CQC ‘Outstanding’ Home Instead Senior Care (East Devon & Exeter), the only homecare provider with a 5 Star CQC rating in the South West, is now part of the UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network. Launched in 2015, the network brings together health and social care professionals to improve services, increase expertise and engage effectively with people affected by Parkinson’s.

Home Instead (East Devon & Exeter) Directors and management undertook extensive training from Parkinson’s UK to become accredited trainers of Parkinson’s for their 100 CAREGivers and office staff, supporting people to live independently in their own homes in the East Devon & Exeter area. The multi-award-winning home-care provider is now delivering Parkinson’s workshops in the local area at no cost, offering specialist training to all CAREGivers, family carers and members of the community who may benefit.

Home Instead has a reputation for delivering quality care in the community with continuity of care, longer visits and specialised training which has been welcomed by those living with Parkinson’s and their carers.

Vanessa McGlade – Director of Home Instead Senior Care (East Devon & Exeter) said: “The number of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s in the UK is about 145,000 – that’s around one adult in every 350. Parkinson’s UK are training professionals like physiotherapists and occupational therapists, and what makes Home Instead unique is that we are taking the training into the home-care environment and wider community.” She adds: “We support a number of people living at home with Parkinson’s and this training and greater awareness has greatly improved our understanding of the needs of those living with Parkinson’s, and also that of their families and the carers, in order for us to provide the best possible person-centred care and support.”

Home Instead (East Devon & Exeter) have now rolled out a series of workshops and advice to the wider community including Waitrose & Partners in Sidmouth. This is in line with the Excellence Network’s aims to transform the care people with Parkinson’s receive, and work together to improve services, increase expertise and engage effectively with people affected by Parkinson’s.

Mark McGlade Managing Director – Home Instead (East Devon & Exeter) “We are the only homecare providers in the UK with City & Guilds accreditation for dementia and ran a Dementia workshop for some of the Partners at Waitrose Sidmouth in September, covering many areas including understanding the different types of dementia, techniques to manage behaviours and customer service tips when supporting someone with dementia. The staff found it so useful that they invited us back to give Parkinson’s training.” He explains further: “As the first home care provider in the South West to have Parkinson’s Disease accredited training and as part of the UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network, we are now working in partnership with Waitrose & Partners in Sidmouth to provide workshops to raise awareness of Dementia and Parkinson’s. This will help the staff better understand how the conditions affect their customers so that they can provide improved services and an awareness and understanding of those suffering from these debilitating diseases.”

Over 2000 people in Greater Exeter and East Devon are living with Parkinson’s. The population of Sidmouth as a whole, is older than the Devon average and indeed nationally, and the average age of people in Sidmouth Town is 56, with a high retirement population.

Julie Marish, Community Lead – Waitrose and Partners – Sidmouth comments: “We found great benefit in the dementia training from Mark and his team, so when we heard they were also accredited with Parkinson’s UK, we invited them to come back. The workshops were delivered in a professional manner and gave our partners the tools to deliver excellent customer service to everyone. Many of us had some knowledge of Parkinson’s and Dementia but these training and information sessions highlighted all the signs to look for.” She adds: “I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Home Instead for giving up their time to come and educate our partners on the signs of Parkinson’s and dementia and how we can support our customers in making their shopping trip as easy as possible for them.”

Mark McGlade concludes: “We are taking our Parkinson’s Workshops into the community, free of charge, to help family and friends better understand and support those living with this debilitating disease. I am delighted to announce that we have just launched the first of our monthly “Tea and Chat” sessions at Waitrose Sidmouth to help signpost and provide support for customers, who may be looking for advice or support on health or social care issues, or simply welcoming of a friendly companion to sit and chat with over a cup of tea. The first session, held in October which was very well received.”

Any interested groups that would like a free Parkinson’s, Dementia, Falls, Nutrition or Scam Awareness Workshop in the Exeter and East Devon community should contact: Home Instead on:01395 200600

www.homeinstead.co.uk/eastdevon

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