At the heart of everything we do is respect for the wishes of our clients to remain in their own homes.
Home is where memories are – happy memories of family weddings, great birthday parties or of a long and happy marriage.
The home also provides shelter and protection from the outside world. During the Coronavirus crisis, our clients were far safer at home than in any other setting.
We enable our clients to stay at home for as long as possible with dignity and safety by providing small teams of regular, reliable, highly trained carers, supported by experienced office staff.
Our Vision
We aim to be an outstanding care provider within Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire & Oxfordshire, supporting our clients with first class care, using every means available to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.
Our Mission
- To assist clients to maintain their independence and quality of life in their own home
- To provide the best possible service with a friendly, caring and compassionate approach
- To provide appropriate trained and skilled staff that fit our clients’ needs
- To provide continuity of care wherever possible
- To respect the dignity and privacy of our clients
Our Values
To fulfil our vision and carry out our mission, we have developed a set of values that run throughout our care, recruitment, and training and development processes. For example. we interview prospective carers using our values based questions to establish whether the interviewee is suitable or not, and thereafter, our values are woven into team meetings, supervisions, and training.
Compassion
Compassion is at the heart of everything we do for our clients, combining humanity, kindness and care.
Respect and dignity
We value each of our clients as an individual. We respect their aspirations and commitments and seek to understand and promote their priorities, needs, abilities and limits. When providing care, we treat our clients with dignity, we aim to support and empower them and to respect their right to make their own decisions.
Openness and honesty
We are open and honest about our service. We say what we can and cannot do, we will provide our clients with the service that we have undertaken to provide and will not take on a client where we do not have the capability to provide the service needed. Our fees are transparent: we charge our clients in line with what we have recorded in our contract – there are no hidden fees. While we work hard to provide the highest quality service, if we get it wrong, we will say, and we will learn from what went wrong and make appropriate changes to our service and to our operations to improve the service we provide. We believe in a non-hierarchical and “open door” approach, whereby any member of staff can speak to senior management and the directors. We seek to employ care workers who are able to take responsibility and who are not afraid to own up if they get something wrong, and who are willing to learn and develop from their mistakes and who have the courage to speak out if they see something that they think is wrong.
Collaborative working
We firmly believe in taking into account the views of all those involved in the care of our clients -social workers, family members, doctors, nurses, office staff and carers – and in working with them all. Each carer is a valued part of our team and we listen to our carers and value their contribution and input, given that they see our clients on a daily basis and are often the first to notice changes in the wellbeing and health of our clients.
Commitment to quality of care
We believe that we can only provide the best possible care if we recruit, train and retain the best staff who share 1st Homecare’s values and who are committed to 1st Homecare’s vision. We value our staff for their commitment and passion in providing our clients with great care. We recognise that mistakes do occur, but when they do, we expect an honest reflection from all those involved so that future errors can be prevented.
Caring with a smile
Everyone responds to a smile. We believe that there is always time for a smile, no matter how busy life is. We know some of our clients spend long hours alone and look forward to our carers’ visits to brighten their day. We aim to recruit cheerful staff and expect them to try to leave their problems at home and to do their best to bring a smile to all those they see or speak to during the course of the working day. We also believe this applies to office staff using the phones for much of the day because we believe that you can always hear a smile!
Client stories – real-life stories of our care in action
What makes 1st Homecare different?
Here’s why hundreds of families in Leighton Buzzard, Oxford and Kings Langley choose our Home Care Services
Familiar Faces
When families arrange care, one of their biggest concerns is who will be coming into their home.
Your care will be delivered by a small, consistent team of highly trained, fully employed carers – many of whom have been brought up in the local area.
Reliable Care
When someone depends on care, reliability matters.
We ensure that with solid care planning, stable teams of carers, careful rota management and efficient communication with families. Your loved one will receive the care they deserve, when they need it.
Clear Communication
When someone you love receives care at home, communication is essential.
At 1st Homecare we prioritise clear, open communication, ensuring families always know who to contact and feel confident in the care being delivered.
Family Values
Choosing a care provider is one of the most important decisions a family can make.
As a family-run organisation, we are guided by the same values families expect for their own loved ones: respect, reliability and genuine commitment to the people we support.
Our Care Quality Commission Ratings
See what some of the families we care for say about us
Care starts with a conversation
Finding the right care shouldn’t feel overwhelming.
We’re here to listen, understand your needs, and help you find the right support for your loved one.
Get in touch today to arrange a friendly, no-obligation conversation.
FREE care assessment enquiry
Just pop in your details and one of our care advisors, will be in touch as soon as possible by phone or email to answer your questions and discuss your care needs.