Kirsty: a daily check-in call for Fife
A brainstorm for Brent (Care Clarity, Louden HQ Ltd, Markinch). Kirsty phones once a day for a short, friendly chat. She always says she is an AI, never gives medical advice and never asks for money.
Researched on Thursday 29 October 2026, about 14:10 GMT. Prices change, so anything marked to check needs confirming before you rely on it.
1Who it's for
- Older or lonely people living alone who would like a friendly voice each day. A landline or mobile is all they need. No app.
- Families who live away or work all day and want to know Mum or Dad is OK.
- Fife Health & Social Care Partnership: a possible low-cost extra alongside community alarms and befriending. Note: if the Partnership pays for it, Care Inspectorate rules change (see section 5).
- Care agencies: a check-in on days when no carer visits, with a short note to the agency.
2What a daily check-in call does
- Wellbeing chat: 2 to 3 minutes. How did you sleep, have you eaten, any plans today?
- Reminders only: "It's time for your morning tablets" or "You've got the dentist at 2pm on Friday". Kirsty reads what the family has set up. She never says what to take, how much, or whether to stop.
- Alerts: if there's no answer after two tries, or the person sounds unwell, worried or says they've had a fall, the family (or a named contact) gets a text and a call straight away.
- Short daily note to the family: answered or not, mood in a few words, any reminders confirmed.
- Emergencies: Kirsty tells the person to call 999 or press their community alarm, and alerts the family. She does not replace 999.
3Phone or video?
| Daily phone call (start here) | Video call with Kirsty's face (later) | |
|---|---|---|
| For the person | Works on any landline or mobile. Nothing to learn. Feels normal. | Needs a tablet, smart TV or smartphone, wifi and some confidence. |
| Warmth | A calm voice is often enough. | A face can feel warmer for some, but odd or unsettling for others. |
| Running cost | About £0.08 to £0.09 a minute (see section 4). | Much higher. Live talking-face video adds a second paid service per minute. to check |
| Reliability | Phone network is very reliable. | Depends on home wifi and the device. |
| Spotting problems | Voice only. | Can see the person, but raises bigger privacy questions. |
Plan: phone calls first. Offer video later as an optional upgrade, once the phone service works well.
4Running costs and a sensible price
Public prices are in US dollars, converted at about $1 = £0.75 (29 Oct 2026). VAT may be added on top.
| Item | Public price | In £ |
|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs Agents (Kirsty's voice and listening) | $0.08 a minute; Creator plan $22 a month includes 275 minutes; Pro $99 includes 1,238 | about £0.06 a minute |
| AI "brain" (language model) used by the agent | Billed on top, varies by model | estimate £0.01 a minute to check |
| Twilio call to a UK landline | $0.0158 a minute | about £0.012 a minute |
| Twilio call to a UK mobile | $0.0305 a minute | about £0.023 a minute |
| Twilio UK local phone number | $3.50 a month (shared by all users) | about £2.63 a month |
| Alternative: Vapi | $0.05 a minute hosting, plus voice, listening, AI and phone at cost | about £0.08 to £0.12 a minute in total (estimate) |
| ICO data protection fee (small business) | £52 a year (£47 by direct debit) | £52 a year |
Rough cost per person: a 3-minute call every day is about 90 minutes a month. At about £0.08 to £0.09 a minute that's about £7 to £8 a month. Allow for retries and alert texts and call it about £8 to £10 a month per person. This is an estimate.
Suggested price: £24.99 a month per person, free first month. That sits in the middle of what's out there (see section 6: £9 to £99 a month). If Louden HQ is VAT registered, £24.99 including VAT is £20.83 before VAT, which leaves about £11 to £13 a month per person before your time and fixed costs.
Keeping costs low: keep calls short (aim 3 minutes, gentle wrap-up at 5), use the cheaper fast voice model, call landlines where possible, and only text the family when something needs attention plus one short daily note.
Sources: ElevenLabs Agents pricing, Twilio UK voice pricing (current as of August 2026), Vapi pricing, ICO data protection fee. Twilio UK text message price to check.
5Safety, consent, GDPR and the Care Inspectorate
Consent
- The person being called must agree themselves, not only their family. If they can't consent (for example later-stage dementia), you'd need someone with power of attorney or guardianship. to check
- Kirsty says at the start of every call that she's an AI. They can stop the calls any time by saying so.
GDPR
- Mood, health, medication and appointment details are special category (health) data. You need a lawful basis and a special category condition (most likely explicit consent).
- Do a DPIA (data protection impact assessment) before starting. Using AI to monitor vulnerable people almost certainly needs one.
- Register with the ICO and pay the fee (£52 a year).
- Have data processing agreements with ElevenLabs/Vapi and Twilio. Both are US firms, so check how they handle UK data sent abroad. to check
- Keep as little as possible: short notes, not full recordings, and delete on a set timetable.
Care Inspectorate: does a check-in call count as a care service?
In plain terms, under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010:
- If you sell it directly to families and it includes no personal care or personal support, it is probably not a registered "support service". A friendly chat and reminders look more like befriending.
- If Fife Council or the Health & Social Care Partnership pays for or arranges it, it can count as a support service whatever it includes, so registration would probably be needed.
- Grey area: could medication reminders count as "personal support"? Ask the Care Inspectorate registration team before launch. to check
- Running an unregistered care service in Scotland is an offence, so get a written answer.
Sources: Care Inspectorate legal definitions, gov.scot on care at home services.
Escalation rules (draft)
- No answer twice (say 10 and 30 minutes apart): text and call the first family contact, then the second.
- Says they've fallen, have chest pain, can't breathe or feel very unwell: Kirsty tells them to call 999 or press their alarm, then alerts family straight away.
- Sounds low, confused or distressed: alert family the same day.
- Mentions a stranger asking for money, or a scam: tell family the same day.
- Kirsty never asks for money, bank details or passwords. Tell everyone this up front so scammers can't pretend to be her.
6What already exists in the UK
AI check-in calls
- MeetMolly: reminder calls £12 a month; AI check-in calls £30 a month; alerts after three missed reminders.
- Wellness Companion: 60-second morning call, from £19.99 a month, UK and US.
- KindCall: daily AI calls, £9 a month (30 minutes) to £39 a month.
- CallPanion: one AI call a day £29.99 a month; two a day £49.99.
- TheirCall: £99 a month, not launched yet.
In Fife
- Fife community alarms: £3.24 a week, 24-hour response team (MECS).
- Fife befriending services: LinkLiving, Crossroads Fife, Later Life Choices Glenrothes, Castle Befriending and others.
- Food Train Phone Friends: a volunteer calls weekly or less, £5 a month.
Where Kirsty fits: a daily call that the human services can't easily provide, made in Fife by a local company that works alongside alarms and befrienders rather than replacing them. Most rivals hide or play down the AI. Kirsty says it plainly every time.
7Piloting it cheaply in Fife (ideas only)
- 5 to 10 friendly families (friends, neighbours, Markinch and Glenrothes contacts), free for the first month.
- Running cost for 10 people for a month: about £80 to £100, plus the ElevenLabs plan.
- Ask each family to score it weekly: did it help, was anything confusing, did any alert come through right?
- Talk to local groups once it works: lunch clubs, church groups, community councils, carers' centres.
- After the pilot, write up a short summary to show the Health & Social Care Partnership and care agencies.
- Do the DPIA, ICO registration and Care Inspectorate question before the first real call.
8Intellectual property check
The UK IPO's own search page asked for a security check, so it couldn't be searched automatically. The findings below come from web searches of trade mark databases and Companies House. Run a proper search on the UK IPO search before filing. to check
Names
| Name | What turned up | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Care Clarity | Care Clarity Support & Advocacy Ltd (Uppingham, Rutland) is trading as "CareClarity", offering home care and advocacy. Logo dated May 2026. careclarity.co.uk was registered on 16 Sep 2026. No UK trade mark for "Care Clarity" found, but "CLARITY&" (UK00003935718) is registered for health care, counselling and wellness (classes 41 and 44). Many "Clarity Care" companies too, including Clarity Care Solutions Ltd in Glasgow (Sep 2026). | High: same name in the same sector |
| Kirsty Cares | No UK trade mark found. A self-employed carer in Dorset uses "Kirsty Cares" in a local listing. Two "Kirsty Care Ltd" companies existed but are both dissolved (2019 and 2025). Only "KIRSTY'S GIN" (drinks) is on the UK register. | Low to medium |
Patents
- Several US patents and applications cover automated or AI calls to older people with caregiver alerts (for example US10258295B2 and US 2021/0352176). A related European application, EP 4103047 (caregiver assistance), was found. Whether these cover the UK, or what they actually claim, hasn't been checked. to check on Espacenet
- Many UK services already run daily AI check-in calls openly, which suggests the basic idea is widely used. A patent attorney's view is only worth paying for if this grows.
Protecting it
- Ideas can't be patented or owned. What you can protect is the name, the logo and Kirsty's look.
- UK trade mark (UK IPO, online): £205 for one class, plus £60 for each extra class. This replaced £170 + £50 on 1 April 2026. Suggested classes: 45 (companionship and social care services), 44 (health and wellbeing services), 38 (telephone communication services), and possibly 9/42 (software). Classes 45 + 44 + 38 = £325. It takes about 4 months if nobody objects. File before launching publicly.
- File "KIRSTY CARES" as a word mark rather than "Care Clarity", given the Rutland business.
- Kirsty's face and artwork: copyright is automatic and free. For AI-generated images, UK law has a special "computer-generated works" rule, and the image tool's terms also matter. to check You can also file her picture as a trade mark (a figurative mark) to protect the look as a brand.
- Keep dated copies of the scripts, artwork and voice setup as proof of when you made them.
Sources: GOV.UK trade mark fees, CLARITY& UK00003935718, Companies House search.
9Web addresses
Rechecked 29 Oct 2026 using the official registry lookups (RDAP) and DNS. Prices are per year from Cloudflare Registrar (sells at cost), converted to £. VAT may be added on top.
| Address | Status | Price a year |
|---|---|---|
| kirstycares.co.uk | Free | about £3.98 (Cloudflare $5.30); Porkbun about £4.25 |
| kirstycares.uk | Free | about £3.98 (Cloudflare $5.30) |
| kirstycares.com | Free | about £7.86 (Cloudflare $10.46); Porkbun about £8.33 |
| careclarityfife.uk | Free | about £3.98 |
| careclarityfife.co.uk | Free | about £3.98 |
| careclarity.scot | Free | £29.99 first year, then £32.99, excluding VAT (Ecenica) |
| careclarity.co.uk | Taken | registered 16 Sep 2026 |
| careclarity.uk | Taken | registered 13 Mar 2026 |
| careclarity.com / .org | Taken | - |
Price sources: Cloudflare .co.uk, .uk price list, Porkbun, Ecenica .scot.
10Three next steps
- Lock the name: buy kirstycares.co.uk and kirstycares.uk (about £8), then file a "KIRSTY CARES" UK trade mark in classes 45, 44 and 38 (£325).
- Get the rules straight: ask the Care Inspectorate in writing whether a sold-direct check-in call needs registration, register with the ICO (£52) and draft the DPIA. Ask Mark whether Louden HQ should charge VAT on it.
- Build a test call: a 3-minute Kirsty phone agent (ElevenLabs + Twilio) that calls you and two friends for a week, with no-answer alerts, before any real family pilot.