441 Care · part of 441 Service Finder
What the badge means, and what it does not.
We are careful with words here because families make decisions on them. Bermuda's Health Council already licenses agencies and registers carers, and runs HelpingHub.bm, the official directory; its own register says it is not a quality assessment. 441 Care sits beside both, checks the register by NPI every night, and says so.
The five elements
Identity verified
Government photo ID matched to the profile name and photo. No copy kept.
Required for everyone. It says nothing about character, skill or fitness to care.
Police check sighted
A Bermuda Police Service criminal record check issued within the last 12 months was sighted. We record the date. We keep no copy.
Required for everyone. It says nothing about conduct since the issue date. It is not a background check by 441.
References called
Two references were spoken to by phone by a 441 Care team member.
Required for everyone. It says nothing beyond what two people told us on one day.
Insurance confirmed
Public liability cover sighted.
Required for agencies. Optional for independent carers; shown when held. Cover can lapse; we record what we saw and when.
Health Council register checked
Matched by NPI to the Bermuda Health Council's public register: licence or registration, status, expires the date shown.
Required for independent carers. Required for independent carers; the badge lapses when the registration does. The Council's register is not a quality assessment, and neither is this.
A profile shows the badge only when every required element is complete and in date. Agencies: identity, police check, references and insurance. Independent carers: identity, police check, references and Health Council registration, with insurance shown when held. A profile with some elements done shows "Vetting in progress" and lists which elements are still open.
Two rules, one badge
- Agencies employ their carers and carry the insurance, so we sight their public liability cover. The Council register line is shown when present.
- Independent carers work for families directly. Few carry liability cover, so the Council's caregiver registration is required instead, re-checked every night; the badge lapses the day the registration does.
- An agency's individual carers are sighted for identity, police check and references. The agency's insurance covers them.
Renewed yearly
- Every element expires 12 months after the date it was sighted. There is no rolling extension.
- The provider is reminded 30 days and 7 days before expiry.
- Day 0: the badge changes to "Vetting due" in amber. The profile stays visible, sorted last, and receives no requests.
- Day 90: the profile leaves care search and shows "Not currently vetted" if reached by link. Re-listing is immediate once the elements are re-sighted.
The Health Council register
The Council publishes its register of licensed home care agencies and its directory of registered caregivers. We match each listed provider by their National Provider Identifier and re-check every night. That line on a profile is a fact read from the regulator, not something we sighted, and it is labelled that way. Agencies may list without it. Independent carers must be on it, and their badge lapses when the registration does.
What we never say
We say nothing about the quality of anyone's care. We are not the employer, the agency or a party to the care arrangement: families interview, contract and pay providers directly. We do not monitor providers between sightings. A badge dated March tells a family what was true in March.
Complaints
A family report about a listed provider is read by a named team member within two business days. While it is being looked at, the badge is withdrawn and the profile shows "Vetting due". We tell the provider what was reported. We never publish the reason a badge was withdrawn, and we never tell a family why someone is not listed.
What we keep
Dates, document types, insurer names and checker initials. No copies of IDs, police certificates or insurance documents. Reference notes are deleted after 12 months. Care recipients' health information is never part of a vetting file.