Terms & Conditions

1. Definitions

In these Terms & Conditions:

• "Kinward" means the platform operated at kinward.uk and any associated services
• "We", "us", "our" means the operator of the Kinward platform
• "Care Home" means a registered care provider that has licensed access to the Kinward platform
• "Staff User" means a care home employee or contractor with a Kinward staff account
• "Family User" means a family member or authorised contact of a care home resident with a Kinward family account
• "User" means any person accessing the Kinward platform, whether a Staff User or Family User
• "Resident" means a person residing at a Care Home whose care updates may be shared through Kinward
• "Content" means any text, data, information, or material entered into or generated by the Kinward platform
• "AI Content" means care summaries generated using artificial intelligence based on staff notes

2. Acceptance of terms

By accessing or using the Kinward platform, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.

If you are using Kinward on behalf of a Care Home, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation to these terms.

These terms form a legally binding agreement between you and Kinward.

3. The Kinward service

Kinward provides a digital communication platform that enables:

• Care home staff to record care notes and generate plain-English summaries for families
• Care home managers to review and approve communications before they reach families
• Family members to receive care updates, send messages to the care team, and log concerns
• Care homes to maintain a communication record for compliance and safeguarding purposes

Kinward is a communication and documentation tool only. It is not a substitute for direct communication between care homes and families, nor for any clinical, medical, or regulatory process.

4. Kinward is not a clinical tool

Specifically:

• AI-generated care summaries are produced for the purpose of family communication only. They are not clinical documents and may not reflect the full clinical picture
• Kinward does not replace care plans, clinical notes, medication records, or any regulated care documentation
• Concerns logged by families through Kinward do not constitute formal complaints. Care homes must maintain their own formal complaints procedures in accordance with CQC requirements
• In any emergency or urgent situation, contact the care home directly or call 999. Do not use Kinward as an emergency communication tool
• Family members must not make decisions about a resident's care, medication, or treatment based solely on information received through Kinward

Kinward accepts no liability for any clinical decision made in reliance on information shared through the platform.

5. Accounts and access

All Kinward accounts are created by invitation only. You must not share your login credentials with any other person. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

You must notify us immediately at [email protected] if you suspect any unauthorised access to your account.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account that we reasonably believe has been compromised, is being misused, or is being used in breach of these terms.

Access to the platform is role-based. Staff Users may only access data relating to residents within their own care home. Family Users may only access data relating to their own family member. Any attempt to access data beyond your authorised scope is a serious breach of these terms and may constitute a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

6. Care home obligations

Care homes using Kinward agree to:

• Ensure that all care notes entered into the platform are accurate, appropriate, and compliant with their professional and regulatory obligations
• Review and approve all AI-generated summaries before sending them to families, and take responsibility for the accuracy of any content they approve and send
• Obtain any necessary consent from residents or their legal representatives before sharing care information with family members through the platform
• Ensure that only appropriately trained and authorised staff have access to the platform
• Promptly deactivate accounts of staff who leave their employment or whose access should otherwise be revoked
• Comply with all applicable data protection legislation including UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018
• Enter into a Data Processing Agreement with Kinward prior to processing any personal data through the platform
• Maintain their own records and documentation systems in accordance with CQC and other regulatory requirements independently of Kinward
• Not rely on Kinward as the sole or primary record-keeping system for regulatory compliance purposes

Care homes are solely responsible for the clinical accuracy and appropriateness of all content they enter, approve, and send through the Kinward platform.

7. Family member obligations

Family Users agree to:

• Use the platform only for the purpose of receiving care updates and communicating with their care home regarding their family member's welfare
• Treat all care home staff with respect in all communications through the platform
• Not share content from the platform (including care summaries) publicly, on social media, or in any forum without the explicit consent of the care home and, where applicable, the resident
• Understand that messages sent through Kinward are visible to all authorised staff at the relevant care home
• Use the concerns feature honestly and in good faith
• Not use the platform to make any formal complaint — follow the care home's published complaints procedure for formal complaints

8. Acceptable use

You must not use Kinward to:

• Upload, post, or transmit any content that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable
• Harass, intimidate, or abuse any other user, care home staff member, or third party
• Impersonate any person or misrepresent your identity or affiliation
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the platform, server, or database
• Introduce any virus, malware, or other harmful code
• Scrape, crawl, or systematically extract data from the platform
• Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the platform or any connected infrastructure
• Use the platform for any commercial purpose other than as a licensed care home subscriber
• Violate any applicable law or regulation

Breach of acceptable use may result in immediate account suspension and, where appropriate, referral to law enforcement authorities.

9. Intellectual property

All intellectual property rights in the Kinward platform, including but not limited to software, design, trademarks, and documentation, are owned by or licensed to Kinward. Nothing in these terms transfers any intellectual property rights to you.

You retain ownership of any content you enter into the platform. By entering content, you grant Kinward a limited, non-exclusive licence to store, process, and display that content solely for the purpose of providing the Kinward service.

Kinward does not claim any ownership of care notes, family messages, or other user-generated content.

10. AI-generated content

Kinward uses artificial intelligence (provided by Anthropic PBC) to generate plain-English summaries of care notes for families. By using this feature, you acknowledge and agree that:

• AI-generated summaries are produced algorithmically and may not perfectly reflect the nuance of the original care notes
• Staff Users are responsible for reviewing all AI-generated content before sending it to families
• Kinward makes no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or clinical appropriateness of AI-generated summaries
• AI-generated summaries are not clinical documents and should not be treated as such
• Care note text is transmitted to Anthropic's API for the sole purpose of generating summaries and is not retained by Anthropic beyond the processing of each request
• Kinward does not use patient or resident data to train AI models

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

• Kinward is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without any warranty, express or implied
• Kinward makes no warranty that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from viruses or other harmful components
• Kinward shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the platform
• Kinward shall not be liable for any clinical outcome, medical decision, or care decision made in reliance on information shared through the platform
• Kinward shall not be liable for any loss of data, loss of revenue, loss of profit, or loss of goodwill
• Kinward shall not be liable for the accuracy, completeness, or appropriateness of any content entered by care home staff
• Kinward shall not be liable for AI-generated summaries that are inaccurate or incomplete
• Kinward shall not be liable for any failure to provide the service resulting from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to internet outages, third-party service failures, or acts of God

Where liability cannot be excluded by law, our total aggregate liability to you shall not exceed the greater of: (a) the total fees paid by the relevant Care Home for the Kinward service in the three months preceding the event giving rise to liability; or (b) £100.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

12. Indemnity

Care Homes agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Kinward and its officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:

• Any content entered, approved, or sent through the platform by the Care Home's staff
• Any breach of these terms by the Care Home or its staff
• Any breach of data protection obligations by the Care Home
• Any claim by a resident, family member, or third party arising from the Care Home's use of the platform
• Any failure by the Care Home to comply with its own regulatory obligations

13. Service availability

Kinward aims to provide a reliable service but does not guarantee uninterrupted availability. We may carry out maintenance, updates, or emergency work that temporarily affects access to the platform. We will endeavour to notify users in advance of planned maintenance where practicable.

Kinward must not be used as the sole means of communication between a care home and a resident's family. Care homes must maintain alternative communication channels at all times.

14. Termination

Care home subscriptions may be terminated by either party on 30 days' written notice. Upon termination:

• All staff and family accounts associated with the care home will be deactivated
• Data will be retained for the periods specified in our Privacy Policy
• Care homes may request an export of their data prior to termination
• Kinward reserves the right to terminate access immediately in the event of material breach of these terms, non-payment, or where continued operation poses a risk to other users or to the platform

Individual user accounts may be terminated by the relevant care home manager at any time. Family accounts will be deactivated upon the end of a resident's residency or at the request of the care home.

15. Data and privacy

Your use of Kinward is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms & Conditions by reference. Care homes must enter into a separate Data Processing Agreement with Kinward before processing personal data through the platform. Please contact [email protected] to obtain a Data Processing Agreement.

16. Governing law

These Terms & Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising from or in connection with these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these terms shall otherwise remain in full force and effect.

17. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms & Conditions from time to time. Material changes will be notified to Care Homes and registered users by email at least 30 days before taking effect. Continued use of the platform after the effective date of any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not accept the updated terms, you must cease using the platform and notify us to arrange account closure.

18. Contact