HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE

Last week, Katie visited the Home Instead Senior Care head office of the Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Edenbridge branch. Greeted by the 
lovely Symone, they had a cup of tea and a long chat about domiciliary care. 
So impressed by the homecare services they offer, Katie felt it was important 
to write about them.

For those of you who have not heard of Home Instead before, they are 
specialists in non-medical homecare of older people. In the same way 
The Able Label was started, Symone too was moved by a personal 
experience with her Grandmother. This led to her leaving a successful 
career in management in pursuit of starting up a business whilst making 
a difference.

Catering for a variety of individual needs, Home Instead offer many 
services ranging from a few hours a day up to 24 hours, 7 days a week. 
There are three key categories of service; companionship, home help 
and personal care. A few services available under these categories include:

Companionship Services

– stimulating mental awareness through conversation, reminiscing and 
recording family history

– accompanying on trips, visiting neighbours or family, going out for lunch 
or to appointments together.

– participating in hobbies and crafts together or helping with reading

Home Help Service

– assisting with weekly tasks including changing bed linen, washing, ironing 
and dry cleaning.

– preparing shopping lists together, doing shopping and putting items away.

– providing light housekeeping, take rubbish out, care for houseplants and pets.

Personal Care Service

– assisting with daily tasks like morning wake up and evening tuck in as well 
as bathing, grooming and dressing.

– providing respite and convalescence care

– helping with medication reminders and assisting with eating.

A victim of their own success however, the Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks 
and Edenbridge branch of Home Instead are so focused on finding the right 
staff, they are currently unable to meet demand. Symone maintains satisfying 
current at-home clients’ needs first is the priority but even these individuals 
are requiring increased hours from their services.

The shortage of staff is predominantly down to their high standards when 
recruiting. Symone explained that in order to give at-home clients the best 
possible care, they only employ individuals who have been pre-screened, 
scrutinised and carefully checked. With compassion at the heart of employment, 
caregivers go on to receive extensive and continuous training before they 
are paired with an at-home client. “The match has to be right for both if the 
service is to work” Symone emphasises.

Katie found herself moved by the compassion of her and the team. Everything 
they do is centred on one simple question, “would I be happy with my 
Grandmother receiving this care?” This is what sets Home Instead apart. 
There is a focus is on building trusting relationships and providing mental 
stimulation, which is all to often neglected within care. It is not about ticking 
off a to-do list, it is about speaking to individuals and working with them to 
tailor a care plan around their specific needs. This in turn helps to give the 
at-home client as much independence as possible as they work with them 
not to them. This gives them much more meaningful and fulfilled lives.

If you are keen to find out more about the services available, please take a 
look at the Home Instead website. Otherwise if you are based in the 
Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Edenbridge area, contact Symone 
directly at symone.salwan@homeinstead.co.uk to see how they can help 
support you or you loved ones.

Alternatively, if you are interested in flexible and rewarding part-time work 
around the Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Edenbridge areas, Home Instead 
are looking for caregivers. Please contact Symone directly on 01892 731264. 
No specific experience is needed, you just need to be reliable and have a 
passion for caring for other people as full training will be provided.