How We Are Different
Published: 29/03/2019
How we are different
A couple of weeks ago we ran an article about Right at Home which focused on how this forward-thinking company where approaching recruitment and how they are going to change the way staff are often treated in the industry. Right at Home talked about how they paid their staff more than not only the national minimum wage but above the national living wage. They also explained how committed they are to give their best people fixed permanent contracts as opposed to zero hour which seems to be the norm in the industry. The view of Right at Home is that this helps retain good staff and leads to better continuity of care.
This week we wanted to talk about how the company approaches home care and what makes them different to many of the other companies that operate in the sector. One of the biggest complaints from carers is in other care companies they are under significant pressure to get from one call to another. Calls are often back to back with little or no travel time for the Carer to get to the next appointment. Carers want to have the time to deliver the very best care they can, but this can be difficult due these time constraints, Right at Home ensure they travel in the company’s time rather than the clients.
Right at home Sefton are committed to giving their staff enough time to deliver the high standard of care they pride themselves on. Registered Manager Shirley Wright explains the company’s approach ‘We generally want our client visits to be at least one hour long, this gives us time to not only deliver the standard of care we want to, but to also understand the client. We want to know what a person likes, what they dislike, what they are interested in and have time to build a relationship. It’s almost impossible to do that if you are spending just 15 or 30 minutes per visit, then rushing off to get to the next call!’
Shirley continues, ‘We work a lot with people living with Dementia, we specialise in this area and will continue to do so. Dementia will affect over 1 million people by 2020 and as such we need to continue to improve our knowledge and methods of helping people live more comfortably with the condition. We at Right at Home are passionate about being thought leaders and a real source of support for people living with Dementia and by that we mean both the individuals with the condition and their closest family and friends, nobody should feel there is a lack of support in this day and age. We extend this offer to those that aren’t actual clients of ours too, we are Dementia Champions in association with the Alzheimer’s Society and with that comes our commitment to be there for people whether they are a paying client or not, this is about how we can help the wider population.’
Right at Home are also keen to match the right Care Giver to the client, introducing the Care Giver before the care package starts, allowing the client to meet the person who is going to be delivering their care in their home. This allows the client to decide whether they are happy with the Care Giver. They see this as vitally important as everyone is different and company what to give the client the right to choose who is coming in to deliver their care; again, familiarity is crucial when dealing with somebody dealing with Dementia.
The Directors James Levine and Jonathan Beckett also insist that their clients feel the personal touch. ‘When a client starts with us, there is obviously a lot contact with our Registered Manager and the care staff but as Directors we will know every client in person, meeting every one of our clients within 6 weeks of agreeing to take our services. We believe to give the very best levels of care, meeting the person is imperative. When talking to our staff and client’s families we don’t just want to rely on what it says in a person’s file.’
If you like what you’ve heard and you want to more information on Right at Home you can visit their website. If you would like to speak to the team the office would welcome your call, whether you want to talk about care you are receiving at the moment or you are thinking about care for yourself or relative. Right at Home offer a full range of services from Companionship, Shopping trips and meal preparation to complex care and specialist Dementia support.
