if you're in a hospital bed in the community, wherever possible.
Absolutely.
So factoring that into your care package and whatever the local government is giving you is really tricky. As you say, you're trying to change how you're funded by looking at the private sector, looking at different partnerships. So that's the challenge you're facing now, isn't it? Higher net worth individuals who are looking at premium care homes or premium at home services.
Yeah. And I think as time goes on, so many people fall into that bracket and it might be somebody that was historically kind of didn't quite fall into that bracket because the thresholds have changed over time or property prices have gone up and so on. And so all of a sudden so many people fall into that bracket. So actually, and I think that'll only happen more and more over time and, and it's then about saying, well, what is the, you know, most sustainable way of doing this and what is the most fair way of doing this? You know, you've got to think, well, okay, how do I sustainably and fairly turn a profit? And I think that's what it really, it's really thinking about everybody in that kind of circle winning.
My mother's come to terms with having spent, well two years of paying for care homes for my father in excess of £120,000, I think, in care care home costs. She's decided to invest £120,000 in her house to make it accessible. So she's building wet rooms, she's building a downstairs, she's even planning out where her bed could go in the living room, remodelling the downstairs so that she can now foresee herself staying at home for as long as physically possible with domiciliary care. Rather than having to ship herself off to a care home, sell her property to finance it, whatever she can. Now, hopefully the plan is for her to stay there till the right to the very end. And I think if people started thinking about that in their 60s, 70s and 80s, about how can they create a sustainable home environment for them and not be reliant on care homes and they can keep the asset in their property as well, all that, maybe we need to educate the population as well on how to fund these things.
I think there's a lot of work that needs to be done there. I think there's probably also, we're probably at a point in time where there's more products that are needed. And one of the things I talk about in my book is about, well, okay, are there insurance products that could be product provided to people from this, from, you know, that are going through this? I mean, there's already kind of equity products with lenders that I've come across in the past and so on and we've seen some clients utilising and so forth, you know, but what else is there that would help kind of pull that plaster off and help us really just move forward from this.
Yeah. And providing better training and support for relatives. And that's one thing we learned as, as, as children of elderly parents is that we were woefully unprepared for what, what was expected of us and we needed educating. You know, I, I said at the time to the, anyone who would listen that when you're having a baby, you kind of, you're in this club. Everyone, everyone knows what having a baby means. You know, you've got antenatal clients, you got lots of parenting books, you've got all these little things, you've got these little clubs and Facebook groups, but nobody has this kind of what it means to be a sandwich generation in your 60s trying to hold a living deal with your children who are in their 30s and then suddenly your parents become children again.
Yes.
And you've got all this navigating this care system, navigating the terminology, getting through to people, having conversations with medical professionals who seem keen to treat the physical but not capable of treating holistically the mental and the well being side. It's almost like your ribs are fixed now, off you go, there's no more deal with it. So it's education for the relatives that is also needed and I think destigmatizing the profession, professionalising it and also making it a career opportunity for many people. Then as a child, as someone who's in care, then I wouldn't feel the stigma either and my employer wouldn't know the stigma. And it's accepted that I'm going to need that flexibility and time. And people see that being a carer as something more than just fitting it in. You get maternity leave, you get paternity leave. Why can't I have care leave?
Yeah, yeah, I think, I think that's absolute here. I mean, you know, and actually one of the opening gambits in my book is exactly that. You know, if I've got a PA then that's something to be proud of. If I've got a nanny, that's, that's okay. But if I've got a care worker, you know, that's something to be Embarrassed about. And I think that that thinking just needs morphing because actually more and more people are living with that, dealing with that and then thinking about a tool, you know, just a toolkit that you, Jo and, and your partner can live with. Or I think, well, okay, how do I navigate this whole very complex thing where, yeah, we, you know, you very much are in that sandwich generation of I've got both ends popping off and, and how do I fix that? How do I, you know, cope with that also emotionally, how do you cope with that? That, you know, because the pressure is, is immense as well.
Yeah. And it's not just elderly, it's people of all stages of life. I, I'm, I'm also mindful of this because my, my wife had a total knee replacement two weeks ago and she got sent home, no care package. You know, she, under the Equality Act 2010, she doesn't even qualify as disabled because it's to be qualified that you have to have a disability that lasts more than a year. So having a knee replacement so she doesn't get any help with parking spaces or anything else, she has to deal with that. Crutches and zimmer frames and walking frames, whatever it may be, without any provision. And so there was no offer of someone to help her. I would have to drive her to the local surgery to have the wounds dressed and changed.
Something could have been done in the community. Need to occupy hospital time to have that. So again, it's not just elderly people here, it's people of all ages who are going through having a need for dominance care, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah. And that's it. And that's one of the reasons, actually I've recently partnered with the Royal Osteoporosis Society and so I'm one of their business ambassadors. And it's really interesting because actually, again, we don't really talk about it as a sector that's kind of so early doors that we're not talking about it. And I think, gosh, if I think about the demographic of my staffing team, they will all be dealing with this. If not now, then shortly. A very big percentage of my team will be dealing with that care workers and management and so on. If I think about that work end client, they will be dealing with osteoporosis and, and, and it's really then saying, well, okay, so what, what can we do? Are we teaching our care workers enough? Are we partnering up enough? Are we talking about it enough? And so we're trying to raise money for them and and, and really work with them directly.
So I think it's, it's really interesting the way we, where we look at that.
We've just started talking more openly about menopause and the impact of HRT and which obviously has a huge impact osteoporosis as well, certainly in women. But I guess it must also occur to men of a certain age as well where their bone density is reducing.
Absolutely, yeah.
And maybe more, more money has been spent on elderly women right now because it's kind of linked to menopause and hrt, whereas elderly men are probably. There's no, there's no, there's no programme there, is there? People that.
No. And I think, well, also there's a bit of re education that's needed from an earlier age. So, you know, I've got both of my parents who are in their early 70s, you know, lifting weights and, and really building that kind of muscle mass now to, to help that deterioration and increase bone density and work through all the supplements and so on. And it's really, it's really talking to people at much earlier age and stage when they're fitter, healthy and so on, say well, you know, what are we doing to increase bone density, increase muscle mass? You know, when we're talking about your, your father or father in law that had the fall, you know, it's, it's really then saying, well, okay, have I really worked on, in the early years on my quads, my glutes and really kind of made that strong enough because I know that after a certain age or you know, even after the age of like 40, the deterioration is going to increase, the muscle mass is going to decrease and so I'm left in a much kind of weaker position. And so if you think about how you want to be able to live in your 80s and 90s, you know, pick up the grandkids, play golf, tie your shoelaces, whatever that might look like, it's then saying, well, how much muscle mass do I need for that? And then how much deterioration am I going to have? Well, this is how much muscle mass I then need to build from where I am today. And it's, it's really kind of thinking about things in a much more scientific way. Things like getting benchmark bloodstone. You know, I've started getting into that myself now doing like, you know, selection bloods and so on, say well okay, here's my benchmark number.
So I'm not looking at it in my 40s, 50s, 60s, and then saying, well, I don't Know what these numbers mean? Are they up, down, sideways, what are they? But, you know, getting a kind of a selection of things done earlier at any stage, really. The thing is really interesting because as you get older, you've got things to then pitch that against and really think about that. You know, I think. I think we. There's this great guy called Peter Attia who talks about health in a really interesting way, and he talks about health, you know, 1.0, where it was bloodletting in the mediaeval times, you know, 2.0, which is kind of what we're in. Yeah, during, you know, so. So you've got an issue. I'm giving you some medication, but we're moving into that medication 3.0, which is, you know, Wellness and Health 3.0, where we're talking about prevention in a real way.
You know, we talk of prevention today, but the two things are not mirrored in terms of the way that it's delivered. Health is delivered to us and cares and supports are delivered to us from medical professionals and so on as well. It's really then thinking about getting all of that information together. I think it's closer to it in the States than it is here because there's a much more kind of privatised system around health and I think that makes the data flow better. And also there's a appetite for that kind of information, which I think there's probably work to be done in the UK at the moment which hopefully will be part of that change.
I mean, I'm probably biassed because I had, I suppose, a bit of a life epiphany about three or four years ago, so I've just turned 60 this year and I realised at the age of 57ish, that if I wanted to stay active into my 70s, I couldn't wait until I was 67. I had to do it at 57, at least I should have done it at 47, but. So I gave up drinking, lost a lot of weight and joined the gym, go to classes now, but I'm quite data driven. I've got my Apple watch, I've got my nutrition calculator, food diary. So I'm much more conscious about my own health and well being through data points. I guess the younger generation that's coming up is used to having wearables, these technology devices. So that generation, yeah, the coming generation will be much more acutely aware of the metrics. I'm also fortunate that I do get regular bloods through my GP for various things I've had going on in my life, I get regular blood tests every six months.
So I've been quite fortunate things like that have happened. But you're right, if you haven't got that benchmark, you don't know what your user needs are. Your baseline lymphocyte counts, all these kind of things. Even your hormone levels, when it changes, you don't know if it's, if it's up or down. You just know that it's different for you or you got nothing to go on. So I think, yeah, going back to the point you made at the beginning was the prevention side. This Health 3.0 is all about prevention, investment in the future. And that's got to start in our teens, isn't it?
Truly, I mean, we just need to think about it. I think, you know, also just changing the way that we're educating ourselves. But, you know, I've, I've always been into lifting weights and so on. And when I was younger, it was all about the vanity and just being a big beefcake. But actually as I've got older, it's really, it's less, far less about the vanity and much more practical and thinking, well, I started in this year, really. I've been personal training quite a lot and I just feel just so much stronger as well. Just for you, going up and down so stairs and you're standing up without using anything, you just think, gosh, yeah, you know, this is, this is what I want my strength for as I get old, basic stuff. You know, I just want to be able to hold my kids for longer and walk with them further and, you know, all of that practical strength.
And I think as I get older, what does that look like for me? You know, what, how do I want to live and what am I doing today to think about that? And so, you know, things like weight reduction, so on. I mean, I've been on a bit of a journey myself, you know, bit more to go. But I think again, all of these things, it takes off the burden on your ankles and your knees and so on. And it's just, you know, as long as you can safely healthy do that. I think this is, there's a lot there that as we get older, it will really help create a much more thriving stage of our life.
Yeah, but I think at the moment it has to be my epiphany. It's not a, a cultural thing, that it's evolving. Maybe, maybe we'll be talking about it more, but it took a personal epiphany. So, you know, I bought an E bike because I realised that I had. I had a manual pedal bike and I was locked in between two hills so I could go along the bottom. But as soon as it got bumpy, I couldn't get up the side. So I bought an E bike and suddenly my world expanded. I can now do 25, 30 miles on a Sunday morning, whereas before I was doing a couple hundred yards because I was blocked in the gym.
Personal trainer classes do that. And I mentioned at the beginning we've just got a puppy and I've. I look, look at the rings on my watch and having the puppy. I'm stat. I'm doing my stand count before lunchtime now because I'm getting up and doing this, I'm more active. I don't lie in bed anymore, I've got to get up, take for a walk and feed all that stuff. All of a sudden just having a puppy has created this whole new fitness requirement just to be active. So I've been very mindful around standing from a chair without support.
So I always, when I get off the sofa now, when I get off a chair now, I'm always trying to kind of do this without support, just use momentum and. And I judge that as a real progress step, that I can still do that. And so, yeah, I think you're right. We have to take personal responsibility and maybe part of your business model, and I don't know if this is what you're thinking, is to try and bring people on that journey with you. So you're coming into that.
Yeah, really it is. I mean, so we have, around the country we do something called Thrive Clubs, which are free clubs and donations go to the Royal Osteoporosis Society in Renbury and where people can drop in and I'll do something active, whether it's, you know, yoga or Pilates or chair exercises. I mean, heck, in some places we even do art and so on. So just kind of creative as well, because it's not all just physical. But I think really thinking about that and saying, well, what are we doing and taking to the community and actually are we starting that journey with people much earlier and really bring them on that journey much earlier and then going on a, on a, on a much longer trajectory with them.
Is society changing? I mean, I look back at my generation and we were probably the cause of the McDonald's problem. You know, as parents, McDonald's just launching the Happy Meal. So we were probably of that generation that started causing that obesity crisis in our kids. Have we got to the end of that phase. And we're now looking at a better or we still propagating this.
Yeah, I mean, you know, from things I've read, you know, articles and studies have been done with economists and so on, and also from my own personal experiences with the sort of Gen Z's or zeds or whatever they're called, the, the next lot that are coming up, I note that they are far more health conscious, they drink less, they don't binge drink in the way that was normal, you know, 10 or 20 years ago. They exercise more, far more kind of sort of aware of their health. And you think things like these AG1s and all these kind of supplements and so on, you know, there's a, there's a much bigger kind of appetite for things like that. So I think that there is a lot of that happening. I think that we are finding that things are morphing and changing. It will take time.
It will take.
A generation, I think, but it requires all of us to carry on doing the work.
Yeah, I'm one of the millions who are using Mounjaro as a partner in my, in my weight loss journey. And I see it as a partnership because it's not, it's not, doesn't do all this on its own. You've got to, you've got to want to do it and you've got to meet it halfway because if you don't put the effort in with it, it has no effect. But that's really woken a lot of the population up. That's become almost accessible to many. Obviously there's still a premium price, but that is really getting people thinking about, actually, I can now do this. It's like having a little coach on your shoulder going, you can do this, you can do this. You're paying 250 quid a month for me, you better make it worth it.
I think it's in my mind, I think I don't want to keep eating the pizza and paying 250 quid for weight loss injection. So there's a whole new generation now thinking I want to take personal responsibility for my weight. And they're now buying into it. But there's still stigma around having help, isn't there?
It's like, yeah, I mean, but again, I think that is changing so quickly. You know, I, I think certainly in the people that I know, I think I, I know a lot of people that are using, you know, medication or whatever it might be. And also I think that there was this wonderful article in the Economist earlier this year. It was like a six page spread and it was talking about weight loss, drugs and, and I, I thought it was really interesting because the way that they had positioned it was, was to say that over the next 20 years it will really change and it will be seen as more like diabetes or a curable issue as opposed to the way that it seems socially today.
I think that's laziness and lack of discipline and yeah, very not true actually.
Yeah, and it's just, it's just the way, way that we position it socially and I think that, you know, it's just not true actually. And, and I, I really kind of look at that and I think that's really interesting to think how drug like that will change society. And I think, well that's one of many changes that will happen, you know, and, and, and I, I just think that if we all just take our little bit and we, you know, focus on our sphere of influence, we can really make monumental change in how we think about ageing and how we think about wellness and how we think about being older. I mean, in many ways you think, gosh, if you focus on that health trajectory, you know, you are at a stage in your life where you've worked, you've, you know, accumulated whatever you're going to accumulate, you've got a house or whatever it might be, be and you know, if, and if you are fortunate enough to do so and actually you're able to live a much more kind of full life than you might in your 20s and 30s because you're in that building stage and you've got young kids and so on and so forth. And so it's a really wonderful stage of life. But I think it's about repositioning the way we look at it. And so I'm really interested in how we think about ageing in a young uk.
I read somewhere and I can't remember the exact age, but something, I think it's something like the first person to live to 150 years old has already been born or just been born and you think, so the new generation, there'll be an expectation by definition that you will live into your 120s at some point. But what we don't want to do is live to 120 and not be fit into our 110s because what we can't have is 2/3 of the population being over 50, over 60, living in care or needing domiciliary care with the other third trying to pay for that. So we need to change our fitness and Our capability. So that adjusts with our lifespan at the moment.
Yeah, I mean, I think we need to really change the conversation from lifespan to healthspan. Well, okay, how long am I healthy for? How long am I mobile and fit for and so on? And actually, you know, that, that, that health span is, you know, because we talk a lot about lifespan, don't we? And as a community and I think really it's kind of morphing the conversation and saying, well, you know, how long am I independent and happy in, in who I am for? You know, and it's, and really asking those sort of hard questions. Questions. Early doors, I think.
Yeah, I mean, we've gone past the, the era of golden handshake pensions where people can retire at 50 and, you know, the next generation and Gen X is like me and boomers, like, like people around me, we're gonna have to keep working to our mid-70s. You know, we don't, we, we don't have the, the wherewithal now. The pension age is going to go up. Even, you know, I, I could I afford to retire at 67? Probably not. So I need to be fit and active enough to earn some kind of living to supplement any pension I have into my 70s. And that number's going to go up by five years every 10 years or whatever it may be. So we're going to need people working to their 80s. Workplaces are going to be accommodating now of multiple generations in the workplace, multiple fitness levels and multiple capability levels and we as a society can't keep ignoring that.
Yeah, yeah. The NHS can't cope with it.
Well, this is it and I think we really need to think about it and think, well, what is, you know, I talked to my nephew who's in his early 20s, said, well, you've got 50 years of work, you know, so, so really, you know, think about all the different incarnations you're going to have. Whatever it is that you're doing today is probably not going to be what you're doing in 20 years time and then another 20 from there, you know, and, and that's, it's also then at his stage, it's thinking about the wealth span that will feed into the health span and that will feed into the lifespan. And, you know, it's really, it's really thinking about that whole, whole journey, I think, and much, very much like a journey, you know, and I think really kind of mapping it, planning it and thinking about it, which is not something that is comfortable to do, but I think we ought to.
But there's been an expectation that people are relying on the state to do that for them, haven't they? That's been the kind of. I suppose it came out of World War I, World War II, that sort of mentality where the state started looking after, you know, the NHS was formed, pension, retirement, all these concepts started evolving. If you go back in time, back in history, people didn't retire, they just passed away at work or they became very infirm very quickly and they weren't expected to live much more than a couple of years after retirement.
Yeah, and that's, that's it. It's very true.
Especially as the people who were in that zone were probably working class, lower middle class, probably doing manual labour, probably working in advance, that were toxic and they were developing conditions. You know, health is probably for the benefit of the wealthy and the, the privileged few, wasn't it?
Yes, very much so, yeah.
And yeah, we now have an expectation as a society that health and well being and wealth span, as you said, and health span should be the right of every person, regardless of financial status.
Absolutely. I think, and you know, hopefully we will work to omit that two tier system that has formed in the uk.
Amit has been a fascinating conversation. I mean, we've gone off a franchising and domiciliary care into sort of blue skying around health and well being, into our, into our hundreds. I've really enjoyed it. How can people get hold of you and find out more? You know, maybe you're a budding franchisee listening to this, Jo.
I've really enjoyed myself too as well, thank you very much. So we're very easy to get hold of. So I'm Amrit Dallywell. I've got my book which is called the Time to Thrive Home Care Revolution, which you can find on Amazon. I have a podcast which is called Walking With Wolf Inches. All the, on all the podcast platforms on my Instagram, which is Amrit Wolfinch and LinkedIn, which is Amrit Dallywell and then the website which is www.wolfinchfranchising.com.
Fantastic. This is all in the UK at the moment. You're not, you're not going into Europe yet.
Currently in the UK and you know, let's see what happens in the future.
So throughout the uk.
We're currently throughout the uk, yes. Yeah. So the furthest north is Edinburgh and the furthest south I think is Southampton.
Oh, wow. I'm in Portsmouth. So. Yeah, just around the corner. Yeah.
Not far. Yes.
Yeah, not far. So if you're, if you're in the west country or you're in the tail end of Kent, maybe there's an opportunity there to franchise.
I mean, we have, you know, we've got a wonderful journey to go on. I think we'll probably have about 40 locations by the end of this year, but we probably divide the country into 200. So there's a lovely kind of 10 year journey to go on and we're always looking for the right people to go on that journey with us. We say no a lot, but again, for the same reasons, we're looking at retention, we're looking at the right people and we're trying to build a values led business.
Well, I'm never going to disagree with that statement. Absolutely fantastic, Amrit, thank you so much.
Thank you.
As we bring this conversation to a close, I want to express my deepest gratitude to you, our listener, for lending your ear and heart to the cause of inclusion. Today's discussion struck a chord. Consider subscribing to Inclusion Bites and be become part of our ever growing community driving real change. Share this journey with friends, family and colleagues. Let's amplify the voices that matter.
Got thoughts, storeys or a vision to share?
I'm all ears. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk and let's make your voice heard. Until next time, this is Joanne Lockwood. Psych. Signing off with a promise to return with more enriching narratives that challenge, inspire and unite us all. Here's to fostering a more inclusive world one episode at a time. Catch you on the next bite.
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Episode Category
Primary Category: Wellbeing
Secondary Category: Overcoming Adversity
🔖 Titles
Transforming Home Care: Entrepreneurial Scaling, Sustainable Impact and Inclusion in the UK
Redefining Care: How Franchise Models Empower Communities and Professionals
Elevating Care Workers: Rebranding, Professionalisation and Social Impact in Domiciliary Services
Scaling with Heart: Lessons in Innovative Home Care Leadership and Inclusion
Breaking Barriers: The Entrepreneurial Revolution in UK Social Care Provision
From Frustration to Change: Navigating Care Contracts and Sustainable Business Models
A Purpose-Led Approach to Care: Franchise Opportunities and Building Inclusive Communities
Retaining Talent: Value-Based Recruitment and Professional Growth in Home Care
Prevention Over Cure: Redesigning Care Services for Healthy, Independent Living
Thriving Into Old Age: Healthspan, Sustainability and Inclusion in Contemporary Care Models
A Subtitle - A Single Sentence describing this episode
Amrit Dhaliwal explores the reinvention of UK home care through entrepreneurial vision, purposeful franchising, and a steadfast commitment to dignifying care workers while championing prevention, inclusion, and sustainable well-being for all.
Episode Tags
Inclusive Care, Social Impact, Home Care Innovation, Franchising Models, Ageing Well, Health Span, Preventative Health, Care Worker Recognition, Family Care Challenges, Purpose Led Business
Episode Summary with Intro, Key Points and a Takeaway
In this powerful episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood is joined by Amrit Dhaliwal to explore how compassionate care can be scaled across the UK through entrepreneurial innovation. The discussion begins with the personal motivations behind entering the social care sector and swiftly moves into the structural challenges facing both providers and recipients—including unsustainable government funding, undervaluation of care workers, and the complexities families face when navigating the care system. Joanne shares first-hand experiences as a family member procuring domiciliary care, painting a vivid picture of the gaps between intention and reality, while Amrit details the shifts needed to professionalise and rebrand the care sector, elevate careers, and centre the user’s dignity and independence.
Amrit is a dynamic entrepreneur and the CEO of Wolfinch, a purpose-led franchising model transforming home care provision across the UK. Inspired by both his wife’s and his own family’s lived experience, Amrit broke away from traditional hospitality ventures and established a successful home care franchise built on quality, values-based recruitment, and sustainable business practice. His vision extends into social impact, professionalisation of care roles, and advocating for a reimagined funding structure that rewards innovation, retention, and upskilling. Amrit’s work is fuelled by the belief that scalable, quality care should empower both the cared-for and those who deliver it.
Joanne and Amrit dissect the root causes of care sector instability—from restrictive 15-minute local authority contracts to public misunderstandings about the breadth and skill within social care roles. They highlight the importance of prevention, workplace flexibility for family carers, and the need for policymakers to shift their focus from lifespan to healthspan. Amrit discusses franchise-led solutions to empower new entrants into home care, rooted in community engagement, robust training, and equitable business models.
A key takeaway from this episode is that transforming social care requires disrupting outdated paradigms while recognising the human side of scalable, compassionate services. For listeners navigating care for loved ones or interested in innovative, values-driven business models, this conversation provides both practical insights and a rallying cry for meaningful social change.
📚 Timestamped overview
00:00 Inspired by his wife, the speaker transitioned from running restaurants to owning a home care franchise.
05:34 The speaker recounts caring for their elderly grandfather from India, highlighting the balance between supporting independence and offering care.
07:59 Author highlights issues in care sector funding, advocates private, self-funded business for sustainability, and wrote Time to Thrive supporting care workers.
10:57 Entrepreneurialism is popular, but home care is not; attracting diverse talent and leveraging franchising can redefine the home care industry.
14:21 15-minute care visits are unreasonable for both workers and elderly individuals, disrupting routines and undervaluing effort.
20:03 Accident led to hospitalisation and care for father-in-law; inadequate prevention caused family distress and financial strain, highlighting the need for better initial care.
21:15 Focus on prevention, taking action, sustainable solutions, and scaling in domiciliary care through effective processes.
25:08 Focus recruitment on values-based hiring by selectively choosing applicants who align with the organisation's purpose, reducing turnover and improving staff retention.
29:15 Retaining staff enables scalable growth and upskills them, empowering care workers with advanced knowledge and responsibilities traditionally reserved for management.
32:56 A mother, after paying £120,000 for her husband's care, is investing the same amount into adapting her home for accessibility to avoid future reliance on care homes and promote ageing in place.
36:28 Society must normalise care work, addressing the stigma and challenges of caregiving, especially for the "sandwich generation" managing dual responsibilities.
39:55 Start building muscle mass and bone density early to combat age-related deterioration and ensure long-term physical health.
43:04 At 57, I prioritised health by quitting drinking, losing weight, exercising, and using data-driven tools like wearables, realising early action is crucial for long-term well-being.
48:51 Gen Z is more health-conscious, drinks less, exercises more, and embraces supplements, reflecting societal shifts over time.
51:45 Repositioning societal views on ageing can inspire wellness and fuller lives, especially in later years.
55:28 Plan and reflect on life's evolving journey, focusing on career, health, and longevity.
58:49 Growing a values-led business, aiming for 200 locations in 10 years, prioritising the right people and retention.
01:00:01 Joanne Lockwood invites collaboration for inclusivity; contact via jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk.
📚 Timestamped overview
00:00 "From Restaurants to Care Franchise"
05:34 Elderly Care: Independence and Support
07:59 Rethinking Care Sector Funding
10:57 Redefining Home Care Through Franchising
14:21 "15-Minute Home Care Concerns"
20:03 Preventative Care Avoids Greater Costs
21:15 Scaling Solutions in Domiciliary Care
25:08 "Value-Based Recruitment Strategy"
29:15 Upskilling Unlocks Scalable Success
32:56 Planning for Accessible Ageing at Home
36:28 Care, Stigma, and Sandwich Generation
39:55 Building Strength for Healthy Ageing
43:04 Health Transformation Through Data Awareness
48:51 Gen Z: Health-Conscious Lifestyle Shift
51:45 Repositioning Perspectives on Ageing
55:28 "Planning Life's Evolving Journey"
58:49 "Building a Values-Led Journey"
01:00:01 Inclusive Conversations with Joanne Lockwood
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🎙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀: 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 🎙️
💬 What if home care could be both innovative AND truly person-centred? Dive into this 60-second audiogram to rethink how social impact can scale! 💬
This week, I’m thrilled to welcome Amrit Dhaliwal, dynamic entrepreneur and CEO, championing a purpose-led franchising model that’s transforming UK home care. We break down barriers to belonging and explore how fresh thinking is vital for better care systems.
Together, we uncover:
🔑 Rethinking Care: Why the traditional home care model needs reinventing — and practical ways to move from broken systems to bold solutions.
🔑 Dignity & Value: How professionalising and rebranding care work can attract new talent, challenge stigma, and drive genuine social change.
🔑 Prevention is Power: Surprising insights into how prevention, personal responsibility, and accessibility pave the way for inclusive communities AND healthier ageing.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻? "Inclusion begins at HOME — and Amrit’s insights offer actionable ways to create more #PositivePeopleExperiences for everyone."
As your host of Inclusion Bites, I bring you weekly episodes that ignite curiosity, challenge the norm, and equip you to create cultures where everyone belongs. This audiogram is just the start!
💭 What do YOU think? Share below 👇 — Have you experienced challenges or innovations in navigating care for yourself or loved ones?
🎧 Listen to the full episode and subscribe: https://seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen
#PositivePeopleExperiences #SmileEngageEducate #InclusionBites #Podcasts #Shorts #HomeCare #SocialImpact #FranchiseLeadership #InclusiveWorkplaces #PreventionMatters
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with SEE Change Happen and Amrit Dhaliwal
TikTok/Reels/Shorts Video Summary
Focus Keyword: Scaling Care with Heart
Video Title: Scaling Care with Heart: Culture Change for Positive People Experiences | #InclusionBitesPodcast
Tags: culture change, scaling care, positive people experiences, inclusion, belonging, home care, UK healthcare, entrepreneurship, social impact, franchise model, dignity in care, prevention, healthspan, care worker stigma, ageing well, health equity, wellbeing, care innovation, NHS, Wolf Inch, transformation, compassionate care, community impact, personal responsibility, accessible care, holistic health
Killer Quote:
"Everyone in that system should win; the carer should win, the client should win, the entrepreneur behind the service should win, the community should win. And as a result, the greater economy will win." - Amrit Dhaliwal
Hashtags:
#InclusionBitesPodcast, #CultureChange, #PositivePeopleExperiences, #ScalingCare, #Inclusion, #Belonging, #Healthspan, #Wellbeing, #HomeCare, #Entrepreneurship, #SocialImpact, #FranchiseModel, #CareWorker, #HealthEquity, #Prevention, #UKHealthcare, #CommunityImpact, #DignityInCare, #HolisticHealth, #AccessibleCare
Summary Description:
In this episode of Inclusion Bites, I dive into what it truly means to scale care with heart. Together with Amrit, we explore the power of culture change in UK home care and why Positive People Experiences aren’t just a buzzword—they’re a must for a thriving society. Learn how compassionate entrepreneurship drives social impact, breaks down stigma, and delivers lasting change, both for individuals and communities. If you’re passionate about inclusion, dignified care, and creating sustainable business models that put people first, this episode is a must-listen. Don’t just watch—be part of the movement. Tune in for consciousness-raising insight and practical action. Subscribe now for your weekly dose of inspiration!
Outro:
Thank you, the listener, for tuning in to this snippet of Inclusion Bites. If this fired up your passion for culture change and Positive People Experiences, please like and subscribe to the channel. Find more inspiration and deep dives at the SEE Change Happen website: https://seechangehappen.co.uk and listen to the full episode here on The Inclusion Bites Podcast: https://seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen
Stay curious, stay kind, and stay inclusive - Joanne Lockwood
ℹ️ Introduction
Welcome to Inclusion Bites, where bold conversations ignite real change. In this compelling episode titled "Scaling Care with Heart," host Joanne Lockwood welcomes Amrit Dhaliwal, a dynamic entrepreneur reshaping the UK home care landscape through innovative, purpose-led franchising. Together, they explore how care can be scaled sustainably, the challenges of funding and professionalising care work, and the urgent need for a societal shift from mere lifespan to true healthspan.
From personal stories of navigating social care for relatives to the systemic barriers posed by local authority contracts, Joanne Lockwood and Amrit Dhaliwal dissect what’s broken and share actionable ideas for catalysing change. You’ll hear why rebranding care work, investing in retention and upskilling, and creating accessible home environments matter for everyone—from the sandwich generation to those planning for healthier, longer lives.
Whether you’re driving policy, managing care teams, or simply curious about the future of wellbeing, this episode will challenge your assumptions and inspire action. Plug in, reflect, and be part of the movement to foster a more inclusive, thriving society—one conversation at a time.
💬 Keywords
inclusion, franchising, home care, social impact, entrepreneurship, care workers, care Quality Commission, sustainability, private care, local authority funding, NHS, care sector branding, staff retention, training, recruitment, value-based hiring, quality service, ageing population, healthspan, lifespan, prevention, osteoporosis, Wolf Inch, Royal Osteoporosis Society, direct payments, personal budgets, care homes, accessible housing, sandwich generation, wellbeing, health and wellness
About this Episode
About The Episode:
In this conversation, Amrit Dhaliwal, a dynamic entrepreneur and CEO, explores the urgent need to modernise and scale home care in the UK through a purpose-led franchise model. Amrit offers nuanced insights into the shortcomings of the traditional care sector, revealing how innovation, empowerment, and preventative approaches can create positive social impact. This episode unpacks practical strategies to redefine care work, transform business models, and nurture dignity for both care recipients and providers.
Today, we'll cover:
The tension between archaic government contracts and the goal of sustainable, quality-driven care provision.
The importance of rebranding care work as a professional and respected vocation to attract fresh talent.
How prioritising prevention and early intervention can alleviate strain on the healthcare system and improve outcomes.
Actionable recruitment and retention strategies centred on values, genuine relationships, and long-term investment in people.
The crucial role of training, upskilling, and holistic support for care workers to deliver complex, multifaceted community care.
The shift in funding models toward private pay and insurance products, enabling greater flexibility and control for families and providers.
Approaches to drive societal change, from demystifying ageing and healthspan to encouraging personal responsibility and forward planning for later life.
💡 Speaker bios
Joanne Lockwood, through personal experience as a carer for her elderly father-in-law, has witnessed first-hand the challenges and frustrations of navigating the UK domiciliary care system. Despite qualifying for local authority support, Joanne found the practical delivery of care often fell short of expectations, with providers arriving at irregular times and failing to meet essential needs like timely meals. Her story highlights the inconsistencies within residential care provision, and the impact these shortcomings can have on the wellbeing and safety of vulnerable individuals. Driven by her experiences, Joanne advocates for greater reliability and person-centred approaches in social care.
💡 Speaker bios
Amrit Dhaliwal's journey into the care sector began, as many good things in his life, with a suggestion from his wife. In 2012, while he was running restaurants and catering businesses and seeking greater fulfilment for his skills and energy, Amrit discussed his frustrations over coffee with his wife, Trisha. While he worked long hours in hospitality for modest returns, Trisha – a dentist from a family steeped in nursing homes for over thirty years – proposed he consider domiciliary care, a field that was entirely new to him.
Despite initial hesitation, Amrit quickly immersed himself, engaging with franchises across the country. Within two months, he purchased a home care franchise. Soon, he was managing care businesses, balancing trips to Oxfordshire for work with three-hour drives to his restaurants in Richmond. This transition marked the start of Amrit's impactful career in the care sector, guided by his entrepreneurial spirit and support from his wife.
❇️ Key topics and bullets
Certainly! Here’s a comprehensive sequence of topics covered in the transcript from the Inclusion Bites Podcast episode titled "Scaling Care with Heart," including relevant sub-topics beneath each primary topic:
1. Introduction to Inclusion Bites Podcast
Purpose and ethos of the podcast
Invitation to participate and contact information
Setting the scene: fostering inclusion and sparking change
2. Guest Introduction: Amrit Dhaliwal
Background as an entrepreneur and CEO in UK home care
Motivation and origin story: moving from restaurants to home care
Role of family influence and personal experience in shaping career
3. Entry into the Home Care Sector
Challenges and emotional investment in previous industries
Initial exposure to domiciliary care through family connections
Decision to buy a home care franchise and learning curve
4. Problems and Innovations in Home Care
Identification of archaic systems in care and franchising
Realisation of the need for outsider, entrepreneurial thinking
Founding Wolf Inch with a focus on scalable, purpose-led ventures
5. Private vs. Local Authority Funding
Structural issues with government-funded care, unsustainable rates
Strategic shift: building private pay and sustainable business models
Impact on quality of care and staff retention
6. Branding and Professionalising Care Work
Comparison with NHS and nursing branding
Stigma and embarrassment associated with care worker roles
Mission to rebrand and elevate the status of care workers and entrepreneurs
7. Franchising and Scaling Social Impact
Franchising as a model for broader impact and quality care provision
Attracting talent from diverse sectors to redefine home care
Challenges and opportunities for nationwide expansion
8. Family Experiences with Care Provision
Personal anecdotes on procuring and managing care for relatives
Frustrations with local authority contracts and inconsistent service
The emotional and practical impact on families receiving care
9. Structural Barriers in Contracting Care
Shortcomings of 15-minute visit contracts
Effects on care workers, providers, and clients
Advocacy for longer visit durations and better commissioning practices
10. Sustainable Business Models in Care
Necessity for providers to ensure all stakeholders benefit
Importance of fair profit, staff pay, and community impact
Discussion on abundance vs scarcity models in care sector funding
11. Prevention and Health Outcomes
Emphasis on preventive care to reduce hospitalisation and crises
The domino effect on families, hospitals and economic costs
Shifting focus from problem discussion to tangible action
12. Recruitment, Retention, and Upskilling of Care Workers
Challenges in attracting suitable care staff—competition and immigration changes
Value-based recruitment and saying "no" to unsuitable candidates
Deep focus on retention through knowing staff personally
Upskilling and empowering care workers for greater responsibilities
13. Training and Professional Requirements
Compliance, CQC regulations, and multi-specialist skillsets
Building internal training platforms for efficiency and quality
Evolving perceptions of care worker capabilities
14. Funding and Accessibility for Premium Care
Shifts in market to accommodate higher net worth and private clients
Home adaptations as an investment to enable ageing in place
Education for the public on sustainable care and funding options
15. Family Education and Support Structures
Lack of resources and guidance for adult children navigating care systems
Analogies with parental clubs for new parents vs. care for elderly
The need for wider support and awareness for carers
16. Inclusion, Stigma, and Social Perceptions
Destigmatising care, professionalising the sector
Impact on clients, relatives and employers
Potential for care leave akin to maternity/paternity leave
17. Broader demographic needs: not just elderly care
Care requirements across all ages, e.g. following surgery
Gaps in transitional and community support after hospital discharge
18. Health Education and Preventative Approaches
Partnerships, e.g. Royal Osteoporosis Society
Early intervention and muscle mass preservation
Public health strategies and benchmarking for prevention
19. Societal Changes and Generational Attitudes
Shifts towards personal health responsibility in younger generations
Reduction in binge-drinking, increased focus on fitness and wellness
Impact of weight loss drugs and supplements on societal norms
20. Lifespan vs. Healthspan
Anticipating longer life expectancies and implications for care
The necessity for shifting focus to healthspan—quality of life as we age
Economic and social ramifications for workplaces and the NHS
21. Economic History and Social Policy
Historical reliance on state care and pensions
Changing expectations and responsibilities regarding retirement
Addressing two-tier health systems and striving for universal wellness
22. Franchising Opportunities and Call to Action
Availability of franchise locations throughout the UK
Emphasis on values-led business growth
Encouragement for listeners to participate or inquire
23. Closing Remarks
Gratitude to listeners and community engagement
Reinforcement of the podcast’s mission: actionable change for inclusion and belonging
Invitation for stories, feedback and continued conversation
This sequence offers a detailed and logical flow of the episode, with each topic accompanied by key sub-points reflecting the depth of discussion.
The Hook
What if the secret to “scaling” care isn’t technology or efficiency—but heart? Imagine a world where compassion is the most powerful business tool you own. Ready to rethink everything you’ve ever believed about making an impact and building a legacy?
“Care” sounds soft—until you realise it’s the key to sustainable leadership, resilient teams, and a future-proof business. Ever wondered why the truly successful brands don’t just disrupt—they nurture? Let’s crack the code most entrepreneurs are missing…
Stop letting old-school systems dictate your impact. What would happen if you built a business that put people before process—yet STILL scaled bigger, faster, smarter? Get ready to challenge what you think you know about purpose-led growth.
Can you actually change lives at scale—without burning out, selling out, or giving up your values? Hint: The answer is yes, but not the way you think. Fascinated? Good. This episode will have you questioning where real influence—AND profit—actually begins.
Ever felt trapped between passion and profitability? What if you could radically disrupt stale industries, create lasting social value, and STILL come out on top? Spoiler: Building with “heart” isn’t just kind. It’s strategic.
🗞️ Newsletter
Subject: Inclusion Bites: Scaling Care with Heart – Transforming Home Care & Wellbeing
Hello Inclusion Champions,
Welcome back to another thought-provoking edition of the Inclusion Bites Podcast newsletter – the space where we explore what it truly means to spark change, foster belonging, and ignite conversations that matter.
This week’s episode:
Scaling Care with Heart
Host: Joanne Lockwood
Guest: Amrit Dhaliwal
In This Episode
Joanne Lockwood welcomes Amrit Dhaliwal, a dynamic entrepreneur and CEO, who is at the forefront of transforming home care in the UK through an innovative, purpose-led franchising model. Their discussion dives deep into the intersection of entrepreneurship, sustainable business, and social impact—particularly focusing on making home care a respected, attractive career, and reshaping how society approaches ageing, dignity, and independence.
Key Takeaways:
1. Challenging the Status Quo in Home Care
Amrit reveals how personal experience (including encouragement from his wife) propelled him into the sector, prompting a journey to modernise UK home care. He demonstrates the urgent need for professionalisation, fair funding, and retention of compassionate, highly-skilled carers, all while advocating for a business model centred on values, not merely profits.
2. Funding & Systemic Challenges
The conversation does not shy away from calling out unsustainable funding models, especially the issues with government commissioning of care and the impact this has on both service quality and job satisfaction. Amrit emphatically advocates for more equitable funding and a shift towards private pay and direct payments, placing control back in the hands of those receiving care.
3. Prevention Over Cure – A New Approach to Wellbeing
Together, they interrogate how our society views ageing, calling for a paradigm shift from “lifespan” to “healthspan”. Practical tips emerge: investing in accessible homes, data-driven health decisions, upskilling care workers, and even cultural changes in personal health responsibility. If you’re thinking about how to support either your parents, yourself, or the next generation, this episode offers both strategic and deeply human insight.
4. Rebranding the Care Sector
There's a compelling discussion on destigmatising home care careers and reframing care work (and entrepreneurs within the sector) as a source of pride and societal progress. The aspiring changemaker will find inspiration in Amrit’s call to action: let’s elevate care to a profession and a purpose, not just a necessity.
Community Corner
Have you or your family faced challenges with domiciliary or residential care? Do you feel prepared for what it means to support ageing parents or loved ones? Share your stories or join the conversation—your experiences could help others navigate similar journeys.
Email Joanne directly at jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk or connect for a chance to feature on a future episode.
Listen Now
Don’t miss this inspiring episode! Whether you’re an HR professional, part of the sandwich generation, or simply passionate about creating a more inclusive and compassionate world, Scaling Care with Heart is essential listening.
Up Next:
We’ll keep challenging the narrative—look out for the next Inclusion Bites episode as we continue to drive bold, necessary conversations that empower meaningful change.
If you haven’t yet, subscribe, share, and be part of the movement.
Warm regards,
The Inclusion Bites Team
Let’s nurture belonging, reimagine social care, and reshape what it means to thrive at any age. Join us on the journey!
Guest's content for their marketing
Scaling Care with Heart: Reflections on My Inclusion Bites Podcast Guest Experience
Recently, I had the privilege of joining Joanne Lockwood as a guest on the Inclusion Bites Podcast—an inspiring platform dedicated to bold conversations that drive real change across the UK. The episode, entitled “Scaling Care with Heart,” gave me the opportunity to delve into the evolving landscape of home care, share my entrepreneurial journey, and discuss the tangible impact of purpose-led franchising.
Championing Social Impact through Franchising
As CEO of Wolfinch, my mission is to transform the UK’s home care sector by blending innovation, quality, and social purpose. On the podcast, I reflected on how my journey began not as an insider but as a passionate entrepreneur motivated by a desire to make systemic improvement. My wife’s insight introduced me to the world of domiciliary care—a sector demanding fresh thinking and sustainable models. This personal story resonated deeply during the conversation, underscoring how authentic purpose and a values-driven approach can transform even the most traditional industries.
Unpacking Industry Challenges and Opportunities
Together, we explored the realities of home care provision, analysing the structural challenges posed by unsustainable government contracts and underfunding. I highlighted why rebranding the care worker’s role is fundamental: elevating it to the status and recognition it deserves is crucial not only for staff retention but also for attracting wider talent and entrepreneurial drive. My advocacy for private pay models and ethical franchise systems stems from a belief that sustainable business must honour all stakeholders—the care workers, clients, and communities alike.
Prevention, Wellness, and the Future of Care
Our discussion stretched beyond home care provision. We considered how prevention and personal responsibility are central to enhancing healthspan—not just lifespan. I shared perspectives on engaging with wellness early in life, the imperative of education for carers and their relatives, and the need for a holistic approach to health and ageing. It was refreshing to exchange ideas about the shifting generational attitudes towards health and the emerging role of technology, data, and personal choice.
Why This Conversation Matters
Appearing on the Inclusion Bites Podcast was more than an interview—it was a dialogue that challenged, educated, and inspired. Joanne Lockwood’s commitment to inclusion and positive change is infectious, and the platform provided the ideal space to champion social impact, debate complex issues, and encourage future entrepreneurs and care professionals to step forward with purpose.
For those considering entering the home care sector, or for anyone passionate about social change and innovation, I highly recommend tuning into Inclusion Bites. This episode, and the podcast more broadly, offers actionable insights and provokes the reflection needed to redefine what care means for our communities.
To learn more about my work, the Wolfinch franchising model, and how you can join this journey to scale care with heart, visit www.wolfinchfranchising.com, connect via LinkedIn or Instagram (Amrit Wolfinch), or find my book “Time to Thrive: The Home Care Revolution” on Amazon—all proceeds go to the Care Workers Charity.
Let’s ignite change together and reimagine care for the next generation.
Listen to the episode here: Inclusion Bites Podcast. For collaboration and conversation, please reach out to Joanne Lockwood at jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk.
Pain Points and Challenges
Certainly. Here’s a focused analysis of the pain points and challenges brought up during the “Scaling Care with Heart” episode of Inclusion Bites, followed by content designed for tackling each issue head-on.
Key Pain Points and Challenges Identified:
Unsustainable Funding Models for Home Care
Local authority contracts were described as “not sustainable and not reasonable.” Providers are paid rates insufficient to run viable businesses, leading to compromised quality and financial strain.
Amrit Dhaliwal highlighted the detrimental effect of government funding structures on service quality and staff well-being.
Fragmented Service Delivery and Lack of Stability
Care visits can be inconsistent, turning up at random times, undermining routines (e.g., breakfast at 11am instead of morning).
This unpredictability places risk on clients, as well as emotional and practical strain on families.
Joanne Lockwood described this frustration from personal experience.
Stigma and Lack of Professional Recognition for Care Workers
Care workers face embarrassment and lack the societal professional status enjoyed by nurses and NHS staff.
The industry suffers from poor branding and undervaluation of its workforce, hindering recruitment and retention.
Churn and Staffing Retention Problems
High turnover rates, poor training investment, and failure to prioritise value-based recruitment prevent care organisations from building sustainable, skilled teams.
Lack of focus on retention means providers constantly chase new hires instead of nurturing existing talent.
Limited Supply and Attraction of Talent
Reliance on overseas staff has been disrupted, exposing gaps in local recruitment.
The sector struggles to appeal to entrepreneurs and younger talent, in part due to its image and perceived lack of innovation.
Lack of Holistic Support and Prevention Focus
Home care is often reactive rather than preventive, leading to costly hospital admissions and avoidable health crises.
There’s insufficient education and support for relatives and the wider community, resulting in ill-prepared ‘sandwich generations’.
Inadequate Training and Upskilling
Training requirements are extensive, but the sector often fails to invest properly in upskilling care workers beyond compliance-driven basics.
Systemic Barriers to Funding and Accessibility
Individuals face significant hurdles in navigating funding, eligibility, and procurement processes, whether through the state or private means.
Content Addressing These Challenges:
1. Transforming Funding Models
Reframe care as an investment for long-term societal benefit, not merely a cost. Champion private-pay, self-funded models to drive quality and sustainability. Lobby for fair commissioning rates and redirect NHS funds to prevention and community care.
2. Service Reliability and Personalisation
Create tech-enabled scheduling systems that guarantee routine and consistency for clients. Emphasise person-centred care packages, tailored to individual needs and preferences, not government constraints.
3. Professionalising Care Work
Launch nationwide awareness campaigns to rebrand care as a valued profession. Partner with media, influencers, and sector leaders to elevate the status of care workers to parity with healthcare roles. Develop awards, certifications, and visible pathways for advancement.
4. Value-Based Recruitment and Retention
Adopt strict recruitment criteria around values, empathy, and motivation. Prioritise retention by treating care workers as key stakeholders—know their stories, invest in their growth, and reward longevity.
5. Talent Attraction and Sector Reinvention
Engage younger talent and entrepreneurs through franchise models, creative branding, and purposeful narratives. Position home care as a sector for innovation and social impact, not stagnation.
6. Prevention and Holistic Support
Educate families and communities about the importance of early intervention. Develop free drop-in ‘Thrive Clubs’ and support networks for carers, relatives, and clients—focusing on mental health, well-being, and proactive guidance.
7. Upskilling Beyond Compliance
Build layered training programmes—from basic compliance to specialist skills (e.g., stoma care, diabetes management, dementia awareness). Offer clear career ladders and support for professional development.
8. Navigating Access and Funding
Simplify procurement and funding information. Provide accessible guides, templates, and advisory services so individuals and families can make informed choices, whether relying on local authorities, direct payments, or private funding.
Closing Thought:
The industry is ripe for disruptive, values-led leadership. Only by confidently addressing stigma, funding flaws, instability, and professional development can home care be transformed into a thriving, modern sector. Inclusion Bites is a sounding board for these crucial discussions—let’s turn insight into action.
For further dialogue on these issues, reach out to Jo at jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk or listen along at Inclusion Bites Podcast.
Questions Asked that were insightful
Absolutely, the transcript offers several moments that could form the basis of an engaging FAQ series for Inclusion Bites listeners. Here’s a selection of questions derived from the interview, each anchored in particularly insightful responses from the guest, Amrit Dhaliwal, as well as the host, Joanne Lockwood:
Inclusion Bites Podcast – FAQ Series
1. What inspired Amrit Dhaliwal to enter the home care sector, and how did his personal experiences shape his approach?
Amrit Dhaliwal spoke about his wife’s influence and his own family’s experiences with elderly care, which fundamentally steered his passion and entrepreneurial journey into domiciliary care. He highlighted the importance of blending independence with support for the elderly.
2. Why does funding from local authorities present a challenge to quality home care provision?
The interview brought to light the unsustainable nature of local authority contracts—often offering inadequate compensation for providers, leading to issues around service consistency and staff retention.
3. How can the care worker role be rebranded to attract more talent and foster societal respect?
Amrit Dhaliwal emphasised the need to professionalise and destigmatise the role of care workers, drawing parallels to successful branding for nurses in the NHS, and advocated for making entrepreneurialism in care “cool”.
4. What are the challenges for families navigating care systems for elderly relatives, and how can they be addressed?
Joanne Lockwood discussed personal frustrations with care provision, citing unpredictable care visits and the emotional impact of insufficient support, highlighting the importance of education and guidance for families managing care procurement.
5. What recruitment and retention strategies does Amrit Dhaliwal believe are most effective for care providers?
The guest described value-based recruitment, prioritising purposeful staff selection and developing deep relationships with care workers to drive retention and quality.
6. Is there potential for new financial products or insurance schemes to support people in funding their own care needs?
Amrit Dhaliwal suggested the sector needs innovation in funding—insurance products could ease the transition, complementing equity release and other existing schemes.
7. How can prevention and wellness approaches shape the future of care and support healthy ageing?
Both speakers discussed the shift from lifespan to healthspan, and the need for early intervention, personal responsibility, and scientific approaches to wellness, such as muscle mass maintenance and regular health benchmarking.
8. What is the impact of changing societal attitudes toward health, fitness, and ageing?
There was recognition that new generations are more health-conscious, with reduced alcohol consumption and increased awareness of supplements and preventative measures. This trend could transform future care models and workplace expectations.
9. What are the strategies and benefits behind Amrit Dhaliwal’s franchising model for home care?
The episode detailed how a purpose-led, scalable “plug-and-play” franchise approach can empower entrepreneurs—from outside the care sector—to deliver quality and drive social impact nationally.
Each of these questions and responses encapsulates key learnings and reflections from the episode. They would be perfect for a recurring FAQ section, blog posts, or even social media snippets to engage the Inclusion Bites community further. If you’d like deeper dives into any of these topics, let me know!
Blog article based on the episode
Scaling Care with Heart: Rethinking the Future of Domiciliary Care
What if the most radical transformation in care began not with government policy, but with entrepreneurial spirit and genuine human connection? As our population ages and the demands of care intensify, the question echoes louder: are we truly equipping ourselves—not just professionals, but families, communities, and citizens—to deliver care that’s not merely functional, but filled with dignity, support, and purpose?
This week’s Inclusion Bites Podcast, titled Scaling Care with Heart (seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen), brings this dilemma centre stage. Host Joanne Lockwood sits down with Amrit Dhaliwal (Amrit Dhaliwal), dynamic entrepreneur and CEO of Wolfinch, whose innovative franchising model is setting new standards across the UK home care sector.
The Problem: Domiciliary Care Disarray
It’s no secret that the UK’s domiciliary care system is buckling under pressure. Joanne Lockwood shares personal frustrations—15-minute visits contracted by local authorities that leave vulnerable people unsupported, inconsistent timing, overstretched resources, and a system failing to meet real human needs. As Amrit observes, the entire sector is “archaic”, from its funding mechanisms to its undervalued workforce, and the external perception that care work is “embarrassing” rather than essential ([00:09:13]).
Government contracts often pay unsustainable rates, providers are “losing money on every visit”, and care workers are rushed and underappreciated. The real-world effects are stark: unmet emotional needs, compromised safety, insufficient time for basic support, and a culture that doesn’t value care as a noble profession.
But why are we here? The root lies in underfunding and outdated models, fractured branding, and the absence of a joined-up system that nurtures both the cared-for and the carers.
The Agitation: Unpacking the Cascade of Missed Opportunities
Consider this scenario: an elderly person, qualified for only 15 minutes of care per day, is left alone at odd hours, risking falls and isolation. Relatives—like Joanne Lockwood—are forced to become unpaid navigators of this labyrinth, often unprepared and unsupported themselves ([00:13:01]). The cost, financially and emotionally, mounts quickly. Hospitalisations, ineffective transitions, and “prevention that would have been a better investment” are recurring themes.
As Amrit articulates, care workers are the invisible backbone; society owes them “professionalisation and rebranding”, a shift in narrative akin to what nurses in the NHS earned ([00:09:24]). The absence of a “social care campaign”, lack of visibility in media, and the fact that “entrepreneurialism is cool, but home care isn’t yet” all create cultural obstacles that ensure key talent and innovation steer clear.
The fragmentation impacts more than just the elderly. As Joanne Lockwood notes, care needs are cross-generational, touching anyone from those recovering post-surgery to those struggling with chronic conditions, and the “sandwich generation” left juggling work, children, and parental care ([00:36:28]).
The Solution: Actionable Strategies for Scaling Care with Heart
Amrit’s journey is instructive. Starting as an “outsider” to the care sector, he founded Wolfinch to offer a scalable, purpose-led franchising model, specifically inviting entrepreneurs from outside traditional care to drive change. Key actionable insights from the episode include:
1. Shift Away from Unsustainable Government Contracts
Amrit recommends providers “march with their feet” away from local authority work that isn’t “fairly commissioned”, focusing instead on private pay models where provider and procurer share control, and the standard of service can be meaningfully raised ([00:14:21]).
2. Rebrand and Professionalise Care Workers
The sector must treat care workers with the respect they deserve—recognising them as professionals, investing in value-based recruitment, and fostering ongoing training tailored to complex medical and emotional needs ([00:25:00]). This means shifting hiring philosophy: “We’re going to say no to basically 50% of applicants,” focusing on purpose-driven individuals who genuinely want to care.
3. Retention and Upskilling
Retention is gold. “If you can retain those people, you will develop a sustained scalable business” ([00:29:15]). It allows for upskilling: care workers who stay for years become multifaceted professionals capable of handling medication, specialist support, and meaningful client relationships—breaking down the old assumption that only management can be trusted with responsibility.
4. Preventative and Holistic Approach
The conversation highlights the imperative of prevention. Investment in home modifications, proactive health monitoring, and community engagement—such as Wolfinch’s Thrive Clubs partnering with the Royal Osteoporosis Society—help extend not just lifespan, but “healthspan” ([00:54:04]). Encouraging people to invest early in their own well-being, physical strength, and home accessibility empowers individuals to navigate later life with independence.
5. Education for Families and the Workforce
There’s a pressing need for improved education for families navigating elder care, as well as “destigmatising the profession”—making care work an aspirational career, not a fallback. This includes support for relatives, facilitating ‘care leave’ analogous to parental leave, and integrating care and workplace flexibility into wider societal benefits ([00:36:14]).
6. Culture of Data, Technology, and Self-Responsibility
Embracing technology, personal health data, and ongoing health education is crucial. The next generation, as observed, is more health-conscious, and tools like wearables, nutrition trackers, and personal training are becoming integral ([00:44:08]). Initiatives that foster “wellness and health 3.0”, prioritising prevention, will ultimately change the trajectory of care needs.
The Radical Call to Action
This episode is a call to arms—not just for policymakers, but for anyone who can see themselves as a changemaker in their circle. Are you willing to challenge the status quo, value relational depth over transactional business models, and propel the care sector into the future?
Don’t wait for government to fix care. If you’re a professional, re-examine how you hire, train, and retain your staff. If you’re a family member, demand more dignity and quality for your loved ones. If you’re an entrepreneur, consider careers in care—drive innovation and create scalable, purpose-driven ventures as Amrit Dhaliwal is leading.
As Amrit shares, “We say no a lot, but again, for the same reasons, we’re looking at retention, we’re looking at the right people and we’re trying to build a values-led business.” ([00:59:10]) This is the heart of scalable change: values, respect, and relentless drive for impact.
Take action—subscribe to Inclusion Bites (https://seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen), share your story, or reach out to Joanne Lockwood at jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk. Whether you’re a budding franchisee or a family impacted by care, connect and be part of reshaping our societal narrative.
Care, ultimately, begins with each of us. Will you scale it with heart?
Inspired by Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO and champion of progressive care, and the bold conversations of the Inclusion Bites Podcast—Scaling Care With Heart.
The standout line from this episode
A standout line from this episode comes from Amrit Dhaliwal:
"Everyone in that system should win. The carer should win, the client should win, the entrepreneur behind the service should win, the community should win. And as a result, the greater economy will win."
This encapsulates the heart of the episode—an inclusive, holistic vision for scaling care that uplifts every stakeholder and ultimately benefits society as a whole.
❓ Questions
Certainly! Here are 10 discussion questions based on the "Scaling Care with Heart" episode of the Inclusion Bites Podcast:
What motivated Amrit Dhaliwal to move from the restaurant and catering business into home care, and how did his wife's family background influence his decision?
How does Amrit Dhaliwal approach the problem of archaic systems within home care franchising, and what solutions has he implemented through Wolfinch?
Joanne Lockwood describes difficulties with local authority-funded care, such as 15-minute visits and lack of flexibility. How does this reflect wider systemic issues in care provision?
In what ways does Amrit Dhaliwal advocate for the rebranding and professionalisation of care workers, and why does he believe this is essential for attracting new talent to the sector?
Discuss the concept of “prevention” in care as outlined by Amrit Dhaliwal and Joanne Lockwood. How can early investment in health and fitness reduce the burden on the NHS and improve quality of life in later years?
How does franchising operate as a model for scaling high-quality home care, according to Amrit Dhaliwal? What are the advantages and potential challenges of this approach?
Joanne Lockwood and Amrit Dhaliwal mention stigma and lack of societal recognition for care workers and carers. What strategies could be employed to alter public perceptions?
What are some practical steps families can take to future-proof their homes for elderly or post-operative care needs, as illustrated by Joanne Lockwood’s mother’s decision to invest in accessibility?
The discussion touches on the importance of value-based recruitment and care worker retention. In your opinion, what are the most effective ways to recruit and retain high-quality care staff?
Given the shift from "lifespan" to "healthspan" discussed by Amrit Dhaliwal, how might workplaces and society need to adapt as more people work into their seventies and eighties, and what implications does this have for inclusive policy and support?
These questions are designed to provoke thoughtful engagement with the core themes and real-world challenges raised in the episode.
FAQs from the Episode
Scaling Care with Heart – FAQ
1. What is “Scaling Care with Heart” about?
This episode of the Inclusion Bites Podcast, hosted by Joanne Lockwood, explores the evolution, challenges, and opportunities within the UK home care sector. The conversation unpacks how franchising models, innovation, and social purpose can drive systemic change in home care, with Amrit Dhaliwal sharing his entrepreneurial journey and vision.
2. Who are the speakers in this episode?
The episode features:
Joanne Lockwood, the host and inclusion advocate
Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO and entrepreneur pioneering purpose-led franchising in UK home care
3. What inspired Amrit Dhaliwal’s venture into home care?
According to Amrit Dhaliwal, home care was originally his wife’s suggestion, stemming from her background in dentistry and nursing homes. Amrit saw unmet needs and an archaic system, prompting a move from catering and restaurants to home care franchising, aiming to create scalable, purpose-driven businesses.
4. Why is franchising considered a solution for home care’s challenges?
Franchising enables entrants from diverse backgrounds—not just those already in care—to build sustainable, values-led businesses. This approach provides “plug-and-play” models, nurturing entrepreneurship and supporting broader impact by professionalising the role of care workers and business owners.
5. What are the main problems facing home care in the UK?
The episode highlights several systemic issues:
Unsustainable funding from local authorities
15-minute care visits which compromise quality
Underpaying care workers and undervaluing the profession
Lack of branding and societal recognition compared to nursing or NHS roles
Reliance on archaic business models
6. How does private pay differ from local authority-funded care?
Private pay allows for greater flexibility, higher quality of service, and fairer compensation for care workers. Amrit Dhaliwal asserts that private clients and providers retain control, permitting more meaningful visits and reducing bureaucracy.
7. What is Amrit Dhaliwal’s approach to recruiting and retaining care workers?
Value-based recruitment is central—only hiring those truly committed to caring, and focusing on retention by understanding and meeting individual motivations. Upskilling care workers, fostering loyalty, and creating supportive, purpose-driven workplaces are essential elements.
8. How does the stigma around care work impact the sector?
Care work is often undervalued and not seen as a prestigious career, unlike nursing. The episode urges a rebranding to elevate care workers’ status and attract varied talent, making entrepreneurialism in home care “cool” and respected.
9. Is home care only for the elderly?
No. The conversation acknowledges that people of all ages may need domiciliary care, including those recovering from medical procedures or living with chronic conditions. The sector must adapt to serve this broad demographic.
10. What role does prevention play in the future of home care?
Both speakers endorse prevention as the foundation for reform. Encouraging early investment in health, fitness, home adaptation, and technological tracking (e.g., wearables, regular blood tests) reduces demand for acute care and improves quality of life.
11. How is Wolf Inch innovating in the UK care sector?
Wolf Inch, Amrit Dhaliwal’s franchise, focuses on professionalising care, fostering entrepreneurial impact, and scaling through values-led partnerships. Initiatives like Thrive Clubs (community activity programmes) and collaborations with charities aim to enhance well-being and societal change.
12. What does the episode suggest about the future of ageing in the UK?
The speakers predict longer lifespans and emphasise the need for an extended “health span”—years lived actively and well. This requires systemic change, workplace adaptations, and individual responsibility for health and wealth.
13. Where can I learn more or get involved?
Listeners can follow up via the podcast’s website https://seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen, contact Joanne Lockwood at jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk, or explore Wolf Inch at www.wolfinchfranchising.com for franchise opportunities and resources.
For anyone curious about reshaping care, promoting inclusion, or catalysing change, this episode offers actionable perspectives and a rallying cry for reimagining how society values and delivers care.
Tell me more about the guest and their views
The guest in this episode, Amrit Dhaliwal, is a dynamic entrepreneur and CEO focused on transforming the UK home care sector. His approach centres on a purpose-led franchising model that blends innovation, quality, and social impact. Amrit Dhaliwal entered the home care industry somewhat unintentionally, initially inspired by a suggestion from his wife, who has a family background in nursing homes. This personal connection, coupled with a first-hand experience caring for his grandfather, illuminated both the challenges and opportunities within home care—especially the need for balancing independence and support in elderly care.
From the transcript, Amrit Dhaliwal's views are nuanced and practical:
Sector Challenges and Solutions
He describes the home care sector as historically archaic, mentioning that government contracts often pay unsustainable rates, leading to frustration and inconsistency for clients and providers alike.
His solution was to pivot away from chasing local authority contracts, instead focusing on building a private-pay business with sustainable margins, enabling better service quality by investing more in staff training and pay.
Professionalising and Rebranding Care Work
Amrit Dhaliwal is an advocate for rebranding the care worker’s role, equating its importance and professionalism to that of nurses in the NHS. He points out the sector’s lack of visibility and social recognition, aiming to reposition care work as a respected, aspirational profession rather than one to be embarrassed about.
Entrepreneurship and Franchising
He sees entrepreneurialism as essential to driving sector change—and argues that franchising can be a powerful model for scaling quality home care across the UK. By attracting talent from diverse backgrounds and equipping them with a “plug-and-play” system, he seeks to redefine what home care looks like.
Recruitment and Retention
Amrit Dhaliwal puts considerable emphasis on value-based recruitment, believing retention comes from hiring the right people for the right reasons and genuinely investing in their motivation, wellbeing, and professional growth. He describes his strategy of “saying no a lot” to applicants, focusing on finding care workers who have the right values and would be trusted with his own family.
Impact and Future Vision
He is interested in scalable impact, noting that while running a local care business might generate more immediate profit, leading a nationwide franchise allows for a much broader social impact—enabling innovation at scale and ultimately professionalising the entire industry.
Amrit Dhaliwal also discusses broader topics such as health span vs. lifespan, the need for preventive care, and the value of early intervention and personal responsibility in maintaining independence and quality of life. He’s keen to drive change both through business and through initiatives like Thrive Clubs, which encourage proactive wellbeing in the community.
Overall, Amrit Dhaliwal comes across as deeply committed to both the entrepreneurial and human aspects of care, seeking lasting transformation in how society thinks about, funds, and delivers care services—always with heart and a focus on inclusive impact.
Ideas for Future Training and Workshops based on this Episode
Certainly! Drawing on the rich discussion between Joanne Lockwood and Amrit Dhaliwal in “Scaling Care with Heart,” here are ideas for future training and workshop sessions inspired by the themes and insights raised in the episode:
1. Recruitment and Retention in Home Care: Purpose-Led Strategies
Focus: Value-based recruitment, talent retention, and professionalisation of the care worker role.
Components: Interactive scenarios around interviewing, onboarding, and motivation; mapping out retention techniques (personalisation, emotional investment, workplace flexibility).
Benefit: Equip managers to build sustainable, values-led teams in care settings.
2. Rebranding and Professionalising Care Work
Focus: Addressing stigma, elevating the status of care work, and advocating for care workers’ dignity and expertise.
Components: Exploration of marketing campaigns, storytelling techniques, and communication plans to reframe care work both internally (for employees) and externally (for society).
Benefit: Boost recruitment and pride amongst care workers, attract new talent, and improve consumer perception.
3. Designing Sustainable Care Business Models
Focus: Alternative funding streams, private/self-funded care, and conscious franchising.
Components: Case studies on viable business models; session on balancing profitability, quality, and well-being; practical budgeting exercises rooted in care sector realities.
Benefit: Empower entrepreneurs and providers to design businesses that offer scalable, ethical care.
4. Prevention-Centric Care: From Episodic to Holistic Support
Focus: Shifting from crisis management to proactive, preventive care.
Components: Workshop on identifying risk factors, planning interventions, and integrating technology for early detection; discussion on the Healthspan model and wellness tracking.
Benefit: Reduce hospitalisations, improve quality of life, and empower carers and families with actionable plans.
5. Navigating the Care System: Empowering Families and Relatives
Focus: Educating families on care options, terminology, funding, and legal rights.
Components: “Care Preparedness” training, toolkit creation for navigating local authority offerings, understanding personal budgets and direct payments, and communication skills for advocacy.
Benefit: Support the sandwich generation and relieve stress through knowledge and guidance.
6. Inclusive Care: Addressing Intersectionality and Accessibility
Focus: Making care accessible for all demographics—across age, disability, and socio-economic status.
Components: Exercises on unconscious bias, accessible facilities planning, and policy review from an intersectional perspective; simulated client journeys to highlight gaps.
Benefit: Build inclusive, culturally aware service models and empower staff and clients.
7. Upskilling the Care Workforce: Training for Complexity and Specialist Needs
Focus: Multidisciplinary training for care workers (e.g., diabetes, stoma care, dementia, osteoporosis).
Components: Modular sessions on clinical and soft skills, partnerships with medical professionals, and ongoing learning pathways; peer-to-peer learning and mentoring models.
Benefit: Enable care workers to deliver higher quality, holistic care and engage confidently in complex situations.
8. Wellness and Healthspan: Building a Prevention Culture
Focus: Encouraging preventive health, lifelong wellness, and personal responsibility.
Components: Educational sessions on fitness, nutrition, wearable tech, and benchmarking health metrics; implementation plans for “Thrive Clubs” and wellbeing initiatives in care settings.
Benefit: Empower carers and clients to adopt healthier lifestyles, extending healthspan and quality of life.
These ideas reflect the nuanced challenges and forward-thinking solutions articulated in the episode, offering practical, impactful pathways for both service providers and broader community stakeholders. Workshops based on these themes could set the stage for more inclusive, sustainable, and professional care in the UK.
🪡 Threads by Instagram
What does scaling care with real heart mean? Amrit Dhaliwal believes true impact comes from blending innovation and purpose, not just chasing profit. He challenges us to rebrand care work as a respected, valued profession.
Ever felt frustrated by rushed, impersonal care visits? Joanne Lockwood and Amrit Dhaliwal discuss the need for sustainable funding and personalised support—because everyone deserves dignity and quality in later life.
Should care be a career worth aspiring to? Amrit Dhaliwal urges us to see care workers as skilled professionals, not just “helpers.” Changing the narrative will attract wider talent and redefine social care’s image.
Prevention, not reaction—what if we invested in wellness from our teens onwards? The episode explores how personal health choices, community activity, and tailored support could transform ageing for everyone.
Personal stories matter: Joanne Lockwood shares her family’s journey navigating the care system, from inaccessible support to proactive home adaptation. Why wait until crisis hits? It’s time to rethink how we prepare for lifelong independence.
Leadership Insights - YouTube Short Video Script on Common Problems for Leaders to Address
Leadership Insights Channel — Tackling Staff Retention in Care
Are you a leader struggling with high staff turnover in your organisation, especially in the care sector? You’re not alone. The root cause often isn’t just recruitment — it’s how you engage and retain your team.
Here’s the reality: focusing only on hiring can be costly and unsustainable. Instead, zero in on retention by creating a values-led culture. Say ‘no’ to candidates who don’t align with your organisation’s purpose. Invest in understanding your team — learn what motivates them, acknowledge their milestones, and support their personal needs.
Prioritise meaningful connections and continuous training. When care workers feel valued and upskilled, they stay longer, deliver better service, and elevate your business.
So, shift your mindset: great leadership is built on purposeful hiring and genuine investment in people. Start today, and watch your organisation thrive.
SEO Optimised Titles
Scaling Home Care Nationwide | 40 UK Franchise Locations by 2024 | Amrit @ Wolfinch
Fixing Domiciliary Care: 15-Minute Visits and £800 Hospital Nights Explored | Amrit @ Wolfinch
Redefining Care Worker Careers: From Minimum Wage to Million Pound Models | Amrit @ Wolfinch
Email Newsletter about this Podcast Episode
Subject: Inclusion Bites — Scaling Care with Heart: Episode 198
Hello Inclusion Bites Tribe,
Ready for honest, inspiring chat that cuts straight to the heart of why care matters? This week, Joanne Lockwood welcomes the brilliant Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO and home care disruptor, for episode 198: “Scaling Care with Heart”. If you think healthcare is just about ticking boxes, this episode will open your eyes and challenge a few assumptions!
5 Keys You'll Discover in This Episode:
Fixing a Broken System: Amrit Dhaliwal shares how UK home care is stuck on outdated contracts and reveals how his franchise model is rewriting the rulebook.
Quality Over Quantity: Hear the case for paying carers a fair wage, investing in their development, and rebranding care work as a respected profession.
Prevention Pays Off: Get real stories from Joanne Lockwood about the impact of proactive care — and the cost, emotionally and financially, of waiting for a crisis.
Recruitment Reinvented: Learn how saying “no” to the wrong hires creates stronger teams, happier carers, and better outcomes for those in need.
Healthspan vs Lifespan: Move beyond “just living longer” and discover practical ways to plan for the healthiest, most independent life possible.
Unique Fact Shared:
Did you know the average hospital bed now costs over £800 a night, and most people simply want to stay in their own homes longer? Amrit Dhaliwal’s franchising approach aims to make quality, sustainable home care accessible — while radically transforming how providers and carers see themselves.
Your Next Step:
Want to be part of the conversation? Got thoughts or stories about home care, ageing, or inclusion? Drop Joanne Lockwood a line at jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk or share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.
Catch More:
Listen to Episode 198, “Scaling Care with Heart,” on Inclusion Bites: https://seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen
Final Word:
If you're curious about real change — not just in care, but in how we look after each other as a society — this episode is a must. Subscribe to Inclusion Bites for bold conversations, practical wisdom, and a warm community of listeners who care deeply about making the world belong to all.
Here’s to living, and caring, with heart!
— The Inclusion Bites Team
Potted Summary
Episode Introduction
In this episode of Inclusion Bites, Joanne Lockwood welcomes Amrit Dhaliwal, a visionary CEO revolutionising UK home care through franchising. Together, they explore challenges in the sector, the need for sustainable funding, and how professionalising care workers can create lasting societal impact. The discussion navigates health, ageing, and leadership, uncovering transformative ideas for a more inclusive and proactive care ecosystem.
in this conversation we discuss
👉 Fixing care funding
👉 Professionalising carers
👉 Prevention & healthspan
here are a few of our favourite quotable moments
"It should be illegal as far as I'm concerned... you can't go into someone's property and do anything in 15 minutes."
"The way I sort of see it... why can we not rebrand the role of the entrepreneur within this sector?"
"We need to really change the conversation from lifespan to healthspan. How long am I healthy for?"
Episode Summary & Call to Action
This powerful conversation exposes the cracks in UK home care and proposes entrepreneurial, people-centred solutions. If you’re passionate about inclusion and quality of life as we age, tune in for inspiration and actionable insights. Hear more bold discussions by listening to Inclusion Bites at seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen.
LinkedIn Poll
LinkedIn Poll Introduction:
In this episode of Inclusion Bites, "Scaling Care with Heart", Joanne Lockwood sits down with Amrit Dhaliwal to explore how the care sector can evolve to better serve society. They discuss the challenges in sustainable funding, the undervalued role of care workers, the importance of prevention, and shifting the perception of a career in care. As we rethink the future of health and social care, your views matter.
Poll Question:
What single change would have the biggest impact on improving the UK’s home care sector? 🏡
Poll Options:
💷 Fair funding for providers
🙌 Raising care worker status
🧠 Focus on prevention
🤝 Family/relative support
Hashtags:
#CareWithHeart #InclusionBites #SocialCare #Belonging
Why your input matters:
Vote to highlight where you think the sector needs most urgent transformation. Your perspective helps shape the conversation and drives real change for a more inclusive, sustainable future in care!
Highlight the Importance of this topic on LinkedIn
Just listened to the latest Inclusion Bites Podcast episode, “Scaling Care with Heart,” with Joanne Lockwood and Amrit Dhaliwal — and wow, what a necessary conversation for HR and EDI professionals! 🎙️
Too often, home care is overlooked or dismissed as “unglamorous,” yet it sits at the intersection of inclusion, dignity, and societal transformation. Amrit Dhaliwal challenges us to rethink how care roles are valued, and why we must rebrand these essential jobs as skilled, professional, and purpose-driven. 🚀
Key takeaways for our sector:
Funding models matter — sustainability is essential for both quality care and fair work
Retention and genuine value-based recruitment change everything
Healthspan, not just lifespan, must shape our employee wellbeing strategies
Entrepreneurial, values-led leadership drives systemic change
If we’re serious about inclusion, we must champion and professionalise social care — for our people, our ageing populations, and our future workplaces. Let’s be the leaders who drive this shift! 💡
#InclusionBites #HumanResources #EDI #SocialCare #Leadership #PeopleFirst
L&D Insights
Absolutely! Here’s an executive L&D report distilling key takeaways for Senior Leaders, HR, and EDI professionals from the “Scaling Care with Heart” episode of the Inclusion Bites Podcast:
Inclusion Bites Podcast: Episode 198—Scaling Care with Heart
🔍 Key Insights for Senior Leaders, HR & EDI Pros
Systemic Funding Challenges
The episode exposes the broken funding mechanisms underpinning UK domiciliary care, especially local authority contracts paying unsustainable rates (Amrit Dhaliwal). Leaders should interrogate whether traditional procurement models are truly supporting both quality and retention.Rebranding Care Work & Entrepreneurialism
Care workers aren’t seen in society as ‘professional’—unlike nursing roles. Amrit Dhaliwal advocates for reframing care work as a valued, skilled profession and making entrepreneurial leadership within care “cool.” This suggests EDI & HR campaigns focused on destigmatising care careers, mirroring successful NHS branding.Holistic Inclusion ≠ Just ‘Box-Ticking’
Quality care means inclusion for both staff and service users. Recruiting based on values, and not just volume, results in retention and happier clients (Amrit Dhaliwal). Staff wellbeing, flexibility, and professional development are part of scalable inclusion.Prevention Over Cure
There’s a powerful “aha moment” in pivoting organisational strategy away from solely fixing immediate problems toward preventative wellbeing measures. Both care delivery and workplace inclusion benefit when leaders think longitudinally—investing in accessibility, healthspan, and upskilling.Personalisation & Partnership
“Plug and play” franchise models support wider impact—if the right values-led people are onboarded (Amrit Dhaliwal). L&D and HR should emphasise personalised, relational approaches in both talent and customer management—not transactional ones.
Aha Moments ✨
The true bottleneck isn’t just “finding talent”; it’s fostering purpose-led, retention-optimised teams—by saying “no” more often to applicants who don’t align with values.
Workforce empowerment in care means seeing frontline staff as “gold dust” assets worth upskilling, celebrating, and investing in—just as you would your top clients!
Reframing “lifespan” as “healthspan” and supporting employees to plan for long, active working lives is a game-changer for workplace wellbeing.
What Should Leaders, HR, and EDI Pros Do Differently?
Champion Rebranding: Launch campaigns to professionalise care roles, challenge stigma, and attract diverse talent from outside the sector.
Value-Based Recruitment: Prioritise hiring and retention strategies that centre purpose, empathy, and alignment over mere qualifications or transactional experience.
Invest in Prevention: Integrate health and wellbeing provisions, flexible leave, and proactive support—not just reactive fixes—into HR policies.
Empower Carers: Build career frameworks and CPD paths for frontline workers, recognising their critical contribution to organisational success.
Design for Accessibility: Start educating future generations and plan proactively for accessible environments; don’t wait until crisis to adapt.
Hashtags for Social Media
#InclusionBites #CareWithHeart #PurposeDrivenLeadership #HealthspanMatters #ValueBasedHiring
👂 This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to disrupt status quos in care, HR, or EDI. It strongly advocates for meaningful, scalable, purpose-led impact—where EVERYONE wins. If you want to ignite inclusion, this is your roadmap!
Glossary of Terms and Phrases
## Uncommon Concepts and Terminology from "Scaling Care with Heart"
1. **Domiciliary Care**
Care provided in an individual's own home, as opposed to in residential or nursing facilities.
2. **Purpose-led Franchising Model**
A business model focused on aligning franchised operations with a wider social or ethical purpose, rather than purely profit.
3. **Care Quality Commission (CQC) Registration**
Official accreditation required to operate care services in the UK; ensures compliance with statutory standards.
4. **Private Pay / Self-funded Business**
Care services funded directly by the service user or their family, rather than via government or local authority contracts.
5. **Local Authority Contracts**
Agreements with councils or government bodies to deliver care at set rates, typically associated with budgetary constraints and lower funding.
6. **Direct Payments / Personal Budget**
Funding allocated by local authorities which individuals can use to purchase and manage their own care services instead of accessing council-commissioned provision.
7. **Churn (in care workforce context)**
The rate at which care workers leave and need replacing, impacting continuity and quality.
8. **Value-based Recruitment**
Hiring based on alignment of personal values and motivations with organisational purpose, rather than solely on qualifications or experience.
9. **Healthspan (vs. lifespan)**
The period of life spent in good health, as opposed to simply the total years lived.
10. **Wealthspan**
Concept of the period during which individuals maintain financial well-being—a less common term relating to longevity, financial planning, and independence.
11. **Professionalisation/Rebranding of Care Worker Roles**
The process of elevating the status and perception of care workers through campaigns, training, and recognition.
12. **Plug-and-play Model (in franchising)**
A simplified operational approach allowing entrepreneurs to enter and scale within the care sector without extensive sector-specific experience.
13. **Abundance Model**
An economic or business philosophy which posits enough resources exist for all stakeholders to benefit (e.g., carers, clients, entrepreneurs, and communities).
14. **Health 3.0**
A conceptual evolution in healthcare, referenced as prevention-focused, proactive and data-driven, moving beyond reactive treatment.
15. **Sandwich Generation**
Adults simultaneously caring for ageing parents and supporting their own children, leading to complex personal and professional challenges.
16. **Retention (in care workforce context)**
Strategies and success in keeping care workers engaged and employed over time.
17. **Equity Products (for funding care)**
Financial products (such as equity release) allowing individuals to access funds from property to finance care needs.
18. **Thrive Clubs**
Community initiatives introduced in the episode involving free wellness activities for prevention and social engagement.
19. **Stigma Around Help/Medication (e.g., weight loss drugs)**
Social perception and judgement towards individuals seeking pharmaceutical or external support for health and well-being.
20. **Sphere of Influence**
The area or range within which a person or organisation can effect change—especially used in context of advocacy and action.
SEO Optimised YouTube Content
Focus Keyword: Scaling Care With Heart
Video Title:
Scaling Care With Heart: Transforming Domiciliary Care for Positive People Experiences & Culture Change | #InclusionBitesPodcast
Tags:
Scaling Care With Heart, Positive People Experiences, Culture Change, inclusive care, caring profession, UK home care, Wolf Inch franchising, healthspan, social impact, care worker retention, professionalising care, ageing well, prevention in healthcare, franchise opportunities, wellbeing, elderly support, holistic care, workplace inclusion, carer education, equality, NHS, care system, sustainability, innovation, charity partnerships
Killer Quote:
“I think it's really important to have everyone in that system should win. The carer should win, the client should win, the entrepreneur behind the service should win, the community should win, and as a result, the greater economy will win.” - Amrit Dhaliwal
Hashtags:
#ScalingCareWithHeart, #PositivePeopleExperiences, #CultureChange, #DomiciliaryCare, #InclusiveCare, #CarerWellbeing, #CareProfession, #WolfInchFranchising, #Healthspan, #SocialImpact, #WorkplaceInclusion, #CareWorkerRetention, #ProfessionalisingCare, #CharityPartnerships, #AgeingWell, #PreventativeCare, #FranchiseOpportunities, #Wellbeing, #NHS, #InclusionBitesPodcast
Why Listen
Welcome to another compelling episode of Inclusion Bites, where I, Joanne Lockwood, am joined by Amrit Dhaliwal, a visionary entrepreneur reshaping the UK’s home care sector. This episode is all about Scaling Care With Heart—a theme that weaves together the threads of Positive People Experiences and the urgent need for Culture Change in care provision. If you’re invested in the future of inclusive care, seeking fresh perspectives on transforming traditional business models, or searching for actionable ways to make a difference, this episode is tailored for you.
Our discussion begins with Amrit’s journey into domiciliary care—a path inspired by his wife and framed by his experience as an outsider to the sector. He shares how the archaic systems, rigid funding mechanisms, and outdated perceptions have hindered home care’s potential. Rather than seeing care as a box-ticking exercise or a task completed in 15 minutes, Amrit advocates for a purpose-led approach that prioritises quality, impact, and entrepreneurship. He doesn’t just strive to fix care delivery; he wants to “fix franchising” by providing plug-and-play models that empower people from all walks of life to participate. This is culture change in action—a new mindset that puts people first, whether they’re care workers, clients, or business owners.
The episode tackles the realities of government funding and its impact on care quality. We explore why local authority contracts are often unsustainable, leaving care workers undervalued and clients underserved. Amrit elevates the conversation by focusing on care worker professionalisation and branding—challenging the stigma attached to the profession. How can we rebrand care workers, making their roles as proud and aspirational as nursing careers? How do we make entrepreneurship in care “cool” and invite diverse talent to drive change?
Real-life experiences, including my own, bring these themes home. As a procurer of care for elderly relatives, I highlight the frustrations families face when navigating local authority provision, from rigid time slots to inconsistent service delivery. Amrit and I agree that care should work for everyone involved—this is at the core of Positive People Experiences. The solution lies in more equitable funding models, flexible procurement options, and meaningful partnerships between families and providers. Culture change, in this context, requires shifting from market-driven chaos to sustainable, values-led practice.
Amrit’s process-driven approach signals the need for transformation at every level. From recruitment and retention to training and upskilling staff, he shows how focusing on purpose and value ensures not only business success but real impact. The episode provides a practical roadmap: value-based recruitment, data-driven activity, community engagement (like Thrive Clubs), and embracing innovative partnerships such as those with the Royal Osteoporosis Society.
As we expand the scope beyond elderly care, the discussion spotlights the broader landscape of support, including after acute medical events, for younger adults, and even for families juggling multiple responsibilities. The concept of “healthspan” versus “lifespan” is introduced, encouraging listeners to invest in their future well-being—and underscoring that culture change in care is not just about who delivers the service, but how we all prepare for the realities of ageing and long-term health.
Together, Amrit and I interrogate the generational shifts in attitudes towards health and well-being, the challenges of workforce supply and retention, and the urgent call for systemic change. We envision a society where everyone, regardless of financial status or background, has access to high-quality, inclusive care and can thrive at every stage of life. The actionable insights and inspiring narratives in this episode make Scaling Care With Heart a must-listen for anyone committed to positive people experiences and meaningful culture change.
Closing Summary and Call to Action
This episode distils profound learning and actionable insights that will help listeners drive culture change and foster positive people experiences in the care sector and beyond. Here’s what you’ll take away:
Reframe Care as a Profession:
Challenge and transform the stigma surrounding care work, making it a source of pride and aspiration.
Promote professionalisation through branding, training, and visibility campaigns, akin to those for nurses and other respected professions.
Value-Based Recruitment and Retention:
Employ recruitment strategies that prioritise values and purpose, ensuring the right people are in the right roles.
Shift from high churn to retention-focused business models, where care workers are nurtured, recognised, and empowered through continual upskilling.
Embrace Entrepreneurial Solutions:
Recognise the power of entrepreneurship in driving culture change within established sectors.
Explore franchise models that lower barriers to entry, equipping outsiders with scalable, purpose-led ventures—bringing fresh perspectives and innovation to care.
Demand Sustainable Funding and Procurement:
Advocate for fair, sustainable funding from local authorities or seek alternative models like private pay that empower clients and providers.
Vote with your feet: support providers who prioritise quality and sustainability over unsustainable government contracts.
Engage Communities for Prevention and Wellbeing:
Invest in prevention through community initiatives—such as Thrive Clubs—that encourage activity, creativity, and connection from an early age.
Foster partnerships with charities and health organisations to deliver holistic support.
Support Families and Relatives:
Educate and equip families navigating care systems, demystifying terminology, access routes, and holistic approaches to well-being.
Advocate for flexible working and care leave policies to help the “sandwich generation” manage their responsibilities without stigma.
Champion Healthspan Over Lifespan:
Prioritise personal responsibility for well-being, supporting lifelong habits that improve outcomes in later life.
Adopt benchmarks and data-driven approaches to health, ensuring individuals and families plan for the future proactively.
Innovate with Partnerships and Products:
Explore new insurance and equity products tailored to the needs of those funding care, making support more accessible and less stressful.
Make Franchise Opportunities Inclusive:
Invite diverse talents to become part of care provision, enabling culture change from within—retaining people whose values align with impactful care delivery.
Foster Intergenerational Collaboration:
Recognise shifting generational attitudes to health, fitness, and consumption, using these shifts to power positive change and create sustainable models for care and well-being.
Create Multi-Winner Systems:
Build models where every stakeholder wins: carers, clients, entrepreneurs, communities, and the overall economy. This is the essence of positive people experiences and genuine culture change.
Promote Ongoing Learning and Reflection:
Reflect on episode insights to inform your personal and organisational actions.
Share this conversation widely, triggering ongoing dialogue about inclusivity, empowerment, and systemic transformation.
Call to Action:
If you’re a care provider, take steps to rebrand your workforce and support your teams.
If you’re considering franchising, look into models like Wolfinch that actively foster values-based business development.
If you’re a family member, empower yourself with knowledge—reach out for guidance, join support networks, and participate in local community initiatives.
If you’re passionate about inclusion and wellbeing, promote culture change in your workplace, advocating for policies that support carers and those managing care responsibilities.
And don’t forget, change starts with one conversation—share this episode, challenge assumptions, and ignite action where you are.
Outro
Thank you, the listener, for joining me on this profound journey through Scaling Care With Heart. If you’ve found this episode inspiring, please like and subscribe to the channel, so you never miss a conversation that drives positive people experiences and cultural transformation. For more information, resources, and future episodes, visit SEE Change Happen and tune in at The Inclusion Bites Podcast.
Stay curious, stay kind, and stay inclusive - Joanne Lockwood
Root Cause Analyst - Why!
Certainly. Employing root cause analysis, I'll examine the key issues raised in the episode “Scaling Care with Heart” of Inclusion Bites, as discussed by Joanne Lockwood and Amrit Dhaliwal.
Key Problems Identified:
Unsustainable and inadequate funding in UK home care (domiciliary care) contracts.
Stigma and lack of professionalisation around the care worker role.
Difficulty in attracting and retaining quality care workers.
Insufficient emphasis on prevention and proactive healthspan improvement.
Fragmented support and inadequate education for relatives of those needing care.
Let’s take the first key problem and apply the ‘5 Whys’ technique to uncover the root cause.
Problem 1: Unsustainable and inadequate funding in UK home care
Why 1: Why is funding unsustainable and inadequate?
Local authority contracts pay rates that are not sufficient for providers to operate sustainably, as highlighted by Amrit Dhaliwal ([00:08:24]).
Why 2: Why do local authorities pay such low rates?
Government budgets constrain social care spending, prioritising cost over quality, and leaving providers to compete for limited funds ("government's really kind of left us to our own devices" ([00:08:24])).
Why 3: Why are government budgets for social care so constrained?
Social care lacks political prominence; it is undervalued compared to NHS and hospital-based care, meaning it attracts less funding and investment ("home care or care doesn't win votes" ([00:17:58])).
Why 4: Why is social care undervalued compared to NHS/hospital care?
There is limited public recognition and branding of social care’s essential role; campaigns and narratives focus primarily on hospitals and nursing, not the care sector (“the NHS is not branded the way home care is branded”, leading to a lack of respect and visibility ([00:09:24])).
Why 5: Why is care sector branding and recognition so low?
Society still holds stereotypical, outdated views of care work, viewing it as low-skilled and almost embarrassing, which translates into perceptions among policymakers and funders (“there's almost a level of embarrassment saying, well, I'm a care worker” ([00:09:39])).
Root Cause Summary:
Unsustainable funding is ultimately the result of entrenched social stigma, poor branding, and lack of public and political understanding about the essential value of home care. This leads to insufficient political pressure, policy prioritisation, and ultimately underinvestment.
Potential Solutions (informed by the transcript):
Rebrand Social Care: Promote care work through national campaigns focusing on professionalism, impact, and positive stories to shift public perception, as Amrit Dhaliwal suggests.
Lobby for Policy Change: Build coalitions to push for fair, sustainable commissioning rates, linking the cost savings to NHS and public health benefits ([00:17:45]).
Invest in Education: Develop programmes for educating both the public and policymakers about the broad impact of care and care workers.
Encourage Entrepreneurship in Care: Support models like franchising that foster innovation, attract talent from outside the traditional sector, and scale impact ([00:07:17]).
Strengthen Preventative Care: Advocate for funding redirected from acute care to prevention and community-based support (“focusing on prevention...where we ought to be focusing as a community, as a nation” ([00:21:21])).
Application to Other Key Problems:
Many systemic challenges (such as stigma, recruitment, and inadequate support for relatives) also stem from the same core root: a lack of societal understanding and recognition. To address issues holistically, the solution lies in raising visibility, building respect and professional pride in care work, and aligning funding priorities with actual community needs.
In summary:
Sustainable change in UK home care requires tackling entrenched social perceptions and undervaluing of care work through branding, education, and advocacy. This will unlock better funding, talent retention, and innovation—ultimately leading to higher quality and more inclusive care for all.
6 major topics
Scaling Care with Heart: Reflections on Purpose-Led Home Care
Meta Description: Discover how ‘Scaling Care with Heart’ confronts archaic systems, champions prevention, and reimagines ageing, as Joanne Lockwood dialogues with Amrit Dhaliwal to rebrand care and empower entrepreneurs. Dive into a nuanced journey of transformation, inclusion, and sustainable impact.
Every conversation I have about home care begins and ends with one anxious thought: are we truly scaling care with heart? Sitting down with Amrit Dhaliwal, whose passion for transforming the UK home care sector through a purpose-led model is infectious, I found myself challenged and inspired to re-examine the essence of care, entrepreneurship, and societal wellbeing. Together, we unpacked what it means to disrupt tradition, elevate care workers, enable business, and future-proof the healthspan of an ageing population. Here, I share six powerful themes that emerged, each carrying a question or two that left me wanting more.
1. The Broken Model: Funding, Franchising, and True Value
From the outset, Amrit and I agreed that many elements of the home care system are stuck in the past: archaic funding models, unsustainable contract rates, and an overall disregard for the dignity and professionalism of care work. He recounted his shift from catering into care—driven by his wife and galvanised by personal experience—and his determination to sidestep government contracts, focusing instead on sustainable, private-pay business. This strategic pivot was about creating a scalable purpose-led venture, not simply chasing government rates and minimum standards. What if we could redefine care on our own terms, putting quality and value above bureaucracy? How might the landscape look if more entrepreneurs joined the sector, armed with business acumen, rather than sector-specific tradition?
2. Rebranding Care: Elevating the Profession and the Entrepreneur
As our dialogue deepened, we lamented the stigma care workers face—a stark contrast to nurses so often celebrated for professionalism. Why isn’t entrepreneurial spirit considered ‘sexy’ in care? Amrit’s vision for Wolf Inch is to make entrepreneurialism in home care cool and inviting, opening doors for fresh talent from outside the sector. I found myself wondering: can we transform care work into a badge of honour and opportunity, rather than an embarrassing, hidden role? How can advocacy, branding, and support networks reposition care as a force for societal good?
3. Preventative Care: Investing in Healthspan and Reducing Systemic Pressure
Discussing family stories and missed opportunities for prevention, Amrit and I emphasised that proper care early on would preclude much anguish, hospitalisation, and systemic burden. Yet, the challenge is omnipresent: properties unsuitable for ageing, 15-minute care slots dictated by funding, and reactive support rather than proactive prevention. Imagine if government priorities shifted—if funding for social care matched NHS investments, as Professor Martin Green suggested on Amrit’s own platform. Could preventative models truly scale nationwide, easing the load on hospitals and families alike?
4. Recruitment and Retention: Value-Based Human Resource Management
Recruitment woes recur across the care sector, but Amrit reframes the issue: “It’s not a supply problem, it’s an activity problem.” By incorporating values-based recruitment, saying ‘no’ to the wrong fits, and nurturing relationships with staff—knowing their pets, their achievements, their passions—he creates loyalty and stability. Upskilling becomes possible; care workers evolve into multifaceted professionals, trusted with complex responsibilities. Why should the industry’s default be endless churn and shallow investment? What would it take for every care provider to treat its frontline workers as irreplaceable assets?
5. Financial Planning and Accessible Home Modifications
One thread I often return to is the difficult reality of funding old age. We talked about my mother’s choice: investing heavily to adapt her home, rather than burning through assets in residential care. Our conversation circled insurance products, private loans, and the need to educate the population about sustainable, home-based care options. How can we empower people to plan early, modify their homes, and maintain independence? What new financial tools or incentives would help more families prepare for a dignified aging process?
6. Evolving Generational Attitudes: Reimagining Health, Wealth, and Lifespan
Finally, Amrit and I ventured into societal shifts: from the Happy Meal generation fighting obesity, to Gen Z’s more health-conscious habits and wearable tech-driven self-awareness. We both faced epiphanies—mine sparked at 57, his through family and professional experience—about personal responsibility and investing in healthspan, not just lifespan. The future, we agreed, holds challenges: we must work later, stay active longer, and redefine retirement. What would society look like if healthspan truly trumped lifespan? And are we ready, as a culture, to embrace inclusion, diversity, and personal responsibility as we scale care with heart?
Each area draws us closer to a bigger question—how do we, as citizens and change-makers, ensure that scaling care with heart becomes our call to action? What would it mean to live in a society where care, entrepreneurship, and inclusion intertwine seamlessly, lifting every person to thrive, not just survive? If you’re moved by this exploration, I invite you to connect with me via jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk and join the ongoing movement for change.
Scaling care with heart isn’t just our theme—it’s our mission.
Slogans and Image Prompts
Here are impactful slogans, soundbites, and quotes from the episode "Scaling Care with Heart" that would work brilliantly on merchandise or as hashtags for the Inclusion Bites Podcast. For each, I have crafted a memorable phrase and provided a detailed AI image generation prompt, ensuring they’re visually engaging and aligned with the spirit of the conversation.
1. Slogan:
"Care with Heart, Scale with Purpose."
AI Prompt:
Design a minimalist graphic of intertwined hands forming a heart shape at the centre, with radiant lines suggesting growth and expansion. Use gentle blues and purples for a calm, inclusive feel. Place the slogan in bold, modern font beneath the image. Emphasise warmth, community, and entrepreneurial spirit.
2. Quote:
"The carer drives the whole thing."
AI Prompt:
Illustrate a stylised silhouette of a person steering a wheel, with icons of houses and hearts orbiting around them. Opt for vibrant colours like teal and orange, signifying energy and focus. Include the quote in handwritten script above the image, capturing the essential role of care workers.
3. Soundbite:
"March with your feet—choose care that cares!"
AI Prompt:
Show diverse footprints leading towards a welcoming, glowing home with open doors and a heart-shaped window. Use earthy tones and pastel highlights. Place the slogan along the pathway, set in dynamic, bold lettering. The scene should feel inviting and action-driven.
4. Hashtag:
#HealthSpanNotLifeSpan
AI Prompt:
Create a split-screen graphic: on one side, vibrant figures walking, cycling, and gardening; on the other, the word ‘Healthspan’ glowing, contrasted with ‘Lifespan’ in subdued tones. Use energetic greens and sky blues, capturing movement and vitality. Position the hashtag front and centre.
5. Slogan:
"Prevention is the best investment."
AI Prompt:
Visualise a piggy bank filled with items like apples, weights, and medical icons rather than coins. The background should depict a rising sun, symbolising future wellness. Place the slogan in modern, clean font above the illustration, giving a positive, forward-thinking vibe.
6. Soundbite:
"Let’s redefine care—together."
AI Prompt:
Depict a circle of diverse people (ages, backgrounds) holding puzzle pieces that form a heart in the centre. Use inclusive colours—rainbow hues, but muted for sophistication. The soundbite sits in a curved font wrapping around the image, representing unity and collective action.
7. Hashtag:
#ScalingCareWithHeart
AI Prompt:
Show ascending steps made from heart-shaped stones, with silhouettes moving upward as a team. Overlay a gentle gradient from soft pink to bold red. The hashtag should be prominent, placed at the top or bottom in a contemporary font that’s readable and engaging.
8. Quote:
"Everybody in this circle should win."
AI Prompt:
Illustrate a circular group of figures raising hands, with coins and hearts floating above. Use bright, cheerful colours—mint and tangerine. Place the quote in friendly, rounded lettering beneath the circle, suggesting abundance and collaboration.
9. Slogan:
"Care workers: Unsung heroes, unmasked."
AI Prompt:
A superhero cape draped over a care worker in everyday uniform, set against a comic-style burst. Employ rich blues and yellows for contrast. The slogan should appear in a powerful typeface, making the message unmistakable.
10. Soundbite:
"Vote with your feet for fair care!"
AI Prompt:
Footprints traversing a map, leading from a shadowy, grey area (representing old systems) towards a brightly-lit area with community icons. The phrase overlays the path, in energetic, motivational font. Integrate colours that convey progress: gradients from grey to gold.
These are designed to be not only visually striking but also to encapsulate the passionate advocacy and innovative vision discussed by Joanne Lockwood and Amrit Dhaliwal. Each would make a fantastic addition to mugs, T-shirts, stickers, or social media campaigns—boldly reinforcing Inclusion Bites' mission for positive change.
Inclusion Bites Spotlight
Amrit Dhaliwal, our guest on Scaling Care with Heart, this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, offers a transformative take on purpose-led home care and franchising. As a dynamic entrepreneur and CEO, Amrit is reshaping the UK home care sector by blending innovation, quality, and social impact through the Wolfinch franchising model. His mission is clear: to bring scalable, sustainable care into communities, and elevate the perception of both care work and entrepreneurialism within the sector.
Amrit’s journey began with personal experience and a lightbulb moment—driven by a desire to create genuine, impactful solutions. He advocates for rebranding care work, professionalising the role, and ensuring care workers and entrepreneurs alike are valued for their vital contributions. Amrit’s model actively challenges the broken funding structures and outdated systems, championing quality care and fair compensation by pivoting towards privately funded provision.
He also brings a strong focus on prevention, healthspan, and holistic wellbeing, encouraging a shift from reactive interventions to proactive support. His vision includes upskilling and retaining care workers, supporting relatives and sandwich-generation carers, and creating a system where everyone wins—client, carer, entrepreneur, and community. By partnering with organisations such as the Royal Osteoporosis Society and launching initiatives like Thrive Clubs, Amrit is not only scaling care but igniting a broader movement centred on wellbeing, independence, and dignity.
In this episode, Amrit shares practical insight into the realities and challenges of domiciliary care, the need for sustainable funding, and the changing landscape of health and ageing. With host Joanne Lockwood guiding the conversation, we are invited to explore what it means to scale care with heart—where inclusion is not just a value, but the foundation for thriving communities.
Tune in to hear Amrit’s bold approach to creating a future where care is both impactful and inclusive, and find inspiration in the call to redefine how society nurtures wellbeing at every stage of life.
YouTube Description
YouTube Description:
What if the care system you trust is fundamentally broken — and you’re part of the solution? In this provocative episode of Inclusion Bites Podcast: Scaling Care with Heart, host Joanne Lockwood welcomes CEO and dynamic entrepreneur Amrit Dhaliwal for a candid conversation that challenges deeply-held assumptions about home care, social impact, and scalable change.
Focus Keywords: UK home care, Inclusive franchising, care workers, social impact, scaling care, Wolf Inch, healthspan, prevention, ageing, care system reform
SEO Optimised Opening Hook:
Could your next business move or personal challenge actually transform the broken landscape of UK home care?
Summary of Insight:
Discover how Amrit Dhaliwal’s journey—from outsider to leading innovator—unpacks the threads of archaic systems, underfunded contracts, and the undervalued role of care workers. The episode covers challenges of local authority funding, the stigma and professionalisation of care, recruiting and retaining talent, and the future of preventative, inclusive support. Both host and guest share practical, vision-driven strategies for reframing care as a respected, entrepreneurial opportunity, and spotlight the urgent need for rebranding, education, and sustainable business models in social care.
Key Takeaways & Actions:
Challenge stigma: Reframe how care work is seen, valued, and discussed
Demand fairness: Advocate for sustainable funding and pay for care providers
Prioritise prevention: Invest in healthspan and lifelong well-being
Lead change: Consider franchising as a route to scalable, community-led impact
Empower families: Educate yourself and your loved ones for navigating the care system
Take personal responsibility: Start your health journey early and proactively
Seek partnerships: Collaborate across sectors for real social impact
Retain talent: Build values-led workplaces that nurture and reward care workers
Act: Share insights, engage in policy change, and join the Inclusion Bites community
Listen and you’ll think differently about ageing, care, and entrepreneurship. You’ll feel fired up for social change—and act boldly, whether you’re a would-be franchisee, a family member, or a passionate ally in the care sector.
Subscribe, share, and join the conversation on Inclusion Bites:
https://seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen
#InclusionBites #UKHomeCare #SocialImpact #CareWorkers #Healthspan #Franchising #Prevention #Entrepreneurship #StigmaFree #CommunityChange
For collaboration or to join the show contact Joanne Lockwood: jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk
10 Question Quiz
Inclusion Bites Podcast – "Scaling Care with Heart"
Quiz: Exploring Inclusive, Sustainable Care Models through the Host's Lens
1. What primary role does Joanne Lockwood serve on the Inclusion Bites Podcast?
A. Guest speaker
B. Interviewer and guide
C. Technical producer
D. Franchising expert
2. According to Joanne Lockwood, what is a core aim of the Inclusion Bites Podcast?
A. Reporting government social care policy
B. Providing medical training
C. Sparking change and fostering belonging
D. Marketing private care homes
3. What experience does Joanne Lockwood discuss that motivates her interest in domiciliary and residential care?
A. Working as a care worker
B. Navigating care for her own parents and in-laws
C. Owning a care franchise
D. Campaigning in Parliament
4. Which challenge in social care procurement does Joanne Lockwood specifically mention from her own or family’s experience?
A. Over-funding by local authorities
B. Instability of care worker schedules for elderly relatives
C. An excess of care workers
D. Lack of technology in care homes
5. What organisational perspective on care delivery does Joanne Lockwood underscore as problematic?
A. Overpaying staff
B. Limits in time allocation (e.g., 15-minute slots)
C. Exclusive reliance on private funds
D. Too many medical checks
6. What solution does Joanne Lockwood reference for families dissatisfied with local authority-provided care?
A. Moving relatives abroad
B. Taking direct payments/personal budgets to arrange their own care
C. Only using NHS hospitals
D. Hiring non-accredited care workers
7. According to Joanne Lockwood, what is a significant barrier for relatives caring for elderly family?
A. Excessive technological requirements
B. Lack of education and resources for family carers
C. Insufficient care homes in cities
D. High interest personal loans
8. Joanne Lockwood draws a comparison between the support for new parents and:
A. Young entrepreneurs
B. Older workers
C. Children of elderly parents (“sandwich generation”)
D. Care home managers
9. What is Joanne Lockwood’s perspective on the social status of care workers?
A. Widely respected
B. Underappreciated and stigmatised compared to nurses
C. Too powerful
D. Over-unionised
10. What does Joanne Lockwood describe as an important trend to support ageing populations staying at home?
A. Building accessibility modifications (e.g., wet rooms, stair lifts) into houses
B. Encouraging early retirement
C. Selling family homes early
D. Renting instead of owning property
Answer Key & Rationales
B. Interviewer and guide
Rationale: Joanne Lockwood introduces herself as the host and guide on this journey of exploration ([00:00:14]).C. Sparking change and fostering belonging
Rationale: She states the podcast’s purpose is to ignite the spark of inclusion and help create a world where everyone belongs ([00:00:07]–[00:00:39]).B. Navigating care for her own parents and in-laws
Rationale: Joanne Lockwood references her own experience in social care through her parents and parents-in-law ([00:01:56]).B. Instability of care worker schedules for elderly relatives
Rationale: She shares frustration that care providers arrive at inconsistent times, undermining the intended support ([00:12:18]–[00:12:57]).B. Limits in time allocation (e.g., 15-minute slots)
Rationale: She highlights that 15-minute contracts are not viable, providing little scope for effective support ([00:15:52]–[00:16:22]).B. Taking direct payments/personal budgets to arrange their own care
Rationale: Joanne Lockwood mentions opting for local authority funding versus arranging private care, acknowledging the existence of direct payment options ([00:13:01]–[00:13:21]).B. Lack of education and resources for family carers
Rationale: She draws parallels with new parent resources and points out the lack of guidance for the "sandwich generation" dealing with ageing parents ([00:34:43]–[00:35:27]).C. Children of elderly parents (“sandwich generation”)
Rationale: She discusses the emotional and logistical challenge of caring for both children and elderly relatives, unlike the resource-rich support available for new parents ([00:35:28]–[00:36:08]).B. Underappreciated and stigmatised compared to nurses
Rationale: Joanne Lockwood points out that being a care worker is often stigmatised, unlike the status of nurses ([00:09:39]–[00:09:47]).A. Building accessibility modifications (e.g., wet rooms, stair lifts) into houses
Rationale: She gives an example of her mother investing in home modifications with the aim of staying at home rather than moving into a care home ([00:33:58]–[00:34:37]).
Summary Paragraph
Through her role as host and guide on the Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood leverages both her personal and professional experience to explore the challenges and possibilities of scaling care with heart. She highlights how fostering belonging and sparking systemic change is essential to addressing issues such as the instability of care schedules, inadequate time allocations for care visits, and the marginalisation of care workers compared to other health professionals. Drawing from her own family’s journey, she underscores the importance of education and resources for relatives left to navigate complex care systems—many lacking the societal support routinely offered to new parents. Joanne Lockwood also recognises emerging solutions, such as direct payment options and investing in home accessibility modifications, which empower families to take control and enable older adults to live independently for longer. Overall, her insights frame the pressing need for both inclusive cultural shifts and practical strategies in the future of home and social care.
Rhyme Scheme and Rhythm Podcast Poetry
Scaling Care With Heart: A Rhythmic Reflection
Beneath the rain-brushed city light,
A mission grows to change our sight:
Home care—often cast aside—
Deserves its worth, is dignified.
It’s not just hands that make the meal,
But hearts and hopes that gently heal.
Systems stuck in yesteryear,
Offer minutes—never near
Enough for dignity or grace,
A rushed hello, a fleeting face.
Yet purpose grows where vision starts,
Where business blends with human hearts.
From private homes to lives once spry,
The goal: let elders soar, not sigh.
Let’s lift the work, let labels fall—
A carer’s pride should stand tall.
No silent shame in seeking aid;
The bravest reach, unafraid.
Recruit with care, let values lead;
Train and nurture, sow the seed.
Upskill and cherish, hold them close—
The ones whose warmth we need the most.
Retain their talents, trust their stride,
Build futures bright on care and pride.
We talk of health spans, not just years—
Prevention, laughter, fewer tears.
Prepare the ground, invest in self,
Not just for health, but also wealth.
Let knowledge grow in every age,
Empower each to turn the page.
Society must shift the gaze;
See strength in those who serve and raise.
For parents, kin, or friends in need,
Let’s make support a noble deed.
Age demands not shame nor fear,
But thriving lives and kin held near.
Let’s join as one to reimagine,
A world where caring is our passion.
Invite the change, share every part—
And help us scale care with heart.
Subscribe and share these insights wise—
The journey thrives when heard by many eyes.
with thanks to Amrit Dhaliwal for a fascinating podcast episode
Key Learnings
Key Learning & Takeaway
The episode "Scaling Care with Heart" on The Inclusion Bites Podcast illuminates the urgent need to reshape how we design, fund, and value home care services in the UK. Central to the discussion is the challenge of creating sustainable, high-quality care environments where both carers and clients thrive. The conversation sheds light on rebranding the care sector, shifting from archaic systems towards innovative franchising models, and emphasising prevention and holistic wellbeing as foundations for future success. Ultimately, a call to action resounds: society must foster a more inclusive, professional, and proactive approach to ageing, healthspan, and care, empowering entrepreneurs, workers, and families alike.
Point #1: The Broken Funding Model and Its Impact
Traditional funding mechanisms for home care, reliant on unsustainable local authority contracts, severely limit the quality and continuity of care. As Amrit Dhaliwal discusses, moving towards private pay models and fairer commissioning is vital for allowing providers to deliver truly person-centred, dignified support.
Point #2: Rebranding and Professionalising Care Work
Care workers face stigma and are undervalued compared to other healthcare professionals. The episode highlights the importance of rebranding care roles, elevating their perceived status, and encouraging entrepreneurial talent into the sector—thereby enhancing recruitment, retention, and recognition.
Point #3: Prevention and Holistic Wellbeing as the Future
The conversation advocates for shifting the narrative from lifespan to healthspan. Investing in prevention, education, and early interventions—both at societal and individual levels—will be key to reducing acute crises, hospitalisations, and improving quality of life for the elderly and those in need of care.
Point #4: Empowering Families and Preparing Society
Families often feel unprepared for the demands of caring for ageing relatives, facing bureaucratic hurdles and navigating a maze of terminology and resources. The episode calls for better education, support, and flexible policies for carers, so that responsibility and agency are shared, not left to chance or crisis.
This episode is a powerful exploration of what it means to scale care with heart—blending entrepreneurial vision with genuine social impact for a more inclusive tomorrow.
Maxims to live by…
Maxims for Scaling Care with Heart and Navigating Inclusion
Champion Prevention over Cure: Prioritise early intervention and sustained health to minimise crises, rather than waiting for problems to escalate.
Value-Based Recruitment: Hire for purpose and passion, not merely availability; only bring on those whose values align with compassionate care.
Invest in Continuous Learning: Upskill care workers regularly, enabling them to handle complex needs and evolve professionally.
Professionalise Every Role: Honour the dignity and complexity of care work as a respected vocation, worthy of pride and societal recognition.
Empower the Entrepreneurial Spirit: Encourage innovation and responsible business models in care sectors, recognising that entrepreneurs drive positive change.
Reject Unsustainable Contracts: Say no to agreements that undervalue the time, expertise, and commitment of carers; sustainability is non-negotiable.
Put Quality First: Sustainable, margins-led approaches allow more robust care, staff retention, and genuine client-centred services.
Know Your Team: Truly understand the personal motivations, challenges, and life goals of staff; treat every care worker as invaluable.
Promote Inclusion at All Levels: Inclusion must be actively nurtured amongst staff, clients, families, and communities—everyone should feel they truly belong.
Destigmatise Seeking Help: Whether for physical, mental, or age-related support, encourage openness and acceptance.
Recognise the Sandwich Generation: Ensure that those balancing caring responsibilities for both elders and children receive support and understanding.
Start Preparing Early: Wellness is not a late-stage fix—begin building physical, emotional, and financial resilience as soon as possible.
Rebrand Care Professions: Shift perceptions to celebrate care work, making it attractive for diverse talent and acknowledging its societal impact.
Strive for Holistic Support: Address needs beyond the physical; consider emotional wellbeing, accessibility, and empowerment throughout care journeys.
Challenge the Status Quo: Never accept outdated practices—question norms, innovate boldly, and push for reforms that honour everyone involved.
Pursue Healthspan, Not Just Lifespan: Aim not just for longer life, but for sustained independence, mobility, and personal fulfilment.
Embrace Technology and Data: Use modern tools and metrics to support health, monitor progress, and inform proactive decisions.
Promote Fair Funding and Access: Advocate for adequate funding and equitable access, so that quality care is the right of all, not the privilege of a few.
Build for Community, Not just Commerce: Let care businesses focus on serving their communities as much as delivering profits.
Impact Over Income: Seek meaningful change and societal value; impact is the true metric of a life well-lived and a venture worth scaling.
Live by these maxims to build a more inclusive, sustainable, and heart-led approach to care and community.
Extended YouTube Description
Scaling Care with Heart | Inclusion Bites Podcast Ep.198 with Amrit Dhaliwal
Unlock the transformative potential of purpose-led home care in this episode of the Inclusion Bites Podcast, hosted by Joanne Lockwood. Join dynamic CEO Amrit Dhaliwal as he shares his entrepreneurial journey in revolutionising the UK’s home care sector—from tackling outdated systems to professionalising care work and advocating for prevention-first, sustainable health strategies.
Timestamps for Easy Navigation:
00:00:07 Introduction to Inclusion Bites Podcast
00:01:15 Spotlight on Amrit Dhaliwal & Scaling Care
00:02:34 Amrit’s Journey & Motivation for Home Care
00:07:42 Problems Within the Home Care Sector
00:10:05 Rebranding Care Workers & Entrepreneurial Opportunity
00:12:00 Challenges in Local Authority-Funded Care
00:15:52 Unsustainable Contracting & Provider Solutions
00:22:48 Recruitment, Retention & Value-Based Hiring
00:31:43 Training, Multifaceted Care & Professional Development
00:33:58 Home Adaptations & Private Sector Funding
00:35:28 Sandwich Generation & Relative Education
00:39:18 Partnerships & Osteoporosis Awareness
00:43:04 Personal Health, Data & Prevention
00:54:31 Lifespan vs Healthspan & Future of Work
00:59:29 Closing Remarks & Connect with Amrit Dhaliwal
Description:
Are you driven to create positive change in health and social care, or searching for actionable insights into inclusive workplace strategies? In this episode, Host Joanne Lockwood connects with Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO of Wolfinch, who is reshaping the future of UK home care with scalable, values-led franchising.
Discover the real challenges and opportunities in home care, including:
Why traditional local authority contracts often fail both providers and families (00:12:00)
The urgent need to rebrand care work—and why professionalising these roles unlocks talent, dignity, and innovation (00:10:05)
Entrepreneur-led business models that create sustainable, high-quality services for clients, staff, and communities (00:07:42)
The importance of value-based hiring and retention in building resilient care teams (00:22:48)
How prevention-first health strategies, holistic training, and community engagement can reduce hospital admissions and improve wellbeing (00:43:04)
Amrit’s practical approach: from recruiting care workers with purpose, to supporting families through the complex care landscape—even highlighting the “sandwich generation” and need for relative education (00:35:28)
Why adapting homes for accessibility and understanding private funding options can empower long-term independence (00:33:58)
Whether you’re an HR leader, Diversity & Inclusion champion, health sector professional, entrepreneur, or caregiver, this episode empowers you with strategies to foster thriving environments—for staff, clients, and wider society.
Key Takeaways:
Rethink care: move from archaic systems to inclusive, scalable, entrepreneurial models
Invest in retention: build teams on values, not just volume
Expand impact: prevention, training, and better branding drive sector-wide change
Plan for tomorrow: embrace healthspan, lifelong adaptability, and workplace inclusion for multi-generational teams
Call to Action:
🔔 Subscribe to Inclusion Bites for more actionable insights into workplace inclusion, health, and societal change.
💬 Share your thoughts below and join the conversation.
🌐 Visit seechangehappen.co.uk/inclusion-bites-listen for bonus resources, episodes, and guest applications.
▶️ Watch our “Future of Work & Inclusive Leadership” playlist to explore related topics.
Relevant Hashtags:
#InclusionBites #HomeCareUK #HealthSpan #CareSector #DiversityAndInclusion #SocialImpact #WorkplaceInclusion #Franchising #CareWorkers #AccessibleLiving #CommunityCare #Entrepreneurship #PreventionFirst #PositivePeopleExperiences #SeeChangeHappen
For More Information:
Connect directly with Joanne Lockwood at jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk
Find Amrit Dhaliwal’s book “Time to Thrive: The Home Care Revolution” and his podcast “Walking With Wolfinch” on your favourite platforms.
Empower your team, transform communities, and inspire action—one bold conversation at a time.
Substack Post
Scaling Care with Heart — Rethinking Support, Impact, and Inclusion
Is it truly possible to create a society where everyone belongs, feels supported, and thrives—especially in sectors often overlooked, like social care? If, like me, you’ve wrestled with the challenges of making inclusivity tangible in the care sector, then this week’s Inclusion Bites Podcast is a must-listen. For episode 198, I had the privilege of engaging in a bold, candid conversation with Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO of Wolf Inch, an entrepreneur who’s transforming UK home care through purpose-led franchising. Together, we unravel the complexities, pitfalls, and opportunities within care and support—offering fresh perspectives for HR leaders, DEI champions, and anyone who's passionate about more inclusive, impactful workplaces.
Peeling Back the Layers of Care
How often do we talk about the reality of social care? We began the episode by acknowledging how the sector frequently sits in the shadows—uncelebrated, underfunded, and misunderstood. From the outset, Amrit shared his meteoric shift into home care, sparked by lived experience, family tradition, and entrepreneurial drive. His journey—from restaurant owner to home care franchisee—reveals how solutions, creativity, and heart can combine to reshape a sector long marred by outdated systems and stigma.
This episode is grounded in real-world dilemmas familiar to HR, D&I, and Learning and Development professionals: talent attraction and retention, robust business models, and the urgent need to rebrand care work as a profession worthy of pride, innovation, and investment. We traverse the mechanics of funding, the emotional labour of care, the brokenness of local authority contracts, and the potential that lies in reframing care through an entrepreneurial lens.
Joining me on this episode is Amrit Dhaliwal, whose commitment to scalable purpose-led ventures and sector-wide impact brings remarkable depth to our dialogue.
Spotlight on Amrit Dhaliwal: Driving Change from Within
Amrit’s superpower? Turning traditional sectors into scalable, purpose-driven ventures. He’s built Wolf Inch for outsiders—entrepreneurs seeking to enter care with fresh ideas, plugging into a model that rewards sustainable margins, quality, and community impact. Our conversation shatters the stereotype of care as merely a vocation, championing instead the idea that true change emerges from process-driven, values-led entrepreneurship, alongside an unwavering focus on dignity and belonging.
Lessons for Inclusion Leaders: Building with Heart and Head
Here are my top takeaways from this episode—insights that I believe are invaluable for any leader or practitioner striving for lasting inclusion and equity:
Redefine the Narrative Around “Care Work”
Amrit urges us to rebrand care workers, shifting the narrative from embarrassment to professional pride. How can we, in our organisations, position roles that are often stigmatised as realms of expertise and compassion? By acknowledging the profound skills required—stoma care, injections, holistic support—we elevate the profession and nurture belonging.
Move from Survival Contracts to Sustainable Models
The episode exposes the damaging reality of 15-minute care visits dictated by local authorities, where providers, staff, and clients lose out. Sustainable business means paying fairly, investing in training, and resisting unsustainable contracts. The lesson? Don’t chase funding at any cost; instead, create environments where all stakeholders win: carers, clients, entrepreneurs, and communities.
Value-Based Recruitment and Retention
Amrit’s approach is refreshingly simple: say “no” often, hire only those who align with your values, and invest in retention. Get to know your staff—what drives them, their lifestyles, their goals. The result? A dedicated, skilled workforce, capable of upskilling and delivering genuine impact. In my own experience, nurturing relationships and understanding individual aspirations is the cornerstone of retention.
Champion Prevention Over Cure
Our discussion pivots to prevention, advocating for models that focus on keeping people healthy, independent, and thriving at home. This isn’t just about cost savings or NHS burden reduction—it’s about transforming our approach to ageing, disability, and well-being. Are you preparing your workforce and clients for longer healthspans, not merely lifespans?
Empower Clients and Families Through Education
Drawing on my own journey as a procurer of care for relatives, we witnessed how clients and families often feel out of their depth navigating terminology, support systems, and holistic care. Amrit highlights the need for toolkits—simple resources to empower families—and the importance of destigmatising both receiving and giving care. How are you supporting relatives and employees in the sandwich generation?
A Minute with Inclusion: Watch the Audiogram
Curious about the heart of our conversation? Here’s a one-minute audiogram capturing a pivotal moment from our discussion—where Amrit and I delve into the importance of care worker pride and the need to modernise home care systems. Click here to watch, and get a taste of the episode’s most compelling insights.
Listen In — Join the Conversation
Ready for a deeper dive? Hear the episode in full and discover practical strategies to scale care with heart and drive lasting change. Tune in to Episode 198 here. I invite you to share this episode with your colleagues, networks, and HR teams. The bigger the conversation, the stronger our movement for inclusive cultures and equity.
A Moment to Ponder
As you reflect on Amrit’s story and our dialogue, ask yourself: What would your organisation look like if every role—from frontline care to the C-suite—was turbocharged with purpose, pride, and inclusion?
Are you ready to rebuild your systems and narratives so that everyone, regardless of role or status, feels seen, valued, and empowered?
Let’s not sit on the fence. Let’s roll up our sleeves and start scaling care—with heart, head, and hope.
Until next time,
Joanne Lockwood
Host of the Inclusion Bites Podcast
The Inclusive Culture Expert at SEE Change Happen
If you want to chat about fostering inclusive cultures in care or anywhere else, I’m all ears.
Reach me at jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk.
Let’s build workplaces where everyone belongs—what’s your next step?
1st Person Narrative Content
Scaling Care With Heart: Lessons in Purpose, Prevention, and People
"I realised if I really want to change the game in care, I can’t just grow one good business—I have to enable others to scale up, too." That insight hit me early in my journey, and it sets the tone for everything I do. When I joined Joanne Lockwood on the Inclusion Bites Podcast, the conversation was anything but surface-level. We got under the skin of home care, entrepreneurship, and societal change—challenging old models, questioning our habits, and dissecting where impact truly comes from. This isn’t about easy answers. It’s about uncomfortable truths, strategic pivots, and the conviction that scalable care can—and must—be driven by people who care deeply.
Framing the Conversation
Home care is often seen as a necessary evil—a backup plan for when families can’t manage, and local authorities parcel out budgets in 15-minute blocks. Yet if you look closer, you see immense potential. Not just for profit, but for meaningful change. There’s enormous need, yes, but also an opportunity to redefine what ageing, support, and business leadership actually mean.
For me, that opportunity is personal and professional. I’ve watched my own loved ones navigate the care system. I’ve wrestled with the idea of whether the state can ever do enough—and whether families should shoulder the burden alone. Professionally, I’ve immersed myself in the UK care sector, not as an insider but as a challenger, seeking to import entrepreneurial thinking, scalable models, and a relentless focus on quality.
That’s why conversations with disruptors like Joanne Lockwood matter. The Inclusion Bites Podcast sets an uncompromising agenda: ignite inclusion, challenge status quo, and equip listeners—not just with inspiration, but with action. Joanne herself is a force: founder of SEE Change Happen, unapologetically bold, shifting cultures through real talk. Her work bridges inclusion, belonging, and systemic transformation—never satisfied with good intentions or half-baked initiatives.
More than [INSERT_VIEW_COUNT] people have already watched our interview on YouTube, with many more tuning in via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
If this conversation sparks something for you—questions, pushback, or agreement—I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I read every one.
Entrepreneurship as a Vehicle for Change: Why Heart Matters More Than Legacy
Most game-changing ideas don’t start with a master plan. In my case, it began with a conversation in a café. I was 25, struggling to find purpose after years spent in restaurants and catering. The emotional investment felt outsized compared to the reward. My wife—a dentist, herself raised in a family of nursing home owners—nudged me: “Have you considered domiciliary care?” I didn’t even know what it was. But intuition told me this was a sector ready for a rethink.
Within sixty days, I’d joined a franchise, driving between Oxfordshire and Richmond, blending two worlds: hospitality precision and care sector empathy. By the spring of 2013, I knew I’d found my calling.
The problem wasn’t the lack of demand for home care—it was the structure, the archaic models, the tendency to lock out outsiders. Too much weight placed on sector experience, not enough on fresh thinking. That’s why I founded Wolfinch. It wasn’t just to run better care businesses—it was to create a plug-and-play model for other entrepreneurs who care, but don’t know how to start.
Joanne pushed the conversation further. “The best businesses aren’t always built by the inventor—they sometimes thrive because the founder is one step removed, seeing the business holistically rather than obsessing over the solution.” That resonated. My mission has never been about preserving legacy models. It’s about engineering sustainable systems that recruit, train, and retain people who care.
Systemic Problems: Funding, Branding, and the Dignity Deficit
Let’s be brutally honest. The core issue is funding. Local authorities commission care at rates so low that providers have to run at a loss just to meet minimum standards. “Gosh, what can you do in 15 minutes?” I said to Joanne. “That should be illegal as far as I’m concerned.” It’s not sustainable. You can’t train well, pay fairly, or build the kind of teams you need for quality, person-centred care.
So what’s the result? Providers chase these contracts, knowing they’re not viable. Staff are stretched thin, clients are frustrated, and carers—who are the backbone—don’t get recognised or rewarded. Joanne shared her frustration as a family member procuring care: “The provider turns up intermittently…my elderly father-in-law wants breakfast at breakfast, but someone arrives at eleven.” It’s a scenario repeated across the country.
I made a deliberate choice to run in the opposite direction: build privately funded businesses, create sustainable margins, and pay care workers well. It’s not just about revenue—it’s about impact. I truly believe, and told Joanne, “I can make a lot more impact being CEO of Wolfinch and scaling through franchising, going nationwide.”
But funding is only part of the issue. There’s a branding deficit too. Look at nurses: thanks to strong campaigns, they’re proudly seen as professionals. Care workers, meanwhile, face embarrassment and stigma. “It’s work I couldn’t do,” Joanne admitted. “It’s amazing work—so important.” Why do we not celebrate care workers and entrepreneurs in this sector? We’re running businesses, driving change, innovating. Yet the sense of pride and professional identity hasn’t caught up. If we’re ever going to fix care, we need to change that narrative.
Redefining Talent: Recruitment, Retention, and the Value of Culture
The worst kept secret in care? Talent retention matters more than acquisition. Early on, I realised the sector throws money at recruitment—£1,500 per month on adverts, bringing in ten new staff but losing nine. Growth becomes a mirage. I decided, instead, to say “no” often. It’s unheard of, but I implemented value-based recruitment. I’d only hire those I’d want caring for my own family.
Then, I invested in culture. I got to know everyone. Who’s got chickens? Who just ran a marathon? What are their motivations? Money, purpose, flexibility? You have to know the person, not just their CV. As I told my team, “You think I’m paying your salary? You’re dead wrong. It’s the care worker. They are driving the whole thing.”
Joanne echoed this, drawing parallels with her charity experience. “Care workers are multifaceted professionals—it’s not just feeding or cleaning. They’re trained in stoma care, injections, foot care—all sorts.” The reality is far more complex than most appreciate. The badge of ‘carer’ deserves the same stature as nurse, consultant, or entrepreneur.
Retention unlocks another level—the ability to upskill, develop leaders from within, and create a workforce that’s not just technically competent but genuinely empowered. If staff cycle rapidly, you lose this. When people stay, you can train them in medication management, diabetes care, tissue viability. Suddenly, you have “wowzers” care workers able to liaise with professionals at the highest level.
Prevention, Data, and the Healthspan Revolution
We have to get sharper—on prevention, on measurement, on systems thinking. The traditional care model is reactive. It waits for the crisis—broken ribs, falls, hospitalisation—and then scrambles to patch up the damage. The emotional and economic costs are staggering: families take time off work, the NHS absorbs the hit, and everyone feels the strain.
Joanne shared her own story: “If you had proper care at the beginning, that would have cut out all the anguish and time from the working generation and hospitalisation.” Prevention needs investment, not just in infrastructure (hospital beds, stair lifts) but in guidance, education, and early engagement. Most people want to stay at home, but we don’t set them up to succeed.
This got us talking about Health 3.0: data-driven, prevention-focused, proactive. I’m addicted to metrics. Bloods, wearable data, nutrition tracking—it’s not just for athletes. It’s the baseline for everyone who wants to thrive into their 70s, 80s, and beyond. “Becoming conscious about my own health and wellbeing through data points,” Joanne said, “is probably the biggest shift I’ve made.” The coming generations, equipped with Apple Watches and health apps, will force the sector to adapt.
Still, we’re not there yet. The UK must catch up to American models, where privatisation has made data flow better and appetite for metrics stronger. But the principle stands: if care is about keeping people independent, then every part of the model—from recruitment to training to service delivery—has to be measured, iterated, improved.
Rebranding Care: Stigma, Sandwich Generation, and the New Opportunity
If you’ve ever hired a nanny, you’re proud. If you rely on a PA, you brag. But hire a care worker, and there’s embarrassment. It’s absurd. This stigma holds back families and professionals alike. Nor is it just about the elderly. The sandwich generation—people supporting kids and parents simultaneously—are left unprepared, trying to navigate a maze of systems, terminology, and government bureaucracy. “We needed educating,” said Joanne. “No one tells you how to be the child of an elderly parent.”
Destigmatising care means not just professionalising the work, but acknowledging the mental and emotional toll. It also means instilling pride in those who do it. Employers need to accommodate flexibility—the same way we accept maternity leave, why not care leave? If care work is valuable, then so is being the child of someone who needs care.
As I see it, we need new insurance products, better property adaptation services, and easier ways for families to access the support they need. Joanne’s own mother invested £120,000 in making her house accessible, planning to stay home as long as possible. Informed decisions like that should become the norm, not the exception. The sector must get creative—designing products that help people prepare early, not just respond late.
Personal Responsibility Meets Systemic Change
For all the structural work needed, the personal journey can’t be ignored. Change starts with individual epiphanies: quitting drinking, joining a gym, tracking health metrics, reimagining what longevity means. As a society, we must pivot from lifespan to healthspan—“How long am I healthy and mobile for?” That’s the real question, not just how long we survive.
Culture is shifting. Gen Z drinks less, exercises more, embraces supplements. Weight loss drugs like Mounjaro are breaking barriers—moving the needle from “laziness and lack of discipline” to legitimate, science-driven solutions. The Economist predicts we’ll soon treat obesity like diabetes—no shame, just action.
But this momentum requires leadership. It needs entrepreneurs willing to challenge existing models, founders who say no often, leaders who understand their sphere of influence and use it to move the dial for everyone.
The Punchline: Building a Future Fit for All
I believe the first person to live to 150 is already alive. The challenge isn’t just living longer—it’s ensuring quality of life, independence, and pride for every one of those years. If we don’t fix care, we’ll be overwhelmed: two-thirds of the population ageing, the other third footing the bill. We must change the conversation, move from lifespan to healthspan, and centre prevention and dignity.
That starts with the right questions—not just about funding and systems, but about who builds the business, what values guide hiring, and how we honour those who do the essential work. The scale comes not from chasing contracts, but from building communities of motivated, values-led entrepreneurs.
We must, as a society, abandon the expectation that the state will handle it. Responsibility is shared: by families, by communities, and crucially, by people willing to take the business risk of doing care right.
That’s the heart of Scaling Care with Heart. It’s not a slogan—it’s a challenge. If you sense something stirring in you from this conversation, leave a comment. Challenge me. Share your story. We’re all stakeholders in the future of care, and the more voices we bring, the more impact we create.
Because the best way to change the game is to play it differently—together.
Song Lyrics from Episode
[Title
Scaling Care with Heart]
[Synopsis
Episode 198—Inspired by “Scaling Care With Heart,” this song draws from frank, grounded dialogue about home care, dignity, and belonging. It’s a call for individual and systemic courage—balancing vulnerability with entrepreneurial drive, challenging stigma, and championing every unseen carer. Warm acoustic guitar and indie pop rhythms frame female vocals, building from gentle reflection into uplift. For all who’ve held and been held, the heart scales.]
[Vibe
Steady, empowering indie pop/country groove. Warm acoustic guitars, atmospheric pads, gentle percussion. Female lead — intimate verses, bold chorus, emotive bridge. Instrumental breaks mark moments of quiet resolve (“letting rain fade in/out, gentle chord suspensions”). Fade out with layered harmonies and guitar arpeggios.]
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Poured coffee in the rain, sharing old regrets
On every street, echoes of kindness unmet
Built a business from the bones, not just what I’d known
Turned tradition on its head, carved a new way home
[Instrumental (gentle acoustic & piano, rain ambience)]
[Verse 2]
Knocking at doors, chasing time in a broken scheme
Fifteen minutes, rushing hearts — where is dignity?
We’re more than numbers, more than contracts signed
Learning names and faces, learning how to find
[Pre-Chorus]
This work is golden dust, not just a means to live
It’s knowing why, not just how, it’s caring what you give
[Chorus]
Scaling care with heart,
Building bridges where they’re torn
Changing futures one hand at a time
We’re fighting for the art
Of keeping hope alive and warm
Scaling care with heart —
Scaling care with heart
[Instrumental break (pads, gentle electric, heartbeat percussion)]
[Verse 3]
Saw my mother map her dreams, reclaim her pride
Years of worry, lessons learned, nowhere left to hide
Every worker is a torch, every story lift
No stigma holds us back when compassion’s what we gift
[Bridge]
Say no to what’s broken
Say yes to what’s real
Lift up every soul
Let the wounds have time to heal
From prevention to invention
Let purpose draw the line
We’re scaling care with heart
And now, the world is mine
[Final Chorus (Lifted, layered harmonies + guitar)]
Scaling care with heart,
The courage to rewrite what’s old
We can choose to start
To keep our legacy bold
Scaling care with heart,
With every story told
Scaling care with heart
[Instrumental/fade-out (guitar arpeggios, vocal pads, soft rain ambience)]
[Artistic Direction
Verses are narrative, directly referencing the experience of founding, caring, and scaling ideas. Pre-chorus and chorus are anthemic but grounded — no exaggeration, just earnest hope and resolve. Bridge expands scope with societal change and personal power. Instrumental sections use subtle environmental sounds, gentle chord movement, and harmonies for depth. Fade out is reflective, layered, leaving space for heart and contemplation.]
Hubspot Import format
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198,Scaling Care with Heart,,,,,,,,Joanne Lockwood,Amrit Dhaliwal,"Discover how purpose-led franchising is reshaping home care for sustainability and dignity while scaling impact.","This episode welcomes Amrit Dhaliwal, entrepreneur and CEO championing a new model for home care in the UK. The discussion explores the broken funding models and reputational challenges in the sector, the power of entrepreneur-led innovation, and the vital role of professionalising care work. Together, Joanne and Amrit dive into the realities of navigating social care—balancing local authority contracts, private funding, and the tension between business viability and person-centred service.
Amrit shares lessons from his journey, including the power of values-based recruitment, the significance of workforce retention and ongoing upskilling, and the evolving market driven by prevention and wellness. The episode also examines demographic, generational, and policy shifts redefining longevity, the importance of healthspan versus lifespan, and the need for cultural change in how society views ageing, care, and shared responsibility—a conversation for anyone interested in the future of care, inclusive entrepreneurship, and social impact.",,,,Workplace Culture & Systems,"Change & Transformation,Belonging,Community & Connection,Resilience",Mental Health & Wellbeing,,E198 – Scaling Care with Heart,,‘E198 – Scaling Care with Heart | Discover how purpose-led franchising is reshaping home care for sustainability and dignity while scaling impact. | This episode welcomes Amrit Dhaliwal, entrepreneur and CEO championing a new model for home care in the UK. The discussion explores the broken funding models and reputational challenges in the sector, the power of entrepreneur-led innovation, and the vital role of professionalising care work. Together, Joanne and Amrit dive into the realities of navigating social care—balancing local authority contracts, private funding, and the tension between business viability and person-centred service.
Amrit shares lessons from his journey, including the power of values-based recruitment, the significance of workforce retention and ongoing upskilling, and the evolving market driven by prevention and wellness. The episode also examines demographic, generational, and policy shifts redefining longevity, the importance of healthspan versus lifespan, and the need for cultural change in how society views ageing, care, and shared responsibility—a conversation for anyone interested in the future of care, inclusive entrepreneurship, and social impact.’,
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