For care home owners and managers
When words stop working, residents become harder to reach. Harder to wash and dress, harder to calm and comfort.
Words are how we explain, reassure and connect. When they stop working, residents can feel alone, anxious or agitated, and every task takes longer.
Family Bridge is a service that keeps residents connected to their families, in a way they can still take in, gently and every day.
Now inviting a few UK homes to a free 12-week pilot. We provide the tablets, family onboarding and staff training.
Founded by someone who ran a 140-bed specialist dementia care home.
Families hit the same wall.
The family still calls and visits. It just stops getting through.
Families whose calls no longer land
Phone calls and messages stop landing as dementia progresses. The words arrive; the meaning doesn't.
Families who don't know what else to try
Guilt and uncertainty set in. Some relatives step back; others bring their worry to your staff instead.
The resident who no longer understands
When words stop making sense, the need for familiar people does not fade; it comes out as restlessness, withdrawal or a refused wash. Dementia care research calls this unmet need, and it is one of the main reasons care becomes harder.
What still works
Yet there is a way in. A daughter's face and a son's voice still get through.
A resident may not follow what was said, but still feels who said it.
What we built
Family Bridge brings those faces and voices to your residents every day, in a way they can still take in.
Families record a moment
A short video, a few photos or a voice note, straight from their phone. Grandchildren often help. We run the family onboarding for you.
We adapt it for dementia
We adapt every message to how a person living with dementia can take it in, so it lands as comfort rather than confusion. It plays on a tablet at a calm time chosen for each resident, or whenever a carer needs it. Families don't need to know the rules of the illness; that is our job.
The family sees it arrived
They learn their message was watched, and receive the resident's reply when there is one. They stay involved without ringing the office to find out.
Anyone can send a video into a care home. Family Bridge makes it something a person living with dementia can follow, and shows the family what happened afterwards.
It fills the space between visits and makes the visits themselves easier. It is for families who come every day as much as for those who cannot.
For your home
A resident who feels their family close is easier to reach.
Calmer afternoons, reassured families, visits that mean something.
Feeling that you still belong to your family is one of the deepest needs in dementia care; it is also one of the first to go unmet when words stop working.
Families who know, instead of families who ask.
Families see when their message was watched, and hear Mum's reply when there is one. They no longer need to ring your staff for news; more often, they ring to say thank you.
Something personal to reach for at five o'clock.
When the late afternoon turns restless, a daughter's voice or a grandson's wave is one tap away. In line with the non-drug approaches NICE asks homes to try first, and personal to every resident.
Visits that mean something again.
Many families sit at the bedside not knowing what to do with the hour. Family Bridge gives them something to share: what the grandchildren, cousins and friends far away have sent, paced for Mum. Easier visits are visits families come back for.
Why we know
We have seen this pattern for fifteen years in our own care home.
For fifteen years I helped run Doubrava, a 140-bed specialist dementia care home near Prague. We watched families drift away, and we watched what a familiar voice did for a resident who had stopped recognising the phone. Family Bridge is what we wished we had.
Built with a team of product, care and dementia specialists, and an implementation specialist who works with your home from day one.
The questions we hear first
Won't videos from home make residents sad?
It is the right worry. Families are guided towards what comforts: a familiar face, a warm voice, small news from today. What reaches the resident is a calm session, not raw footage. Your carer can stop it at any moment, and if a family is unsure, that resident simply doesn't take part. You decide who takes part and when.
Our families aren't confident with technology.
Sending a photo or video takes a single tap from a phone. They don't need the right words; they just need to be themselves. Many families ask a grandchild to record, and our implementation specialist runs a short session for families at your home or online.
How much staff time does it take?
Sessions play by themselves at the time you choose. A carer can start one whenever it helps and stop it at any time; once a week, someone checks it is running. That is all: no new paperwork, no new login.
Why not just video calls or WhatsApp?
Because they stop working as dementia progresses: the call goes unanswered, the message arrives too fast or lands wrong, and nothing comes back. Family Bridge is built for exactly those conditions, and the resident can answer with a single tap.
Won't families visit less?
No, and we would not want them to. Family Bridge fills the time between visits and gives families something meaningful to do when they come. It works as well for the daughter who visits every morning as for the son who lives two hundred miles away.
What about consent and data?
Nobody takes part without opting in. We provide resident and family consent forms; where a resident lacks capacity, the decision follows your usual best interests process. Full details are in our privacy policy.
Who we are
Founded by a care home operator. Built with people who know dementia care and digital products.
Martin Paral
Co-Founder and CEO15 years operating a 140-bed specialist dementia care home near Prague.
Marek Jindrich
Co-Founder and COOMore than 20 years building trusted digital products.
Marek Hasa, PhD
Product and Go-to-MarketExited founder and researcher in digital technology for senior care.
Karolina Puttova
Content ConsultantExpert in supporting family carers and care staff.
Celeste Hayden
Implementation SpecialistOnboarding and day-to-day support for care homes.
Founding partners
Be one of the first UK homes to shape it. The pilot is free.
We are looking for a small number of UK care homes to work with closely. You get the product, hands-on support and a real say in what we build next.
What you get
- Tablets for your pilot residents, provided by us
- Family onboarding and staff training, run by us
- A direct line to the founders
- Preferential founding partner terms after the pilot
What we ask of you
- 12 weeks with around five residents; your next admissions first, if you have them
- One named lead, who collects consents using our forms
- Carers bring the tablet to residents who don't keep one, and start or stop sessions when it helps
- A short check-in with us each week, and honest feedback, good and bad
See it in 15 minutes.
A short call with Martin. We will show you the product and work through what it would mean for your home and your team.