New 'outstanding' owners take reins at Home Instead Worthing and Steyning care provider

Home Instead provides quality care services across the Worthing area and provide anything from companionship, home-help and personal care alongside specialist care for conditions like dementia and Parkinson’s. Home Instead are passionate about helping older people to remain independent in their own homes.

Simon McGee started the Home Instead franchise in Chichester in 2015 after his grandmother Marie received outstanding care services from the franchise in Eastbourne. She had a fall at home and spent two weeks in hospital.

Simon said: “She became extremely weakened in hospital, and it was clear she was going to need additional help on her return home. But the options just weren’t what I knew she would want – I felt she would have given up in a care home, and most of the home care visiting options seemed so impersonal – short visits and different people visiting.

"A nurse suggested I try the local Home Instead office, and they were just so personal and interested in providing real continuity of care by matching someone to care for my grandmother. The trust that formed between the lady that was introduced and my grandmother meant that as a family we could relax. It was obvious to me that’s what older people need, and I set about starting my own franchise in Chichester. I feel very lucky to have found something I truly believe in.”

Chichester Home Instead has gone from strength to strength since 2015 and received an ‘outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission in 2018 at their very first inspection.

Simon said: “I am so happy to be running a service that is transforming the way that we care for older people in their own homes in Worthing.”

Last year, following lockdown restrictions and the associated social isolation that has impacted so many older people, Simon started a charity day care service along with two other trustees: Terry’s Place, operating in Chichester which is now really taking off as an independent charity in its own right.

At around the same time, he was made aware that the Home Instead franchise in Worthing was up for sale, having been operating since 2017.

Simon said: “I knew the owner Mike and had met some of the Worthing team previously, I felt that with the experience I’d gained I could help take the service on and support the team to build on what they had already achieved to become an ‘outstanding’ rated service.”

The combined Home Instead business now covers the coastal area of West Sussex from Worthing in the east through Littlehampton, Arundel, Bognor Regis to Chichester in the west.

The team of more than150 care professionals supports 250 families and their loved ones to remain independent in their own homes.

Simon said: “The additional scale allows us to invest in further specialist training for our staff, for example neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s, mental health provision such as dementia, progressive frailty or recovery and rehabilitation, as well as services like Live In care that can ensure that someone is always available and never needs to leave the comfort of their own home.”

Home Instead are proud of the way they treat their team differently: they’re very selective when interviewing Care Professionals, provide extensive training and support to all staff, and they recognise and reward their achievements in bringing joy to the lives of those they care for. They are always on the lookout for people with kind hearts to join their team, so do get in touch with them if you’d like to find out about a rewarding career in care.

Simon said: “I am constantly amazed by the wonderful world of caring people in our local community. Caring for other people has to be something you want to do. It’s a vocation, not just a job. Yes, it has its challenges, but people work in care because they want to make a difference – that is what makes Home Instead so special. I am so happy to be running a service that is transforming the way that we care for older people in their own homes in Worthing. I’m immensely proud of the difference my team is making every single day, and incredibly excited about the future.”

Home Instead Worthing & Steyning provide care that helps older people locally to remain independent in their own homes. For further information please call 01903 206079 or visit homeinstead.co.uk/worthing-steyning