The diagnosis changes a great deal. It does not have to change this.

Seeing the people she loves, and being seen by them, is one of the things that can carry on. BondNow is built so it keeps working as everything else gets harder, because it never asks her to learn, remember or press anything.

An older woman and her adult daughter sitting close together on a sofa looking through a photograph album

What families tell us they are worried about

Technology has become a closed door

The phone was fine two years ago. Now the screen, the passcode and the little green button are three separate obstacles, and every failed attempt chips away at her confidence.

The grandchildren are drifting

Visits are shorter and less frequent because nobody quite knows what to say. Children are better at this than adults expect, if you give them an easy way in.

You do not want to take anything else away

So much is being managed for her now. The last thing you want is another device that makes her feel watched, or worse, incapable.

Familiar faces, with nothing to work out

The screen stays on and shows photographs and videos of her family through the day. When someone calls, the caller's name is spoken out loud on her device and the call connects on its own. There is no correct action for her to take, so there is no way for her to get it wrong.

  • Nothing to remember, because nothing is required
  • Familiar faces present in the room, not just at visiting time
  • Music and radio she knows, starting by itself at the same time each day
  • It keeps working the same way as her needs change, so there is nothing new to learn later

Designed so she is never the one who failed

No moment of being tested

Every device that requires an action creates a small examination, several times a day, that she may not pass. That is where the embarrassment comes from, and it is why the tablet ended up in a drawer. We removed the examination rather than making it easier.

Her room, her device, her music

It is hers. Not a monitor, not a system the family uses to check on her. She is the person it is for, and that distinction matters more as she is able to do less for herself.

Questions we are asked

Will she understand what it is?

She does not need to. Most families tell us their relative treats it as a photo frame that sometimes has people in it, which is a perfectly good understanding of it. Nothing depends on her knowing how it works.

Will it still work later on?

The interaction never changes, because there is no interaction. A call connects the same way whether she is having a clear day or a difficult one, and the screen shows the same familiar faces either way.

Is this a monitoring device? I do not want to watch her.

No. There is no always-on camera and no observation feature. A call happens when a family member starts one, and it is a call, with both of you present. We are building a gentle sense of how her days are going, and it is designed to be exactly that rather than surveillance.

Can it help with medication or appointments?

Gentle spoken reminders are set by you from your phone. We will not overstate them: they are a kind prompt at the right moment, not a medication management system, and they are not a substitute for a dossette box or a care plan.

Does it detect falls or call for help?

No. BondNow is not a monitored alarm service and not a medical device. It does not call 999 and it does not detect falls. Please keep any telecare or alarm arrangements in place alongside it.

Connection can carry on.

£250 once, £14.50 a month with the first two months free, and 60 days to change your mind.