Helping Hands Launches 20 New Branches Across the Country

Helping Hands Home Care, one of the UK’s leading home care providers, extended its network by 20 branches in March 2021 following the successful launch of 25 new branches during 2020.

The launch of the care provider's 20 new branches throughout England created over 2,000 new jobs in care during 2021. The 20 new branches will be joined by another 20 in September, delivering an additional 10,000 hours of care a week, bringing the company close to 100,000 hours a week of visiting care on top of its 1,000 live-in care customers.

Helping Hands has seen demand for its care services increase significantly over the past 12 months as customers’ needs have changed. The new branches that have opened and are opening this year take Helping Hands to over 160 locations as they focus on delivering a more local service to the communities they serve.

Mark Speirs, Head of New Branches at Helping Hands, said: “We are delighted to be able to add to our offering as a care provider with these new branches. Customers’ needs have changed during the last 12 months and we have been able to be more flexible with initiatives such as virtual meetings and our internal reward and recognition scheme, Moments of Kindness. We can continue to give our customers the confidence that their and our teams’ safety is always our focus. We have seen demand really increase in the last 12 months so these additional hours of support will really help to alleviate strain across the sector.

“At Helping Hands, we are committed to not only the people we serve, but also the communities we operate in, so it is great to be creating jobs for local areas across the country. We have been encouraged by the response to expanding our network and look forward to supporting more people to lead an independent life in the comfort of their own home.”

The company is also encouraging families to open up and discuss care plans with relatives. Research commissioned by Helping Hands revealed that fewer than one in six adults (15%) has spoken to the older members of their family to know exactly what their expectations are when it comes to future care needs.

The study found that of those people whose parents subsequently needed care, only 38% say that they had conversations about the possibility of it at the right time. One in five people (21%) whose parents have needed care say they wish their mum or dad had received professional help sooner and 10% say that if they had a conversation about it earlier, it could have prevented accidents in the home.

Spiers added: “The potential need for future care and support in the home is a conversation that many families find difficult to have and it’s unlikely to be a single discussion, but lots of conversations over a period of time.  It’s important to have patience and be prepared to bring in support gradually – that way elderly relatives can get used to the idea without being overwhelmed by a sudden change in lifestyle.  Having lots of conversations will also allow families to address the common obstacles we see in these situations one by one, rather than having to deal with all the challenges at the same time.”

For anyone looking to find out more information on recruitment opportunities please visit https://careers.helpinghands.co.uk/e/careers/search/new.