I started Friends Helping at Home because I wanted to develop a company that could enable care to happen the way that I would want for myself or a loved one.
I can recall my grandmother’s gradual decline and how that stressed my parents, long past retirement age themselves, having to arrange and fund care for my grandmother; and more recently, what I experienced when I acted for a high net worth individual with lasting powers of attorney, as tasked by a solicitor to look after their client.
I discovered how difficult it was to arrange “good care”, irrespective of money or funding. What I found simply didn’t have a heart.
As the consumer, it’s easy to see the flaws in something, especially when you’re experiencing poor service.
The care system appeared to me to be “tick-box” led, lest someone sue the provider for a mistake, yet the very purpose, the task involved of how that care was given – the client’s experience – didn’t seem to matter or feature in the process.
I know that there are many who have left the care sector due to the pressures associated with being under-resourced or with insufficient time to provide the care needed.
Whilst there are many commentators and genuine people who are looking for solutions to the current care crisis, I started with the simple aim of creating a company that enabled the delivery of what people wanted within a good governance structure.