PROFESSIONAL HOME CARERS IN STOWMARKET AND SURROUNDING AREAS

On Valentine’s Day 2009, my daughter, aged 33, had a stroke. Sadly, she passed away in October 2015.

Instead of walking, she spent her day in a wheelchair and it took her a great deal of effort and practice just to speak. However, the stroke did not take everything away: she had her mind, her feelings and her kindness. She was stuck in a body that refuses to listen, with a voice that was sometimes too soft to hear.

Before her stroke, she had a career as a remarkably talented and caring school teacher. Despite her circumstances, she used to volunteer three times a week at local schools and continued to share her time with young children.

I have watched my daughter through all of this: I have held her hand when the doctors weren’t sure if she was ever going to wake up and I was there, still holding her hand, when she did. I have been there for every infection and every setback but I was also there the first time she spoke again and the first time she sat up. I love my daughter as dearly as any mother can and wanted the best for her. She needed 24-hour support from trained carers, supplied by a care agency. It is through my experiences with both agencies and carers that I realised there is a need for personalised care.

As I said before, my daughter’s voice was soft and difficult to hear but with just a small amount of patience, it was easy to understand her. It was through first hand experience that we came to understand how essential it is that any carer - not only provides the professional care for which they are trained - but also invests time to understand the frustrations the service users are experiencing.  After all, my daughter spoke softly but that does not mean that her voice should be ignored.

As a small family run care agency we see this as our number one priority and our aim is to get to know each of our service users so we can do everything possible to ensure we pair them with the most suitable carer to fully support them and their needs. I have witnessed how the right carer can not only provide fantastic professional care, but through understanding and social interaction, they can also have a huge and positive impact on a service user's confidence and social needs.

Through the creation of a small care agency: