Electronic call monitoring (ECM) is the proof that a home care visit happened: which carer, at which home, from what time to what time. Councils write it into contracts, many pay on it, and the regulator reads it as evidence. This page explains the ways calls get recorded, how Carelo does it with GPS at the door, and what the office sees while the day is running.
ECM, also written as electronic care monitoring or a call monitoring system, records the start and end of every care visit electronically, at the time it happens, in a way that cannot be filled in later. Against the planned time it answers four questions: did the carer go, were they on time, did they stay the commissioned length, and if not, why.
Before ECM those answers came from paper timesheets signed in the kitchen, which were honest most of the time and unprovable all of the time.
Local authorities commission most home care in the UK and almost every framework now requires electronic monitoring. Three reasons:
A provider without ECM can still win private clients. It will struggle to win or keep a council contract.
| Method | How it works | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Landline call | The carer dials a number from the client's home phone at arrival and departure. | Fewer homes have a landline; nothing else is recorded; the carer must find the phone. |
| Tag or code at the door | A sticker or card fixed in the home is scanned with the carer's phone. | Tags go missing or get moved; someone has to install and replace them in every home. |
| GPS on the carer's phone | The carer checks in and out in the app; the phone confirms it is at the home. | Needs a smartphone and location permission; must handle no signal properly. |
GPS has become the standard because it needs nothing installed in the home, and because the same phone then carries the notes, the tasks and the medication record for the visit.
Geofenced check-in and check-out. Each client's home has a geofence around it. The carer taps Check in; the app confirms the phone is inside the fence and records the time. Check-out works the same way. The window opens 30 minutes before the planned start and stays open afterwards, so an early carer is not refused and a late one is recorded as late.
No signal, no problem. If the phone has no connection, the check-in, the notes and the medication record are kept on the phone with their original times and sent when signal returns. The office sees the real time, not the upload time.
One record per visit. Check-in, tasks, case note, eMAR entries, incident and body map all sit on the same visit, so the ECM time and the care record can never disagree.
A locked record. Once a carer has checked in, the visit cannot be cancelled, deleted or moved to another carer. Where a carer genuinely could not check in, the office can record a manual check with the reason, and the record shows that it was manual and who did it.
Overruns and forgotten check-outs. A call that ran over is paid for its real length. A check-out that is hours late is not, so a forgotten tap does not become a day's pay.
Location at the door only. Carelo records the carer's position at check-in and check-out. It does not track carers between visits or outside work.
The live monitor is the coordinator's screen for the day. Every call shows as planned, running, completed, late or missed, in the minute it changes. A call that has not started by its grace period stands out, so the coordinator rings the carer before the family rings the office. Missed and late calls are listed with the reason, ready for the daily review and for the council's return.
Because the same record feeds timesheets and invoices, actual times flow straight through: the carer is paid for what was delivered and the funder is invoiced for it, with the planned time alongside.
For each visit: the carer, the planned and actual times, the method of check-in, the location confirmation, every change to the visit with who made it and when, and the care recorded during it. By week or month: late and missed call counts and rates, short calls, continuity, and the same figures by funder for the council return. The missed and late calls guide covers the procedure and the safeguarding threshold; the ECM guide covers what commissioners look for at invoice time.
Not with Carelo. The check-in uses the carer's phone and a geofence around the address. There is no tag, sticker or landline to install or replace.
The check-in, notes and medication record are kept on the phone with their original times and sent when the connection returns. The office sees the real visit time.
The visit is shown as still running on the live board so the office can see it. A check-out hours late is not paid as hours worked; the office corrects the record with a reason and the correction is logged.
Recording location at check-in and check-out, for a stated purpose the carer is told about, is normal practice in UK home care and should be covered in your privacy notice and staff handbook. Carelo records position at those two moments only and does not track carers between visits.
Carelo records what local authority frameworks ask for: carer, planned and actual times, location confirmation and the reason for any late or missed call. Send us your commissioner's reporting format and we will show you the matching report.
No. Call monitoring, the live board and the carer app are included on every Carelo plan, from £59 a month for up to 15 carers.