New home care service will try to fill 'massive gap' between social care and NHS

A new home care service for Maidenhead and Windsor hopes to ‘bridge the gap’ between social care and NHS services by having a high proportion of medical professionals on its team.

GoodOaks Homecare Maidenhead & Windsor opened on Monday. The new branch aims to create over a dozen jobs in its first year.

It offers ‘the whole range’ of home care services, including visiting care (which sees trained professionals visit clients in their homes as needed) and live-in care (where a carer moves into the client’s home to provide full-time support).

The service is for adults of all ages, including elderly people and those with physical and learning disabilities. It will also serve Slough, Taplow, Eton, and surrounding areas.

Currently the company operates 25 locations across the UK.

Its director is Jack Sherry, an experienced nurse and ambulance nurse with the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS).

GoodOaks Homecare’s main USP is that it has registered nurses and paramedics on hand for clients to consult – and it works ‘closely’ with doctors, district nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

This is something which is sometimes lacking in social care services, said Jack.

“I think there's a massive gap between social care providers and frontline and primary care, and I don’t think there needs to be,” he said.

Communication is a major issue, he said.

“There are no methods for sharing information that would be useful to both [health and social care providers],” said Jack. “I'd like to be part of the movement that will bring those two together.

“As a nurse with experience in A&E and the ambulance service, I think I might be uniquely positioned to bridge the gap.”

To do this, Jack has brought a significant amount of clinical expertise into the social care service.

“Half my carers so far are from a caring background and the other half are directly from the ambulance service,” he said.

One of the major aims of GoodOaks is to ‘empower people to keep living well’ in their own homes, avoiding trips to hospital.

There is a focus on supporting lifestyle changes to achieve this.

This can be as simple as encouraging older people to reduce their caffeine intake.

When people get older, they have less tolerance for caffeine and it can cause them to rush to the bathroom, said Jack. The rushing increases risk from falls.

“A lot of people unfortunately fall on the way to the bathroom,” he said.

As part of its opening, GoodOaks Maidenhead & Windsor is offering free health checks to new clients.

“Free health checks give us a clear picture of a client’s needs right from the start,” said Jack.

“If we identify any issues, we can coordinate with GPs, district nurses or other health professionals immediately.

“It’s about giving people peace of mind and helping them stay safe.”

GoodOaks Homecare Maidenhead & Windsor’s registered office is in Burnham High Street.

For more information, call 01628 918794 or visit goodoakshomecare.co.uk/maidenhead-windsor