31HOME ANGELS CHORLEY |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
I felt were falling through a gap in
the services on offer. Having trained
in dementia studies at the University
of Bradford, I had plenty of ideas
for how the service would work
and how I could balance the needs
of dementia sufferers around the
practical challenges of home care,
such as set call times and the necessity
offlexibility.
I took a very hands-on approach,
conducting all our care personally for
the first few years, before gradually
building a trusted team. This method
worked well, and I was confident in
the services as I knew – both from
research and my experience in the
residential and hospital sector – that
they were needed. We have been busy
from day one and have helped many
people, both privately and through
social care funding.
Our rate of development accelerated
when a district nurse praised us for
the care that we gave to a client,
who suffered from dementia and had
recently been diagnosed with cancer.
We adjusted her care as needed, and
the nurse explained how our client-
goal-focused care worked brilliantly
in end-of-life care at home. We were
then asked to help the local NHS by
offering palliative home care. I helped
train the staff and this was the start
of a very rewarding additional role,
where I was able to give people more
choice over where they received
care at the end of their lives. Much
like dementia work, it is all about
providing options that people didn’t
previously have and tailoring our work
around individuals.
Overcoming political obstacles
There are many political issues that
affect how we provide care. Many
local authorities cite future budget
cuts as a reason to reduce social care
funding. In Lancashire, the council,
in an effort to make savings, decided
to contract 90 per cent fewer social
care companies than were on the
previous preferred provider contracts.
In practice, specialist providers
who, like Home Angels, challenge
convention and create a culture shift
are pushed out. This is both financially
and emotionally catastrophic for
valuable specialists like us. We want
to provide care to all, and we have
numerous case studies of people who
have seen tangible improvements in
their wellbeing and condition since
usingus.
It’s incredibly sad that we are no
longer as easy to access. People can
of course ask for a personal budget,
but without an advocate to work
on the administration of this, many
people with dementia find themselves
indirectly discriminated against
because they are unable to complete
the process. Prior to this system, care
commissioners would match clients
with either their preferred company
or one that explained how they would
meet their needs best. Savings could
have been made in other ways, such
as by changing the invoice system or
by removing contracting and instead
using a set list of providers who meet
the client’s needs. As a girl from a
A client accepting us and
showing this by allocating
us our own tea cup, can
be a massive progression
in dementia care
I was able to
give people
more choice
over where they
received care at
the end of their
lives. Much like
dementia work,
it is all about
providing
options that
people didn’t
previously have
and tailoring our
work around
individuals
“
“
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP
