Scaling Care With Heart

Joanne Lockwood speaks with Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO of Wolfinch, about what it takes to scale high-quality home care without losing the human connection that makes care work effective. Amrit shares how he entered the sector, what he learned from running a franchise as an “outsider”, and why he believes home care can be redesigned through a purpose-led franchising model.

Together they unpack the structural barriers that keep care provision unstable, including how local authority commissioning and short visits undermine consistency for families, providers, and care workers. Joanne brings the discussion to life with personal experiences of navigating domiciliary care for family members, highlighting the real-world gap between what is commissioned and what people actually need.

The conversation also explores what it means to professionalise and rebrand care work: recruiting for values, retaining and upskilling staff, and building systems that make quality sustainable. They widen the lens into prevention and “healthspan”, arguing that supporting independence earlier can reduce downstream pressure on hospitals and help people live well for longer.