Egalite

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Egalite'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 Egalite is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.egalitecare.com

15EGALITÉ |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

Owner and Registered Manager

Debbie Clark

Raising awareness at the Sussex Day

community event in Worthing

Egalité provides domiciliary care and supported living services

for younger adults with learning and physical disabilities,

autism and mental health needs. Established in 2009, they

are the only “outstanding” rated learning disability support

service in West Sussex, employing over 100 staff to provide

specialised home-based care. Owner and Registered Manager

Debbie Clark tells

TheParliamentary Review

how they place a

strong emphasis on quality of life and explains how they have

been recognised within their industry for their commitment to

training and carers development.

I set up Egalité Care Ltd in 2009 after nearly 40 years in the care industry.

Almost ten years later, we have developed into a highly successful local company

in Worthing, West Sussex. In 2016 we were inspected and rated by CQC as

“outstanding”. Two years on, we remain the only “outstanding” service providing

support to people with learning disabilities in West Sussex.

I had qualified as a learning disability nurse, worked for the NHS, a local authority

and for large charities, but I still felt a strong desire to develop a more personal

and responsive way of providing services to those needing everyday support, and

offering greater opportunities to live the lives we all dream of and the chance to

have life experiences many take for granted.

Vision

My vision for Egalité was to create a facility that provided the very highest quality,

person-centred service, to ensure that others in the organisation shared my values

FACTS ABOUT

EGALITÉ

»Owner and Registered

Manager: Debbie Clark

»Founded in 2009

»Based in Worthing, West

Sussex

»No. of employees: 103

»Services: Domiciliary care and

supported living

»www.egalitecare.com

Egalité

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

16 | EGALITÉ

and to build a team of like-minded

people. Initially this included many

family members, who remain a

fundamental part of our team today

and provide the drive and vision for

the company. On the team we now

have three registered nurses and a

registered social worker, who coach,

mentor, advise, guide and support the

care team.

Story so far

Today the organisation employs over

100 staff and provides support to

over 70 clients. We grew rapidly in

the first few years as the reputation

of the care team caught the interest

of not only commissioners but also

potential clients, their families and

other organisations. After five years it

was clear that we had to manage our

growth in order to keep the personal

touch and familiarity that are our

ethos. Many staff have stayed with

us since the early days. We have a

high retention rate for the care sector.

Of our employees today, almost

50 per cent have been with us for

five years or more. Staff turnover is

low, too, at approximately nine per

cent per annum, the local trend in

the care sector being approximately

25percent.

Achievements

Gaining a rating of “outstanding”

from the CQC has been our greatest

achievement. It is a measure of how

much everyone on the team strives

to provide the very best in care and

support to our clients and their

families. To achieve this quality, we

have invested in training for our staff

team, and provide a clear career

pathway. We work closely with the

local college to provide apprenticeships

to those embarking on a career in

health and social care. We are able

to provide a wide range of training

ourselves thanks to the skills and

knowledge of team members. We

also work in very close partnership

with local government, colleges and

national organisations such as Skills

In the photo booth at

summer party, 2017

As sisters we work

closely together

Making friendships

count

Gaining a

rating of

‘outstanding’

from the CQC

has been our

greatest

achievement

“

17EGALITÉ |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

for Care. We willingly share our

knowledge with other providers, and

last year we won the local business

award for training and development.

This year we were finalists in the

National Learning Disability Awards,

won the Southern Business Awards

also for training and development,

and won the regional Great British

Care Award for frontline leadership.

This is great recognition for a smaller

company like ours. We have featured

in a number of broadcasts, including a

BBC documentary and radio interviews

highlighting the challenges in our

sector, as well as celebrating the

creative, compassionate and caring

work our team undertakes every day.

Life is for living

In addition to the day-to-day care we

provide, I feel we need to engender

a sense of fun and enjoyment of life.

We organise a number of festivities

throughout the year to socialise,

network and have fun. This includes

our team, our clients, their families and

friends. The highlights are undoubtedly

the fancy-dress Halloween Party and

the Christmas Party but there are

many other excuses to celebrate,

including this year’s summer party

which included circus acts and skill

workshops. A local vineyard kindly

provides the venue for these events,

which are always well attended.

Holidays also form part of the support

we provide and, like the parties, these

are heavily subsidised as I want to

ensure they take place. We travel to

France or look around Britain for great

holiday destinations.

We cannot ignore the financial

challenges we have had to face. The

local authority and NHS cuts to funding

have had significant impact and

continue to present difficulties when

it comes to recruitment, as staff are

often tempted away by higher wages

in other care or non-care settings.

For learning disability services in West

Sussex the rates have been capped and

this impacts heavily on our funding and

pay awards. We are constantly looking

at creative ways to recruit carers as

those who join us usually stay, but

we need them to join us in the first

instance. We have a strong, supportive

culture as the work can be difficult,

and we deal with complex health and

emotional care needs, often either

working alone or in very small teams.

This can be emotionally and physically

exhausting and as a sector we can

frequently feel undervalued. To help

show our appreciation we continuously

look for extra added value in addition

to the rates of pay. Many of our team

have received local, and more recently

national, care accolades in recognition

of their dedication and commitment.

Looking forward, we need robust,

affordable social care provision,

supporting the most vulnerable in our

society. I am determined to ensure

that we continue to highlight and

reward the amazing dedication and

commitment of our care team. They

work wonders, helping to transform

lives and create secure, happy

and positive opportunities for our

youngadults.

As a sector we

can frequently

feel

undervalued

“

Sharing life with your

best friend

www.egalitecare.com

This article was sponsored by Egalite. 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