When friends Laura Piniero and Angela Harding saw what they considered to be poor care, they knew they could deliver much higher quality care than that. Recently they became the Walfinch franchisees for Southampton and are already working hard towards achieving an ‘outstanding’ rating from the CQC. 

Laura, a former restaurateur who was the chef in a care home, says: “Angela was a carer and activities co-ordinator there and we agreed that there were things that could be done better. As employees we felt our hands were tied, so we decided to open our own care business.”

Laura says: “We looked at several homecare franchises. None were quite right, until we met the team behind Walfinch. Like us, everyone there believed that treating all clients and carers as equals delivered the best possible care.

“We see our care team as equal partners in building a high-quality care service, so we treat our carers fairly, listen to their suggestions and never expect them to do anything that we would not do ourselves.”

Laura and Angela now have seven homecare clients and five carers, with two more being onboarded this month. “Slow and steady growth means we can maintain our high standards,” says Laura. “We are aiming to achieve a CQC outstanding rating.”

The importance of family

Angela says: “Family involvement is key to success in care, provided the client wants it. Walfinch franchisees get access to an app called CareFor, on which carers record their notes about the client. We encourage families to look at them, which means better communication, the key to better care.”

Going the extra mile

“Recently our client Ann told our carer Susan that she wanted to bake bread, so they did it together. It’s rewarding to build a team that goes the extra mile and ties in with Walfinch’s aim to deliver fun with our care services,” says Angela.

“When it comes to franchisee support Walfinch has got it right. They have the same attitudes to care as we do,  and their support in starting and running out business has been excellent. We had the passion, but we could not have got this far, this fast, without them.“