Home Instead Senior Care secures 9th ‘Outstanding’ rating
Home Instead Senior Care has secured a ninth ‘outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following the inspection of its Oldham and Saddleworth franchise.
The national homecare franchisor, which provides quality care for older people in their own homes, celebrates this latest outstanding rating with franchise owner Mick Sheehan, who invested in his territory in 2009.
A former soldier and Gulf War veteran, Mick, founded Home Instead Senior Care Oldham and Saddleworth, along with wife Jenny, an intensive care sister. This new rating puts his franchise in the top one percent of homecare providers across England.
Mick, 45, set out with the ambition to create a company that gave something back to his local community. He was inspired to go into elderly care after having concerns about the care received at home by Jenny’s grandmother, Beryl Colson.
Father-of-two Mick said:
“We felt that the carers who helped support Beryl weren’t given enough time to do their job. They generally didn’t take their coats off and only had time to make microwave meals. Most of all what Beryl would really have benefited from was a brew and good chat.
I was sure that there must be a better way of delivering care – one that took into account people’s personal preferences and gave them the chance to form relationships with their carers.”
Initially Mick and Jenny looked into the idea of starting a care home, but after looking at the costs involved he felt homecare was the right way to achieve his new ambition. With this decision made he began looking at possible franchisors.
Mick said:
“We spoke to various homecare franchisors in our search. A lot of the conversations centred on the money side of the business. While this was obviously an important consideration, we felt it didn’t address our concerns about the quality of care delivered. It was only when I met with Home Instead Senior Care that I felt we’d found the right fit.
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“Home Instead’s ethos of relationship-led, person-centred care really chimed with how I felt care should be delivered. And it wasn’t just an ethos, it was put into practice every day in every single care visit. I felt they were much more in tune with our values, and our experience since has vindicated that.”
The CQC report on Home Instead Oldham and Saddleworth’s service gave particular praise to the genuine care shown by the franchise’s caregivers for their clients. In a recent survey 98 percent of clients agreed that their caregivers take a real interest in them as a person.
In the seven years since it was founded, the franchise has cared for more than 500 clients, delivering over 180,000 hours of care, and now employs over 50 members of staff.
Mick continued:
“We have stayed true to the Home Instead ethos from the start and that has been the driving success behind the business. We’re not a care company, we’re a company that cares. Our visits are always at least an hour which means caregivers have the time to truly get to know their clients and form meaningful relationships with them. We’re thrilled to receive an outstanding rating from the CQC – it’s a real testament to the dedication of our caregivers and management team and the companionship and quality of life they give to clients on a daily basis.”
Home Instead Senior Care MD Martin Jones said:
“The achievement of an outstanding rating from the CQC is testament to the absolute dedication of Mick and his team to delivering top quality care. It’s fantastic to see Home Instead Oldham and Saddleworth join our ever growing list of ‘outstanding’ franchises and I have no doubt that they will continue to go from strength to strength in the future.”
