Scaling Care With Heart

Joanne Lockwood speaks with Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO of Wolfinch, about what it takes to scale high-quality home care without losing the human connection that makes care work effective. Amrit shares how he entered the sector, what he learned from running a franchise as an “outsider”, and why he believes home care can be redesigned through a purpose-led franchising model.

Together they unpack the structural barriers that keep care provision unstable, including how local authority commissioning and short visits undermine consistency for families, providers, and care workers. Joanne brings the discussion to life with personal experiences of navigating domiciliary care for family members, highlighting the real-world gap between what is commissioned and what people actually need.

The conversation also explores what it means to professionalise and rebrand care work: recruiting for values, retaining and upskilling staff, and building systems that make quality sustainable. They widen the lens into prevention and “healthspan”, arguing that supporting independence earlier can reduce downstream pressure on hospitals and help people live well for longer.

One-sentence summary

Amrit Dhaliwal believes care should never feel transactional — it should feel human, dignified and strong enough to last, for the people receiving it and the people giving it.

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Synopsis (two paragraphs)

Amrit Dhaliwal did not grow up dreaming of reforming home care. In his mid‑twenties, running restaurants and working long hours, he felt a quiet restlessness — “I’ve got lots to give and I don’t know who wants it.” The turning point came close to home. When his grandfather came from Punjab to live with the family, Amrit saw firsthand the fragile balance between independence and support. He experienced the tenderness of caring for an elder, and the strain. That intimacy changed him. Within months, he had stepped into domiciliary care — not because he’d always belonged in the sector, but because he could no longer ignore what he had seen. He calls himself an “outsider, but working from within” — someone who loves the people yet refuses to accept the system as it is.

What he is trying to change is not just how care is delivered, but how it is valued. He cannot accept a world where a 15‑minute visit is deemed enough for someone’s dignity, or where care workers feel embarrassed to say what they do. He wants carers to be seen as professionals, not placeholders. He wants families to feel supported rather than overwhelmed. He wants ageing to be about “healthspan”, not just lifespan. Scaling through franchising is his vehicle, but the deeper work is cultural: restoring pride, sustainability and humanity to care — so that everyone in the circle wins.

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10 Small, digestible concepts for easy learning

1. Independence needs support.

True dignity is not doing everything alone — it’s having the right help at the right time.

2. You cannot give care in a rush.

Fifteen minutes might complete a task; it does not honour a person.

3. Care workers are not costs — they are creators of value.

They generate the experience families rely on; treat them accordingly.

4. Retention begins with respect.

Know someone’s dog’s name and their child’s football match — and they stay.

5. Say no to protect what matters.

Turning away the wrong hires safeguards the right culture.

6. Prevention is an act of love.

Building strength today is protecting independence tomorrow.

7. Healthspan matters more than lifespan.

Living longer only counts if you can still live well.

8. Profit and purpose can coexist.

Sustainability allows better pay, better training and better care.

9. Stigma shrinks possibility.

If we’re embarrassed by care, we underinvest in it.

10. Systems shape dignity.

How care is funded and commissioned determines how it feels.

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The “why” in the story

What they believe is true about people

People want to remain independent. Care workers want to do meaningful work. Families want reassurance, not constant anxiety.

What they cannot unsee

The inadequacy of rushed visits. The quiet embarrassment attached to being a care worker. The pressure placed on families navigating ageing alone.

What they are no longer willing to tolerate

A funding model that undervalues human time. High churn treated as normal. The idea that care is lesser work.

What they are trying to build instead

A values-led, scalable model where carers are professionals, businesses are sustainable, and ageing is approached proactively — with strength and preparation.

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Narrative structure

1. The trigger:

Living with his grandfather and witnessing the blend of love, fatigue and responsibility that comes with supporting an elder — followed by seeing how archaic the wider system felt.

2. The tension:

Being called into a sector few see as “cool”. Trying to professionalise care in a culture that funds it reluctantly. Balancing the entrepreneurial drive for growth with the moral duty to protect dignity.

3. The insight:

If care workers are treated like replaceable labour, they behave like it. If they are treated like valued professionals generating £50,000 of revenue, they stay and grow.

4. The pivot:

Move away from unsustainable contracts. Focus on private models that allow fair pay. Recruit on values. Invest in retention. Scale through franchising to widen impact rather than hoard success.

5. The destination:

A future where ageing feels strong, where carers are proud, where families feel supported early — and where staying at home is a thriving, not a desperate, option.

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Five key takeaways and learning points

1. Dignity takes time.

Care cannot be squeezed into arbitrary slots without emotional cost.

2. People stay where they feel known.

Retention improves when employers respect the whole person, not just their shifts.

3. Prevention is cheaper than crisis.

Falls, hospital stays and burnout often follow neglect upstream.

4. Stigma delays progress.

If we don’t celebrate care as skilled work, talent won’t enter it.

5. Leadership means changing the story.

Rebranding care is not cosmetic — it alters funding, recruitment and pride.

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Ten distinct ideas explained

1. Value-based recruitment

Hiring for character and motivation reduces churn and builds trust in vulnerable homes.

2. Care as professional work

When carers are upskilled to speak confidently with nurses and clinicians, dignity expands.

3. Funding shapes behaviour

Low fees create rushed visits; fair funding creates calm presence.

4. Retention over replacement

Stability deepens relationships — and relationships are the heart of home care.

5. Entrepreneurship in service of community

Private enterprise can improve care when guided by values, not shortcuts.

6. Prevention clubs and community engagement

Free local initiatives connect people before crisis hits.

7. Healthspan thinking

Strength training and proactive health are long-term investments in independence.

8. Family education gaps

Relatives often feel abandoned in complexity — support should include them too.

9. Removing embarrassment from care

When someone can say “I’m a care worker” with pride, social value shifts.

10. Everyone in the system must win

Clients, carers, entrepreneurs and communities — if one loses, dignity erodes.

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How people should change as a result

1. Think

• Ageing is not an event at 80 — it starts now.
• Care is skilled, emotional labour deserving respect.
• Funding decisions are moral decisions.
• Independence is built through preparation, not hope.
• Stigma distorts priorities.

2. Feel

• From embarrassment to pride about care work.
• From helplessness to agency about ageing.
• From cynicism about systems to belief in local change.
• From guilt about asking for help to acceptance of support.
• From seeing carers as staff to seeing them as professionals.

3. Act

• Begin a strength or mobility routine today, however small.
• Speak about care work with respect in everyday conversations.
• Ask ageing relatives what independence means to them.
• When hiring, recruit for values before CVs.
• If you lead teams, know your staff as people.
• Support community initiatives that promote preventative health.
• Challenge rushed, undignified care practices where you see them.

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One thing to remember

Care only works when everyone involved feels valued — including the person giving it.