Case study

Family connection has always been part of good care. The need became urgent during the pandemic, when visiting restrictions made it harder for relatives to stay close to everyday life in the home. Years later, even without restrictions, families still want this reassurance. Residents still benefit from staying connected to the people who matter to them and care teams still need simple ways to keep relatives informed without losing hours to repeated phone calls.

PCS Family, previously known as Relatives Gateway, helped Belong Warrington give families a clearer window into daily life in the care village.

The challenge

Families want to know how their loved one is doing, especially when they cannot visit as often as they would like. That might mean seeing a photo from an activity, reading a care update, joining a video call or simply knowing that their relative has had a settled day. For families living overseas, those small updates can carry a lot of weight.

Care homes need safe, simple ways to share updates with relatives without creating more admin for staff who are already busy supporting residents. Belong Warrington needed to keep families close without pulling care teams away from the people in front of them.

The solution

PCS Family gave Belong Warrington a secure way to share updates with relatives and help residents stay connected to the people who matter to them. Families can view care notes, receive up-to-date information, see photos and stay in touch through video calls. For staff, the benefit is just as practical. When families can see regular updates, care teams spend less time answering repeated reassurance calls and more time with residents.

Sharing the moments families care about

PCS Family helped Belong Warrington share more of the everyday moments that families care about. Photos from activities, short updates from the day, video calls with a relative: these moments matter because families want to feel connected to the person’s daily life. They want to see smiles, activities, conversations and the small pieces of normality that can be easy to miss from a distance.

For residents, that connection can support wellbeing and reduce feelings of loneliness. For families, it builds trust because they can see more of the care and support happening day to day.

Keeping families involved from anywhere

Belong Warrington’s experience shows why family engagement should not depend on distance. Some relatives live nearby and visit often, whilst others live abroad or can only visit occasionally. PCS Family helped close that gap.

Relatives could stay informed, see updates and keep in touch without needing a separate video call app or waiting for staff to manually share every detail. That gave families more peace of mind while helping the team protect staff time.

Helping Belong Warrington keep families part of care

The original need became urgent during the pandemic, but the value of better family connection has lasted well beyond visiting restrictions. PCS Family helped Belong Warrington keep relatives informed, residents connected and staff focused on care. Families had more reassurance, residents had more ways to stay close to the people they love, and care teams had a simpler way to share the moments that matter.