Top home care agencies praised for 'kindness, dignity and respect' in homecare.co.uk awards

The winning home care agencies in the first awards ever held by homecare.co.uk, were commended for treating the people they care for, with “kindness, dignity and respect”.

homecare.co.uk which is the leading online guide for people searching for home care, decided to hold the awards to recognise and celebrate the valuable and important role that home care workers play in caring for the most vulnerable and older people in our communities.

They carry out their work often alone and can be poorly paid. However to the person they are caring for, they can be that vital link with the outside world, giving them that much needed social contact.

Joyce who is cared for by in Cheshire said her care workers have given her a reason to get up in the morning.

She said: “I look forward to seeing my care workers during the day. My care workers keep me informed of what is going on in the world. If my care workers did not visit I would just stay in bed. I have a reason to get up in the morning now.”

While Gillian, whose mother is cared for by Blue Ribbon Community Care (Tyne and Wear), said: “I can't rate Blue Ribbon Care highly enough. Mam's carers are amazing - I live in London and it is a great comfort to know that she is in such good hands. Nothing is too much trouble - endless searching for keys which have been put somewhere so safe no-one can find them, patiently listening to all of Mam's stories, trips to the local garden centre, and even providing emotional support to myself! We really would be lost without them.”

The awards were decided by looking at all of the recommendations on homecare.co.uk of which there are nearly 4,000.

There were seven home care agencies that came joint top in the UK. These are Abbey Services (UK) Ltd, Blue Ribbon Community Care (Tyne and Wear), Broomfield Care Home Care Services, Caremark (Wallsall), Home Instead Senior Care (Wetherby & North Leeds), Owen Care and Support, WhyNot in Homecare Ltd.

Coming in the Top 10 home care agencies in the UK, was a dream come true for managing director and registered manager of Broomfield Care Home Care Services, Victoria Hall, who said: “I am incredibly touched by this award, to be voted in the top 10 agencies in the country is more than a dream come true. It also holds such value to us, as this was conducted independently using the homecare.co.uk website.

Myra Garlick, owner of , attributes their achievement to "the amazing and dedicated Team we have at WhyNot In Homecare. We would also like to thank our clients and their families for taking the time to submit their recommendations.

“WhyNot In Homecare aims to foster an atmosphere of care and support which both enables and encourages our Clients to live as full, interesting and independent lifestyle as possible.”

“The comments and recommendations were written solely by customers past and present. It is so reassuring that people feel that they can take the time to fill in the Recommendation cards.”

Similarly, Mark Hughes of Blue Ribbon Community Care (Tyne and Wear), which also came in the Top 10 most recommended home care agencies in the UK, said the team were “incredibly pleased and proud to be rated so highly by the people who we care for. I thought we would do well in the awards, but didn’t think we score top not just in the North East, but joint top across the UK came as a complete surprise.

“The role I have now, supporting people to stay independent in their own home, is by far the most fulfilling I have ever had. I know my colleagues feel exactly the same, and I would suspect this shines through, which is why those we support rate us and them so highly.”

Director and manager of , Lynda Owen said: “Owen Care and Support was founded with a vision of providing the very best, heartfelt care for our clients, the same care that we would provide for our own families. To be recognised as one several top agencies in the UK and also joint first in Yorkshire and the Humber is truly gratifying, particularly given that it is our own clients’ feedback and comments that have placed us to win this award.

“As with any endeavour of value, there are so many people that have worked hard to achieve the high standards. And so, I would like to reaffirm my deepest thanks to my staff, who have worked with a real passion and care to achieve what we do.”

Margaret Brennan, owner of Home Instead (Wetherby & North Leeds) called it "really wonderful news" and said: “Our clients are the most important thing to us and it is so nice to hear that clients, their family and friends are saying such great things about what we do.

“Our team of caregivers do a fantastic job providing care to our clients every single day to help them to continue living in their own homes.

“This is a tribute to their dedication and hard work and I would like to thank everyone who took the time to recommend us.”

While Christopher Williams managing director of said: “We are delighted to be in the Top 10 Recommended Agencies in the whole of the UK. I think homecare.co.uk is an excellent way for people to recommend others from their experiences.”

Davina Ludlow, director of homecare.co.uk, congratulated the award winners who each received a certificate and said: “We felt the best people to say how good a home care agency really is, are those receiving the home care as well as their families and friends. Their recommendations show the warmth and excellent care that is given by so many home care agencies.

“These highly recommended home care agencies enable people to still live in their own homes with their home care workers often becoming their friend and lifeline to the outside world.

“These home care agencies have proved that they provide great care and we’d like to congratulate them on being homecare.co.uk award winners for 2015! It’s a fantastic achievement to be recognised for being a highly recommended home care agency from the people you care for.”

There are 6,660 home care agencies in the UK and each home care agency was rated on: Overall Standard, Staff, Care / Support, Management, Treated with Dignity and Value for Money. To see the homecare.co.uk awards 2015, go to www.homecare.co.uk/awards/