OUR STORY
Carewatch began the same year as the Community Care Act came into practice in 1993. The new legislation meant that instead of people being cared for in institutions, they would be discharged into the community if already in the care 'system', or would remain in their own homes for as long as possible.
After an initial pilot operation in Brighton, the Carewatch model of care was established, and developed quickly into an economically viable way for local authorities to provide care to the many people now living in their own homes.
From the beginning, Carewatch focussed on elderly people who were frail, and in enabling them greater independence by taking on the tasks that would allow them to remain in their own dwellings - from practical support such as housework, personal care - washing, or using the toilet, to the more specialist side of care involving end-of-life care, or a higher level of care to more vulnerable people.
NESTOR HEALTHCARE GROUP
In 2001 Nestor Healthcare Group purchased Carewatch. Nestor, one of the largest providers of independent health and social care in the UK has been the parent company of Carewatch since that time.
Alongside the elder care that Carewatch still provides today, there has been the development and evolution of further services - we now provide a large range of care and support to people in a variety of different situations.
At all times our planning is person centred, with an emphasis on positive outcomes for each individual that Care Workers support.
KEEPING PACE WITH CHANGE
As social care in our communities has evolved, Carewatch too has kept apace with the differing perspectives, focus changes and legislation changes that have taken place over the last decade.
All our offices are registered with the government regulator for their particular country - in Wales the Care and Social Services Inspectorate (CSSIW), in Scotland the Care Commission, and in England the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI)
We will work in partnership the new government body Offcare that will take over the CSCI in the coming year, and will continue to build on our quality into the future.
We are members of the UKHCA (UK Home Care Association), Ceretas (formerly the British Association for Domiciliary Care), and various other membership organisations. Local franchised offices may also be members of Local Provider Forums - enabling them to exchange best practice ideas, discussion on legislative areas of difficulty and the like.
Every year we review and update all our Policies and Procedures, in line with the CSCI requirement, and ensure all our offices are aware of latest legislation and best practice. Each is office audited by our internal staff as well as being inspected by each regulator.
By training all care managers and their staff to a high standard, we ensure that these changes and best practice methods are constantly passed on to the staff on the front line.
