Samantha Wright, Author at Wright Care at Home

We are 1 Year Old! So, here’s everything I want to say……. Perhaps not everything there’s not enough time!

Samantha Wright — Mon, 01 May 2017 07:34:00 +0000

On the 25^th April, we held our first Birthday event at The William Cecil in Stamford.

A truly heart-warming and cherished memory that will stay with me and my Team for a long time for sure.

So, for those who attended the day….

Families, Friends, Businesses, and most importantly the Customers of Wright Care at Home!

You will have all witnessed that we had such a huge turn out and I was a little overwhelmed and let’s say taken back by all the incredible support we had. That in mind meant my pubic speaking probably wasn’t as smooth as I planned. Trying to keep it together and not shed tears again that day or forget to thank someone was a little nerve racking to say the least! But hey if I was a public speaker I wouldn’t be doing the most rewarding and incredible job I do! So, I hope you all let me off.

What was remarkable and stood out on 25^th April at our First Birthday party was that when we posted our first ever team photo exactly one year prior we were a team of 5 including me! Now we are a team of 16! Having them all by my side at our Party was the best feeling! Knowing that my 5-year dream of a small family run company has been achieved and not only that but we have developed into an amazing team and provided customers with the service we exactly aspired to do!

Everyone always asks me this question….

Where do you want to go from now?

My honest answer….

“I want us to be the same as we are now, I wanted a small team that have been handpicked to provide outstanding care and deliver to a small area that’s manageable and enables us to always continue to deliver what we promised from the beginning! Will we expand our area of service? Who knows – I don’t have a crystal ball but certainly in the next three years we won’t be doing so. Why change what works and what people want! Keep it simple is what I was once told and I must say simple works! Don’t fix what isn’t broken! I want to carry on developing my existing team and investing in the team that make outstanding care happen. We have a huge demand for our service and we have the team now to support our current and future customers with the family feel service they want”

Everyone has said from the beginning ‘don’t get too big, don’t change what you’re doing’ and we haven’t and will continue to do as we say, ‘keep compassion at the heart of everything we do.’

I receive so many lovely compliments and as the founder and care Manager it always pulls at my heart strings. I always get stopped in the high street and asked if I’m ‘Wright Care at Home.’ My Care team love their jobs and genuinely love to rave about us. Often, we are complimented on how happy our team always seems, and how we seem to be excited about our jobs. This always genuinely surprises me as a Business owner! We spend most of our life at work why shouldn’t it be a place we are excited about! So, if I can continue to invest and keep my team happy I know I’ll always be doing something right.

The Care Team are foremost at the heart of our service, and I do have an amazing bunch of carers. They are always laughing, and surprising me. This company is what it is because of them and they truly deserve all the recognition in the world because it’s not always easy, we become part of many families and sometimes this means we must say goodbyes too. That’s why we joined up with Marie Curie at our Birthday. To remember those absent and raise a glass to them too. To raise £600 for Marie Curie was our token of saying thank you for the support of the organisations we work alongside all year round. Sometimes in the darkest hours these nurses give the most incredible support and that’s not just to the individuals but to us as a care team too.

To be a year old and to have the whole team still together was a great milestone and I’m so proud to of got here with all the same team! However, it was also a sad day as we say goodbye to Sandra Palmer who is now set to retire in a week or so time! Also, our Care Supervisor Is now a Mummy to Baby Ralphy and will be on her Maternity leave till next year! Sarah has shared my passion and journey and she will I’m sure still be heavily around to keep an eye on us all and ensure we are not all eating cake without her.

So, what have I learnt….

Every day is a new challenge, yet the most rewarding.

What I do promotes people with independence and I am privileged to be able to provide a service that gives us all the quality of life we deserve.

That life should be cherished in every moment because it’s so precious and we never know what’s round the corner.

That I’m now an IT Guru! (Ok that’s a lie but Jess our Coordinator is)

Working alongside my family is truly the best decision I ever made.

That I have the most incredible support and am truly blessed

That behind every door is a new story to tell and waiting to be heard

I HAVE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD

What would I change…….

Nothing – although I’m putting all my team on a cake ban! It’s not good for the waist line

Id of done all what we have achieved sooner as its been the most incredible journey

So here’s to our next year and one I hope will be filled with just as much success, memories and highlights as the last.

All the best and kindest wishes

Sammy

Care Manager and Director

The post We are 1 Year Old! So, here’s everything I want to say……. Perhaps not everything there’s not enough time! appeared first on Wright Care at Home.

Wright Care at Home Reshaping Domiciliary Care in Stamford….

Samantha Wright — Mon, 01 May 2017 02:14:00 +0000

It’s that time again on a mid-week evening where the hustle and bustle of the office has ended…

The Administrator has finished the filing and left with a bag of envelopes full of schedules, our Care Coordinator has eaten all the Maryland cookies from the tin and organised everyone on their daily visits.

The seniors have left with their charisma, jokes, and entertainment.

The phones have stopped ringing, the footprints of the other offices making countless trips to the kitchen to queue for the kettle have left.

All that’s left is the sound of the over worked printer, the cleaner working her way through our busy offices and the sound of the birds singing outside.

I always like this time of day…. When the madness stops and I can sit and ponder on the day and what I’ve learnt from it. Every day is always so different and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Being a Care Manager and Care Director is sometimes like being on the Waltzers at the Mid Lent fair. You can feel like your brain is whirring at a million miles per hour. Your ensuring your team are ok and your customers are all happy.

The phones are ringing, the emails are flowing. There’s always something new happening to keep us involved in the community. Whether its events to organise, fundraising collections, training workshops, team meetings, office meetings, ordering supplies, quality checks, reviews, new assessments, care plans to write, audits to maintain…. there is most definitely never a dull moment!

My favourite part though is sitting with my team, watching them learn and develop into awesome carers. Seeing the carefully handpicked team grow into their roles. Watch their confidence grow, and hear all the lovely stories of the care visits in place.

What is even better…. Visiting our customers and hearing their life stories and how much my awesome team change their days. This makes me smile, and I feel proud that every day we are making such a difference.

I sit here now whilst it’s quiet and think the day over and how this remarkable journey has utterly transformed not just my life but so many. Not just our special customers but that of 16 employees. I’ve come to learn about all their personalities, their quirky ways and get to know their families and loved ones. Careers are being grown, qualifications gained, new stories told, and laughs had all round.

Often when our trainer visits ‘Derek’ we sit and have a natter and put the world to rights. This week was absolutely no different. Before a busy training session in ‘Parkinson’s awareness’ we went and made the most of the glorious Stamford sunshine. Sat outside ‘Café Nero’ on the busy hustling high street with a cappuccino and skinny latte.

We were sat discussing the current views of care not just in the community setting but residential. We were chatting about the perception of care and how the media contribute to this is positive and unfortunately often negative.

We discussed our passion of the industry and how and what ‘Outstanding’ care should look like. This is often a subject we discuss, in fact I think we could spend endless hours on this topic and never quite reach the end of this subject.

Sharing your passion with someone who is on the same page and sees the difference we could all make in the care world if there weren’t so many challenges is truly refreshing.

I often spend evenings lying awake thinking of ideas of how we can make a difference and reshape this perception and I certainly like to think we have already started doing this in Stamford. My best ideas always come at 3am and the notebook by my bed is now full of all my aspirations and dreams. Some of which have happened already such as our recent party at the William Cecil with all our lovely customers, friends and families.

What should care look like….

It’s simple, isn’t it?

Caring, compassionate, dignified, respectful and refreshing!

It’s about helping someone with the small little things that we take for granted yet make such a huge difference to someone else, it’s about kindness and spreading it like confetti!

So ‘Wright Care at Home’ is all about ensuring KINDNESS is spread throughout and if we can pass on our delivery of care throughout then we have achieved more than we could have hoped for. It’s not about competing with competitors, it’s not about being the best, it’s not about being the biggest provider. It’s about joining with other health professionals and providers and ensuring that as a town we have the deserved service for all our customers. We all have the same goals! We all want the same outcomes!

We have already built foundations and network partnerships with charities to ensure that we can give something back to those who have supported our customers. We are currently working with one of our team to involve the town and what it has to offer with how we can create stimulus and companionship for our customers and Stamford’s residents. Such as the local theatre groups.

Care isn’t just about the daily activities, care is about going above and beyond and looking after our generations. Treating people with the same compassion as we all hope we will once receive. We are in a growing population and care is in greater demand. However, it’s time care was perceived as positive and recognised for its outstanding moments. The precious moments and glimpses of heart-warming windows we get to see. It’s time our care givers were given the recognition they deserve and time that we all go above and beyond to promote quality of life.

Age shouldn’t be something we all dread, often I hear ‘I never want to grow old.’

It’s time we changed this, age is gracious and with age comes stories, memories and new chapters. It’s time we all work together to provide the best outstanding care there is.

With life comes age, with age becomes wrinkles. But within all those wrinkles is a time to be shared, passed on and cherished. Generations will pass down to generations.

I want Wright Care at Home to ensure that we make a difference and let’s be honest so does every care provider. Life is for living, age doesn’t compromise this.

So, it’s nearly 9pm in ‘The Grey House,’ So with this reflective blog it’s time to turn off the lights, lock the doors and get some shut eye. Because before we know it tomorrow is a new day and who knows what may come…. Life is full of mystery that’s what makes it oh so special.

On that note. Goodnight Friends.

Xxx

Written and posted by Samantha Wright

Care Director

Wright Care at Home

The post Wright Care at Home Reshaping Domiciliary Care in Stamford…. appeared first on Wright Care at Home.

“6 Months in and my Journey”

Samantha Wright — Fri, 25 Nov 2016 20:00:00 +0000

It seems some time since I was sat filling out my registration forms embarking on my new adventure to register as a care provider!

But now it’s the 25^th October 2016 and its exactly six months since my team delivered their first care visit in Stamford.

Where has, the time gone???

Care worker – It always seems such an understated job! With the bad press, we daily read in newspapers both local and national, and this stigma that anyone can do this role I feel it needs some recognition.

So, what does being a Care worker mean?

A care worker must have special qualities; it takes someone very special to be a care giver. As care workers, we are making a difference to someone’s day. We are not just delivering them a cup of tea, or filling a purpose that tick’s boxes on a piece of paperwork. It is much more than that.

It’s about making a real difference; it’s giving everyone that time that they need to be able to stay in the familiarity of their own home surrounded by those that they love and around the memories they have built over the years.

A care worker is Kind, caring, thoughtful, proactive, compassionate and trustworthy. Our care workers really do make a difference. They support person centred care, they fulfil the wishes and needs of individuals and they ensure independence is promoted.

All the team go above and beyond their duties they are always committed to ensuring we act as a team and that our customers are safe, comfortable and above all else happy!

Care workers really are a special type of person. They take the time all hours around the clock to support those in the community. 365 days of the year they are there and always putting someone first!

Where are we now?

6 months ago, we had a team of 5 and now 6 months on we are a team of 11 and still growing. We moved into our new office, our customer base has quadrupled and our care team is twice the size. We have taken our time to know our customers and grow ensuring that our standards never drop. This is what makes us brilliant and this is how we always get it right or ‘Wright’ should I say!

Every morning I wake up and smile because I have given something back, I’ve given individuals the chance to shine in their roles and build into new roles. I’ve given customers great service and I’ve built a small family business that not just me but all of us here are proud of.

We are now looking for a bigger office so we can build space for our ever-growing team of stars! We are constantly training and building the skill sets of our team. Ensuring we retain the awesome care team we have worked so hard with.

Celebrating successes however small every day! We are now working with other health professionals such as independent social workers, and charities closely to support our service.

We recently started teaming up with another care provider sharing experiences with recruitment and training and ensuring we are always one step ahead.

Achievements

I could not be more proud of this organisation and team.

In the last six months, we have seen carers grow and develop into future higher roles.

We have three members of the team working towards completing their level 3 diplomas in health and social care, we have carers doing intensive learning courses studying specialised areas such as palliative care, dementia care, customer service, safeguarding, equality and diversity.

We recently all developed our knowledge and undertook course in diabetes awareness and Parkinson’s…. Every day we are continually developing our skills so we can support those in the community.

Extended Family

We do call ourselves a family here, we support each other every day and ensure we are always working together.

Our trainer has become part of our team too and now works closely with us identifying areas of development.

We constantly work alongside other local health professionals ensuring we give our customer’s the highest standard of care.

We are part of the social care commitment and dignity council.

Recently we joined the dementia friends- leading the fight against dementia.

Rewarding the team

What’s so important to me is that my team are rewarded! It shows what we stand for. Zero sickness in six months, full retention of all staff and seeing my team grow and develop into higher roles is what makes me smile.

This journey has been profoundly the best and I can’t wait to continue and there is not one day that is the same that doesn’t present a challenge. But that’s what I love and what strives me to always be aiming for the best service to our customers.

So, watch this space for the next 6 months……

The post “6 Months in and my Journey” appeared first on Wright Care at Home.