Home Instead (Basingstoke)

Welcome to Home Instead Basingstoke.
We offer the communities of Basingstoke and the surrounding areas a high quality, reliable and person-focused home care service to support and enhance the lives of clients within the comfort and familiarity of their own homes.
Our objective is to respond to a client’s needs rather than merely perform tasks. We want to build trusting relationships with clients and their families and provide a flexible and individualised service based on personal requirements and aspirations.
Our CAREGivers are chosen for their compassion, reliability and ethos, and are given high-quality training with ongoing professional development. We match our CAREGivers to our clients, introduce CAREGivers personally to clients before visiting commences, and provide that a client is visited by a consistent small group of CAREGivers. Our CAREGivers carry ID but do not wear uniforms. Visits are for a minimum of an hour, allowing our CAREGivers time to get to know our clients and provide a genuinely sensitive service.

After qualifying as a mental nurse in London, I spent my early career in nursing and then, from 1997, ran my own home care businesses in Basingstoke.
I am passionate about delivering the best possible quality of service to each individual, to help our clients retain their independence and continue to lead rewarding lives at home. I found Home Instead Senior Care to hold the same values and ethos towards caring for people that governed my businesses and was pleased to take up this opportunity to join an international organisation with such high standards and a unique approach to home care.
Home Instead is different – we meet each client personally, we focus on our clients’ needs and those of their families, we choose CAREGivers who are passionate about quality of care and match them to our clients, we give our CAREGivers initial and ongoing training, and we recognise the importance of continuity in the care provided.
My role includes establishing a client’s requirements and ensuring that we maintain the highest quality of care in satisfying those requirements.

I started my career as a private nanny before taking a break to raise my family. When I returned to work I spent a few years in retail and then moved into the care industry 17 years ago.
I started doing home care and then moved into support work for clients with learning difficulties. A few years ago my father developed cancer and I came to appreciate what valuable service carers provide, both to the client and the rest of the family. Inspired, I moved back into home care.
What a shock I got! Visits were now typically just 30 minutes, with a list of tasks which were impossible to complete conscientiously in the time, and certainly no time to try to relate to the client as a person. The last straw was when 15 minute calls came in – they always ran over and we spent as much time travelling as we spent providing a service.
My daughter saw Home Instead on Facebook and when I met them I realised that they really did embody what I thought home care ought to be – at least an hour with each client, regular clients, and an ethos which positively encourages us to provide social interaction and build relationships.
Home Instead asked me to join them, initially as a CAREGiver and then as a member of the management team providing support and liaison to caregivers and weekend supervision, as well as having some of my own clients.

Caring for others has always been very natural for me. Looking after my great grandmother as a teenager sparked a genuine interest, and that is when my physical and emotional caring skills began to develop.
After a brief spell in retail, I took up caring as a career, initially working in sheltered housing. I then moved into homecare, mainly as a carer but also providing managerial support. I found that caring bought me so much joy, being able to promote people's independence by offering support and encouragement. Not only did I know I was making a difference to their lives, but it was fantastic hearing all the stories and sharing lots of laughter!
I've always been a people person; my love for people and the passion to become a carer is founded on my nan. She had a huge heart which was never too full to offer a bit more care, and she was the most amazing carer and inspiration to our family. I subsequently became her carer myself, when she was diagnosed with cancer, and she continued to inspire me in so many ways even through the really tough times.
After a career break to start my family, I joined Home Instead as a CAREGiver, and have recently become the care coordinator and scheduler. In this role, I liaise with clients, CAREGivers and others, and schedule the care visits. I can honestly say that I love my job because it gives me the opportunity to connect with people on a daily basis, and I am fortunate to have the support and encouragement of a fantastic team!

Since the age of 18, I have always been involved in caring roles and spent 15 very happy years at the North Hampshire Hospital on elderly care and orthopaedic wards. It was here that I learnt about the value of person-centred care and how to put the patient at the heart of how we cared for them. I worked closely with patients with dementia and found this the most rewarding and enjoyable part of my role.
I then worked for Basingstoke College of Technology for 18 years where I supported learners to achieve their NVQs in Care. This was a great opportunity to continue promoting good quality care and enabled me to share my knowledge and experience with others.
I got to know Home Instead in my role as Head of Workplace Learning at the college, and always found myself looking forward to each engagement with the company and its people. I loved the passion that Home Instead’s CAREGivers showed about their clients, so when I needed a change of career direction, it was a natural reaction to enquire about a post with them.
I worked initially as a CAREGiver but was asked to take on more senior roles, assisting with training and then the broader HR role. I can honestly say that I am the happiest now I have ever been in a job. The company’s commitment to our clients is second to none, and I am proud and privileged to be part of such an amazing and dedicated team.

Caring has always been in my blood since I was very young. After school and college, I worked in childcare - I loved my time with the children but wanted to expand my experience of care.

I found Home Instead in 2018 and started off as a CAREGiver. I was then offered an office role as a Care Coordinator. I have really found myself here, and feel blessed to be working with such an amazing team whilst doing a job I enjoy so much.

I think it is important to spend time with the older generation, whose lives have been so interesting and who lived through what for me is part of history. I love to hear our clients’ stories, their experiences in the previous century, the jobs they had and the families they brought up. I find it fascinating to learn how the World used to be and how very different life was when our clients were young. To see couples who met in their teens, and are still so in love now, is really special and heart-warming - they are the generation that made life safe for us and made the world what it is today. To be supporting that generation, and be part of the bigger picture of making care at home more accessible, is truly satisfying.