Media Q&A
Questions Journalists Ask (And Our Answers)
ABOUT THE PLATFORM
Q: What makes DementiaCarechoices.com different from other care home directories?
A: Three key differences: First, we cover the complete journey, from diagnosis to end-of-life, not just care home selection. Second, our analysis is based on data from 5,493 care homes and 4,386 real family reviews, not marketing materials. Third, we're completely independent – we don't operate as a sales organization and receive no commissions for care home placements. Our only obligation is to families making these difficult decisions.
Q: How do you make money if you don't charge care homes for placements?
A: We offer premium memberships for families who want enhanced support, placement consultation services for those who need help navigating decisions, and listings for complementary services like solicitors and financial advisors specializing in dementia care. But our core mission, the database and essential guidance, remains free for everyone.
Q: How do you ensure your care home data is accurate and current?
A: We source data from CQC (Care Quality Commission) inspections, unverified Google reviews, care home websites, and ongoing family feedback through our platform. We update the database regularly, with more frequent updates for homes with new CQC ratings or significant review changes.
Q: Can families trust your ratings if you're taking money from other services?
A: Absolutely. We never accept payment for listing care homes themselves. Our revenue from other sources (memberships, consultations, other service provider listings) is completely separate from care home ratings. If we compromised our independence, we'd lose the trust that makes this platform valuable. That's a line we'll never cross.
You can read our full independence commitment at dementiacarechoices.com/about/why-we-are-independent.
ABOUT THE DATA
Q: What's the most surprising thing your data revealed?
A: That families mention food quality more often than medical care in their reviews. At first, this seemed counterintuitive, surely medical care matters most? But when you consider who's writing these reviews (adult children), it makes perfect sense. They assume medical competence, that's the minimum expectation. What they're looking for is evidence their parent is happy, comfortable, and treated with dignity. Good food, kind staff, and a warm atmosphere signal those things more clearly than medical credentials.
Q: How does your data compare to CQC ratings?
A: There's correlation but not perfect alignment. Homes rated "Outstanding" by CQC average 4.47 stars on Google, while "Good" homes average 4.32, only a 0.15 difference. This suggests families and CQC measure different things. CQC focuses on processes, documentation, and regulatory compliance. Families focus on experience, warmth, and quality of life. Both matter, but they're not the same thing.
Q: What do negative reviews typically focus on?
A: Rarely medical failures. Instead: staff appearing rushed or stressed, residents looking unhappy or neglected, poor communication with families, institutional rather than homely atmosphere, and, yes – food quality. Families understand cognitive decline is inevitable. What devastates them is seeing their loved one treated without dignity or appearing distressed.
Q: What percentage of care homes have good ratings?
A: 68.6% are rated 4.0 stars or higher on Google. The average is 4.32 out of 5.0. This is actually encouraging, it suggests most homes are doing reasonably well. But that remaining 31.4% represents homes where families had concerning experiences, and our platform helps people identify and avoid them.
ABOUT THE SIX-STAGE JOURNEY
Q: Why frame this as a six-stage journey?
A: Because choosing a care home isn't an isolated decision, it's one milestone in an 8-12 year journey from diagnosis to death. Families need support before, during, and after residential placement. By mapping the complete journey, we can provide guidance at exactly the point it's needed: urgent legal actions after diagnosis, home care options before residential care, end-of-life planning, and grief support after loss.
Q: What's the most critical stage where families make mistakes?
A: Stage One: the first 30 days after diagnosis. This is when you MUST get Lasting Power of Attorney in place while the person still has mental capacity. Once capacity is lost, it's too late – you'll need expensive Court of Protection deputyship that takes 6-12 months. Yet many families delay because they're overwhelmed or in denial. We're trying to create urgency around this 30-day window.
Q: How long does each stage typically last?
A: It varies enormously by individual, but rough averages:
- Stage 1 (diagnosis/early planning): 6-18 months
- Stage 2 (home care): 2-4 years
- Stage 3 (residential care): 2-6 years
- Stage 4 (late-stage): 1-3 years
- Stages 5-6 (death/aftermath): Ongoing
Total journey typically 8-12 years, though some progress much faster (3-5 years) and others much slower (15+ years).
Q: Do all families follow all six stages?
A: Not necessarily. Some people remain at home throughout (Stage 2 only). Some move directly to residential care (skip Stage 2). Some die suddenly without reaching late-stage care (skip Stage 4). But mapping all six stages ensures families have guidance regardless of their path.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Q: What's David White's background with dementia care?
A: David's expertise isn't clinical – it's in systematic analysis and business intelligence. With 40+ years consulting Fortune 500 companies, he brings data analysis skills and strategic frameworks to a problem that's usually approached emotionally. His engineering background (radar missile guidance systems) and experience chairing the UK & EU IAB Search Council give him unique perspective on data-driven decision-making in complex, high-stakes situations.
Q: Why create this now?
A: The combination of an aging population (dementia cases rising), increased online research behavior (families seeking information digitally), and a genuine gap in the market (no platform covering the complete journey). Plus, David's business model innovation – showing you can build a valuable service while maintaining complete independence from care providers—makes this sustainable rather than just well-intentioned.
ABOUT THE FUTURE
Q: What's next for the platform?
A: Three priorities:
- Launching the Stage 2 home care database in Q2 2026—it's twice the size of our care home database, covering 10,000+ providers.
- Adding expert directories for solicitors, financial advisors, and grief counselors who specialize in dementia/elder care.
- Building out premium support services—consultations, placement assistance, executor support—for families who need more hands-on help.
Q: Will you expand beyond England?
A: Eventually, yes. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are natural next markets, followed potentially by Ireland and other English-speaking countries. But we want to get England right first – complete the journey coverage, prove the model, build a sustainable business. Geographic expansion comes after that foundation is solid.
Q: How do you measure success?
A: Four ways:
- Families helped (raw numbers matter)
- Decision quality (did our data lead to better outcomes?)
- Trust maintained (are we seen as independent and reliable?)
- Business sustainability (can we do this long-term?)
We'd rather help 100,000 families make better decisions than help 1,000,000 families make worse ones because we compromised independence.
Q: What's the long-term vision?
A: That when anyone in the UK faces dementia in their family, DementiaCarechoices.com is THE place they go. Not one of many—THE definitive resource. From first worry to final goodbye. That level of trust and comprehensiveness is what we're building toward.
ABOUT INDEPENDENCE
Q: Are you completely independent from care homes?
A: We operate as an independent platform, not a sales organization. We don't receive commissions for placements and we don't allow care homes to pay for priority listings. All 5,000+ homes appear with equal prominence, rated purely on customer reviews and quality data.
While we may work with care homes in certain circumstances, we maintain strict boundaries to protect our independence. We never compromise our ratings, rankings, or recommendations based on any financial relationship. This is fundamental to our model—if families can't trust our independence, the platform has no value.
You can read our full independence commitment at dementiacarechoices.com/about/why-we-are-independent.
Q: If you work with care homes "in certain circumstances," doesn't that create conflicts of interest?
A: We're transparent about any relationships we have. The key is maintaining clear boundaries: any work with care homes never influences their rating, ranking, or how they appear in search results. Those are determined purely by customer reviews, CQC ratings, and quality metrics.
Think of it like a restaurant review site: they might sell advertising to restaurants, but if they let advertisers buy better reviews, the site becomes worthless. We protect our value by protecting our independence. It's detailed in our independence policy at dementiacarechoices.com/about/why-we-are-independent.
Q: How can families trust your ratings?
A: Three ways:
- Our ratings come from verified customer reviews and CQC data, not from us. We're analyzing and presenting data, not creating subjective ratings.
- We're completely transparent about our methodology—you can see exactly how we calculate everything.
- We stake our entire business on independence. The moment families suspect we're steering them for money, we're done. That's a line we'll never cross.
Q: What about competitors who take money from care homes?
A: Many directories operate on a pay-for-placement model—care homes pay for priority listings or leads. That's a legitimate business model, but it creates an inherent conflict: is this home recommended because it's good, or because it pays well?
We've chosen a different path. It's harder—we have to build multiple revenue streams rather than one simple one—but it's the right model for families who need to trust the information they're getting during one of life's most difficult decisions.
Q: Will you ever compromise your independence?
A: No. It's not just a nice-to-have—it's our entire value proposition. The platform is only valuable if families trust it. The moment we compromise independence, we lose that trust and the business fails. It's built into our DNA.
We review our independence commitment regularly and we're transparent when circumstances change. But the core principle—no commissions, no pay-for-ranking, data-driven ratings only—will never change.
For more interview questions or to arrange an interview:
Email: [emailprotected]
Phone: +44 (0)746 3640853
Last Updated: 20 January 2026