Suffolk care in Bury Free Press

New Suffolk home care business based near Stowmarket.   Left to right – Sam Cage, Claire Bewley and Maggie Fisher.

Caring for their elderly grandparents, Claire Bewley and Maggie Fisher were both shocked at the quality of home care available.

So when the two mums, met through their children and discussed their experiences, they decided to launch their own home care service.

My Care at Home, based near Stowmarket, launched in the summer.

“The key driver for starting this business was around quality of care,” said Maggie, who is a registered nurse.

“We wanted our model to be different, providing professional care  but looking after the individual not just going into their home and fulfilling a  series of tasks and going again.

“Often care workers have so little time – half an hour to get someone up, washed, dressed and fed.“

Together with teacher Claire, the two women have set up a business where carers spend an hour in people’s homes.

Elderly people can choose a set time each day for their carer to come – and My Care at Home aims to send them the same carer each day, providing continuity.

Sam Cage has been appointed  as care manager. She was previously coordinator for the Debenham Project helping people with dementia.

They also have a team of eight care workers covering areas of Mid Suffolk, Bury St Edmunds, Diss and Eye.

“We are both very passionate about providing good care and also ensuring that the carers we employ are paid well and want to care,” said Claire.

“We had both looked after  our elderly grandparents before they passed away and we were shocked by some of the home care that is available.”

The business has been registered with the Care Quality Commission since July.  Although only established a few months, Maggie says the feedback has been positive.

Claire and Maggie said they made a ‘conscious decision’ not to bid for Suffolk county council care contracts.

The two women said they felt it would be difficult to maintain the quality levels they have set themselves while paying staff a living wage.

But they said people can choose for their personal budget to be made in direct payments to the provider of their choice, allowing people to opt for the My Care at Home service.

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