St Elizabeth Care Agency, which was launched six months ago to help generate funds for local charity St Elizabeth Hospice, has been such a success it is set to expand.
St Elizabeth Care Agency opened in June with a team of home carers providing high-quality, paid-for personal care and support for people with varying needs in Ipswich and Felixstowe.
Visits can be arranged for any adult needing help or support. Visits can be 30 minutes or longer depending on individual needs and situations.
So far, more than 37 people have received home care services from the agency.
Due to demand, the Care Agency is further expanding its services across Woodbridge and surrounding areas.
It is also expanding the number of clients it can support in the Ipswich and Felixstowe areas. A team of qualified and experienced Home Carers have already been recruited to provide home care services and further jobs are now available.
Janet Pearson, who has multiple sclerosis, receives daily visits from a St Elizabeth Home Carer, at home. She said: “It is reassuring to have a familiar carer who knows the routines and where everything is. She is professional, caring, quick-thinking, and very efficient.
“Her careful consideration to my needs and attention to every detail to ensure she gets things right is reassuring and much appreciated.”
All of the profits generated from St Elizabeth Care Agency are gifted back to help run St Elizabeth Hospice, which provides specialist palliative and end of life care free of charge to people living with a progressive illness in East Suffolk and South Norfolk.
Bridget Forrest, St Elizabeth Care Agency’s Manager, said: “Since we opened six months ago we have steadily expanded our client base and now we are in a position to increase the number of home care services we provide. The feedback from our clients has been excellent and it is clear there is a need for high-quality home care offered by a trusted organisation in the local area.
We want to reach out locally, to offer more services to clients who need them. We are really pleased with the success of the Agency; and indications from our first few months of business show we are on target to generate a significant income for St Elizabeth Hospice in the coming years.”
To find out more about St Elizabeth Care Agency or if you are interested in working for them visit www.stelizabethcareagency.co.uk or call 01473 707900 or email homecare@stelizcare.co.uk
St Elizabeth Hospice costs around £9.1 million to run each year and relies on donations and fundraising to meet most of these costs. The profits from the St Elizabeth Care Agency represents an innovative, new and reliable income stream to help the Hospice continue to grow free local Hospice care for local people now and in future.
Care can be provided for people with learning disabilities, physical frailty, disability or mental health needs, aged 18 upwards, including those in older age. Short-term support can be offered at night to give respite to carers.
The agency is run separately from the Hospice and the Hospice continues to provide its full range of palliative and end of life care services free of charge.
St Elizabeth Hospice is one of a handful around the country which has set up a care agency to help boost funds for their charity.
What can St Elizabeth Care Agency help with?
- Personal Care – help with washing, getting dressed, using the toilet, taking tablets
- Practical support – help with housework, shopping, making meals, collecting prescriptions, helping with post, making telephone calls, and paying bills
- Other support – encouraging clients with physical, learning or mental health needs to lead as full a life as possible by providing personal care and practical help, coupled with emotional support and companionship
- Family carer support – providing a service that enables the usual day-to-day carers at home to have a well-earned break, including supporting clients with dementia and other similar conditions
- Out and about support – providing a Home Carer to help clients get out and about in the local community to access shops, attend appointments, and to enjoy leisure or other social opportunities