Issue 4 2019

Acquisition International - Issue 4 2019 67 Dec18377 Personalised Care Overington Care is an agency providing health care assistants, support workers and RGN to residential, nursing and learning disability homes, throughout the South West. We profiled the agency and spoke to founder Nichola Overington who provides us with an overview of the company. stablished in 2013, Overington Care prides itself on providing a high level of quality care to clients who require support in the community to be able to continue living their lives as independently as they would like or can manage. The organisation is registered with the Care Quality Commission to care for and support anyone over the age of 18 years old. This includes those with learning disabilities, adults with physical or mental health problems, the elderly and all ailments that can encompass older age, right through to end of life. Set up with a clear mission, Nichola and the team at Overington Care aim to a create a company with communication, trust, responsibility and transparency at its core, being the basis of everything it does. All clients that use the service provided by Nichola and the team can expect to have a positive experience. Nichola explains the overall vision of the agency, before detailing what steps she will take to ensure that the company achieves this. “Overington Care will strive to continue going above and beyond in supporting the staff they employ, and the clients they serve. We will aim to do this via the various quality control measures, risk assessments, support and action plans, as well as supervisions we currently have in place to ensure we are being responsive to staff and client needs. This is evidence for CQC Purposes by whom we are inspected every two years.” Operating within the healthcare can present many challenges, and it is important that Overington Care is able to stand out amongst its competitors in the industry. Fortunately, the agency runs its business to suit the client, meaning the client does not have to work around what suits the business, as Nichola is keen to point out. “All clients will choose what time best suits them for their visits at the start of our service. This is then agreed via a contract which is a flexible contract for the client as their needs change, their visits for time and duration of service may also need to change again to meet their needs.” Discussing how the agency adapts around its clients, Nichola alludes to the fact that many of them struggle with dealing with a lot of different workers, and so the team ensure that the client deals with the same carer on a regular basis, leading to less confusion. “Crucially, a lot of our clients have some form of dementia at various stages, and we believe it is not in a client’s best interest to have too many different faces in their lives. Struggling with change and dealing with lots of different people can lead to distress and anxiety for the client. Having the same carer also helps to build positive and trustworthy relationships with clients and families.” E Contact: Nichola Overington Address: Unit 6, Fosseway Park, Harepath Road, Seaton, Devon, EX12 2WH, UK Phone: 01297 20336 Website: www.overingtoncareltd.co.uk As a company, Overington Care looks at the big picture, ensuring the client is happy in all areas, rather than just the challenge of living. Looking to support the individual both mentally and emotionally, the team take great care in improving the wellbeing of a person and making sure they are able to manage in different areas. An important aspect of the work that the team does is to support a client to build their confidence and self-esteem, helping them to adapt to after losing a close loved one. This is something which Nichola is clearly proud of and is keen to comment on. “All members of staff pride themselves on making a client’s life is a priority, and we will continue to strive to provide the highest standard of care possible, and a result enabling a client to live their life as they would like.” Significantly, a unique selling point for Overington Care is the effort that the team put in to ensure the client lives their life to the maximum ability. Not just content with getting individuals out of bed, staff go the extra mile in order to offer an array of social activities which make living as normal as possible. These activities can include going to lunch, to the theatre or simply doing exercise, but it is something that the clients really appreciate. Ultimately, Overington Care’s future goal is to continue to grow more small Agencies along the Jurassic Coast Line, with a central care home at the heart of all the agencies. This would be in case there is an event in which a client has to be transferred in to 24-hour care, the transition will be less traumatic if they were being transferred in to one by where they are all very settled with in the organisation already, being familiar with the staff around them.