Quality care begins with an individual

Following the publication last week of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s year-long inquiry into home care I feel compelled to write to you to say that as the owner of a local company specialising in care of the elderly in Warwick, Leamington and the surrounding district, I wholeheartedly support the findings of the review.

My company’s stated aim is to change the way care is delivered to the elderly of our community. Indeed another of our offices was audited as part of the commission’s review and, owing to our unique approach to care, were praised by the EHRC.

We have believed for some time that the current system of care is broken. There is absolutely no excuse for individual neglect but the current system constrains many providers to such a point that compromises in delivering care for traditional home care providers, are almost inevitable.

At Home Instead we will not enter in to the block contracts which force providers into delivering ‘care’ in 15 minute slots and why, for our clients the minimum care visit is one hour. Our success locally demonstrates that there is a demand for a more tailored service which focuses absolutely on the needs of the individual. As well as our minimum one hour call, we also offer continuity, whereby clients are visited by the same carer on each visit, ensuring that relationships can be built.

Quality care cannot be delivered in short duration home visits. The ‘one size fits all’ approach might be commercially convenient but the reality is that quality care begins with an individual and that’s where we start. I hope that the EHRC’s review leads to change and am proud to be helping to lead the way. - Philip Maundrill, Director, Home Instead Senior Care, Warwickshire.