Ubercare – actually no relation to the popular ride-sharing company – is promising its app will allow clients and aged care providers to book qualified carers at any time of the day, usually within 15 to 30 minutes.
While clinical services and transport are not on offer, personal care, cleaning, meal assistance, social support and respite care are all available.
Founder Simon Chappel, who is also a property developer and partner in Adelaide retirement village ‘On Statenborough’, told the Adelaide Advertiser that the service is the first of its kind in the world and had been rolled out to coincide with the NDIS launch.
He says Ubercare already has almost 500 carers on its books, all with a minimum qualification of a Certificate III in Individual Care, first aid certificate and police clearance.
Prices start at $36 an hour, with carers then paying Ubercare $10 per hour plus GST. If carers leave a job or don’t turn up, they are charged a $40 dishonour fee.
It operates in a similar way to Uber – an alert is sent out to registered carers in the vicinity and the first person to respond gets the job.
Their photo, hourly rate, ETA and a star rating then appears on the client’s phone. The client can choose to skip or accept them and once confirmed, see them travelling to their home.
But while carers are screened, clients are not and there are limited protections for carers.
The service is also available to aged care providers that are short on staff with plans to expand to other states.
It’s the latest in a line of new disruption models that enable consumers to hire carers directly, including Newly and CarePilot.
