Podcast: Home care boss reveals how caring for his dad shaped the way he runs Home Instead Senior Care

Martin Jones, chief executive of Home Instead Senior Care, has revealed how caring for his dad who had cancer taught him the true value of home care.

Home Instead Senior Care refers to its care workers as CAREGivers and sees visits as being ‘personalised home care’ with the minimum time period for a visit being one hour. It is not just someone’s physical care needs CAREGivers tend to as they also offer companionship and crucial interaction.

With Mr Jones at the helm for over a decade, it is not surprising that Home Instead champions personalised care. Prior to taking on this role he gave up a job as head of retail for Henleys Clothing to care for his father.

On the podcast Let’s Talk About Care he says: “I just wish I had known then what I know now.

“The last six months of my dad’s life, he couldn’t keep up with the housework, so I got him a cleaner.

“But the house wasn’t getting any cleaner. I was focussed on the task.

“I went in one day and they were both sitting there watching daytime TV having an absolute laugh.”

Mr Jones remonstrated with his dad saying she should be cleaning the house not watching TV. But his father replied: “Martin I’m not bothered about the house, Lauren takes me to the shops, takes me to the garden centre, to B&Q, we have a laugh.”

Mr Jones says: “What I found for him was a caregiver but I didn’t know that at the time.”

He ended up doubling the hours so she could do both the cleaning and also do things with his dad.

“It wasn’t until I joined Home Instead and realise I had created a caregiver in Lauren. That is what makes Home Instead different and special,” he reveals.

In terms of the culture of home care, Mr Jones feels “it has changed a bit” but adds: “I still don’t feel that we are person centred enough and client focussed enough as a sector.

“The culture is one that needs to move from one of waiting for things to happen to going out and being more practical and making things different and changing.

“We are in charge of our destiny and I would like to see a bit more positivity around the sector and that would really help and support new entrants into the sector. It is a great place to work so we need more great people to come and join us.”

His overriding aim is to be the UK’s most admired care company and change the face of ageing.

When he joined over 10 years ago there were 45 offices, there are now 230 Home Instead Senior Care offices.

He has found that the pandemic has raised the profile of home care but says “we need to keep the momentum going.

“We need to put people above politics. We are on the same little island. And in a pandemic coming together doing some common guidance on when to wear gloves, when to wear a mask, what type of mask, those sort of things, would have made it so much easier.”

He would even like to see a minster who is solely responsible for home care. “It is a difficult brief for anyone in government. It is a big brief.”

To listen to the whole podcast click here.

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