Blue Crystal Care Agency

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Blue Crystal Care Agency's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Blue Crystal Care Agency is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Blunkett signature Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett
Pickles signature Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

bluecrystalcare.com

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
42 | BLUE CRYSTAL CARE AGENCY
Director Latha
Kathirkamathamby
Personal and friendly
approach
Blue Crystal Care Agency are a specialised care provider
based in Harrow, north west London. Blue Crystal provide
a range of services including a residential home in Harrow
for adults with learning disabilities, as well as external care at
the homes of clients, hospitals and hospices. They also offer to
accompany clients to their appointments and other engagements.
Founder and Director Latha Kathirkamathamby explains how their
all-encompassing offerings help build their clients’ confidence,
while enabling them to be happier andhealthier.
My background is completely separate from care, having spent the previous 25
years in IT prior to setting up Blue Crystal Care. My last permanent IT Job was with
MTV as their European IT manager; however, my passion for helping people led me
to start a new phase in my career. I had experience in care, helping my parents and
siblings take care of my brother who had learning disabilities.
Helping my brother and his friends at his workplace gave me a fulfilling sense of
purpose, and it soon became clear that it was something I wanted to do later on in
life. I feel I have a lot of patience and I am able to understand people with different
needs, so it was a path that made sense.
Blue Crystal’s origins
The thought of starting a care agency came about when my neighbour began
having carers come to their house. We found the service they provided to be
FACTS ABOUT
BLUE CRYSTAL CARE AGENCY
»Director: Latha
Kathirkamathamby
»Founded in 2014
»Based in North Harrow
»No. of employees: 80
»Services: Residential and home
care agency
»bluecrystalcare.com
Blue Crystal Care
Agency
43BLUE CRYSTAL CARE AGENCY |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
highly unsatisfactory, as there was no
empathy shown towards my elderly
neighbour. As a result of the lack of
care being provided by the agency, I
stepped in and began looking after
my neighbour. Soon after, Blue Crystal
Care Agency was formed.
We provide 24-hour, 12-hour, six-
hour, live-in and emergency care for
our clients, and I personally spend a
number of hours with new clients so
that I can fully understand their needs.
In all circumstances, the care package
will be provided in accordance with the
client’s requirements.
I felt my team and I could make a
change in people’s lives by providing a
service whereby staff treat clients like
their own family members. Regardless
of their health challenges, by providing
them with love, care, dignity and
quality of life we help them to live
longer in their own environment. In
addition, we support the families and
friends of our clients to ensure they
are both happy with our service and
are able to cope with the condition
of their lovedones, especially those in
palliativecare.
Our services
We deal with a variety of clients who
have different care requirements. The
clients we provide care and support to
include those suffering with dementia
or challenging behaviour, those with
mental health issues, the terminally
ill and adults and children with
learningdisabilities.
We provide a complete range of care
services to ensure that we can work
around all our clients’ individual needs.
We provide care for clients who wish
to remain at home, while we also have
Rose Quartz Residential Home. Rose
Quartz is set up for supported living
for people with learning disabilities.
We teach them life skills so they can
manage some form of independence
and we often take on residents whose
parents have grown too old to care for
them at home.
Individuals with learning disabilities can
often feel like they are not part of the
community and can become isolated
as a result, while the public can also
find it difficult to engage with them.
Our aim is to help teach our clients life
skills that will allow them to become
more integrated into society and
become used to meeting other people.
To achieve this, our staff organise
external trips to leisure centres and
cafés so that they can engage with
the public while receiving the support
they require. We also provide all our
clients with the living accommodation
that suits their needs, while our staff
will teach them to cook, clean and
manage their finances. This increases
their levels of independence and
confidence and allows them to build
the skills that are needed to live alone
in the future.
Personalised approach
A key aspect of our philosophy is
providing a personal service to all our
clients. To ensure this, I take a very
Perfect match
We provide a
complete
range of care
services to
ensure that
we can work
around all our
clients’
individual
needs
“
“
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
44 | BLUE CRYSTAL CARE AGENCY
hands-on approach. Through building
a personal relationship with each
client, I am able to gain an in-depth
understanding of their needs, while
a number of our clients come from
referrals, so it is vital they receive
the standard of care they expect.
My hands-on approach also allows
me to teach my staff how to deal
withclients.
We have very strong relationships with
hospitals, GPs, mental health services,
adult services and other health-related
organisations, and all our work comes
from referrals from existing clients and
health professionals.
We build relationships with clients
through attending appointments
with them, which helps us to reduce
their stress and ensure they are being
treated with dignity and respect.
Because of the approach of our care,
we get requests from other agencies
to help them lift their profile in
social care. Not only do we provide
care to clients, we also provide
consultancy service to other agencies
and individuals who want to set up a
careorganisation.
Looking forward
Blue Crystal Care Agency has a bright
future. We will continue to provide
the high-quality care that currently
exists, while remaining innovative in
our approach to both our external
and residential care. As our ethos
says: We care for your loved ones like
ourfamily.
Unlike other agencies we do not have
high turnover of staff, as we all work
as one unit. Providing clients with a
high standard of care, which gives
them dignity and fulfilment, remains
central to our ethos. Because of the
considerate and thoughtful staff we
have working with us, while continuing
to build our reputation.
We care for
your loved
ones like our
family
“
“
Three carers and
qualified caregivers

bluecrystalcare.com

This article was sponsored by Blue Crystal Care Agency. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng

This year’s Parliamentary Review reflects on a tumultuous and extraordinary year, globally and nationally. As well as being an MP, I am a keen student of history, and I am conscious that 2020 would mark the end of an era. It will be remembered as the year in which we concluded Brexit negotiations and finally left the European Union. Above all, it will be remembered as the year of Covid-19.

In our fight against the pandemic, I am delighted that our vaccination programme is beginning to turn the tide – and I pay tribute to the British businesses, scientists and all those who have helped us to achieve this. But the virus has dealt enormous damage, and we now have a duty to rebuild our economy.

We must ensure that businesses are protected. We have made more than £350 billion available to that end, with grants, business rates relief and our furlough scheme supporting more than 11 million people and jobs in every corner of the country, maintaining livelihoods while easing the pressure on employers. The next step is to work with business to build back better and greener, putting the net zero carbon challenge at the heart of our recovery. This is a complex undertaking, but one which I hope will be recognised as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Through the prime minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, we can level up every region of the UK, supporting 250,000 green jobs while we accelerate our progress towards net zero carbon emissions.

With our commitment to raise R&D spending to 2.4% of GDP and the creation of the Advanced Research & Invention Agency, we are empowering our fantastic researchers to take on groundbreaking research, delivering funding with flexibility and speed. With this approach, innovators will be able to work with our traditional industrial heartlands to explore new technologies, and design and manufacture the products on which the future will be built – ready for export around the globe.

And I believe trade will flourish. We are a leading nation in the fight against climate change. As the host of COP26 this year, we have an incredible opportunity to market our low-carbon products and expertise. Our departure from the EU gives us the chance to be a champion of truly global free trade; we have already signed trade deals with more than 60 countries around the world.

As we turn the page and leave 2020 behind, I am excited about the new chapter which Britain is now writing for itself, and for the opportunities which lie ahead of us.
Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy