Background
Just Ask was founded in 2012 with a goal to provide personal care and home help services to the elderly in the Skipton area. We are now recognised locally as a company that delivers the highest levels of home care services in the area.
Just Ask's reputation has grown because of our very high standards, consistency, compassion and eagerness of all our staff to provide 'a level of care that they would be happy for a member of their family to receive' and this is now the company's mission statement.
Just Ask's ‘nothing is too much trouble’ attitude means that every one of our home care service users receive a level of service that generally surpasses their expectations.
Our service user's individual needs are very important to us and we want to help our service users live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as it is safe to do so. Whether their need is assistance to get up, wash and dress every day or assistance with a shower several times a week, Just Ask are happy to help. We can also prepare a freshly cooked meal, assist with medication and be there at the end of the day to assist with getting ready for bed.
Just Ask recognises that choosing a home care provider is a very important decision. We also understand that everyone is an individual and has different needs. We listen to those needs and work hard to put together a detailed support plan that understands and meets the individual needs of our service users.
Just Ask's core values are respect, compassion, empathy, dignity, integrity and imagination and we work hard to uphold these principles with all our service users.
Our ethos
Regardless of the type of service provided, all our service users can be assured that ‘every member of our team will provide a level of care that they would be happy for a member of their own family to receive’ . Importantly, our services are person centred and specific to each of our service user's particular needs.
Subsidies
Our unique business model is simple and uses any profits made by the organisation to offer subsidised home care services to people who may otherwise not be able to afford the normal charges. Crucially, because we are a community interest company that operates on a not-for-profit basis, we don’t have a priority to line the pockets of directors, franchisees or business owners.
Home care subsidies
Just Ask’s innovative initiative means that elderly clients who require home care support won’t have the financial barrier that may otherwise that might deter them from getting support for their care needs . By removing the financial burden through our subsidies, Just Ask are keeping people safer in their own homes for longer. The home care subsidies that we offer vary, but the most popular are free of charge companionship visits and adding an extra 15 minutes to visits that a clients would otherwise not be able to afford.
Just Ask’s carer initiative may help change the landscape of home care
Just Ask Care and Support has introduced an exciting initiative that will financially benefit its team of carers as well as providing free companionship visits for their vulnerable and lonely service users.
It is widely recognised that the care sector is currently in crisis and one of its biggest problems is staff retention, largely because many employees feel undervalued and are not paid proportionally to the responsibilities that they have. However, Just Ask has introduced an exciting initiative that is hoped will have a positive effect on the care sector.
Managing Director, Steve Hulbert, explains the Just Ask’s initiative and why he introduced it. “I passionately believe that carers should be respected, valued, and rewarded for their immense contribution to front-line care support. I also believe that the introduction of this type of scheme throughout Yorkshire and ultimately across the UK could massively improve the morale of the thousands of domiciliary care workers and help reverse what has been a downward negative trend for many years. My staff were very excited about changing to a salary because it gives them financial stability and helps with budgeting their finances. Combine this with the unquestionably positive effect that our free companionship visits have had on our service users and it makes a strong case for this simple scheme being the future norm for domiciliary care”. Steve is also keen to add, "We have always valued our staff and support them in every way we can because without their commitment, enthusiasm, and dedication to their role, our business would simply be ‘very ordinary’. I am very proud of my staff and I am frequently told by our service users and their family members that they really do see the benefits that our motivated care team deliver compared to other companies that they have used”. Steve continues; “Our new initiative is basically in two parts. The first element addresses the issue of how carers are paid, and the second element will help reduce social isolation for the service users that we support”.
This is how it works:
- Just Ask pay their carers on a salaried basis This is a huge benefit for them as it guarantees a regular income and stability, rather than a changeable wage principally caused by cancellation of services. Their care workers also have the opportunity to earn more than their salaried figure by picking-up extra hours if they want to.
- The second element means that should there be a cancellation and, consequently, a gap appears in the support worker’s rota; Just Ask schedules a companionship visit for the carer to spend time with one of the company’s vulnerable/lonely service users. The carers are paid for this time in their salary, but the person that they visit will not be charged.
- Having carers that are salaried is different to many other home care providers who only pay their staff for the hours spent with clients. Sadly, the time spent travelling between service users is often paid at a minimal rate, or in some cases, not paid at all. Should a service user cancel a visit, Just Ask’s care team are still paid for the time where a gap appears in their rota. However, this time won’t be wasted as it allows for the most exciting element of the new initiative to take place.
Steve shares how the new scheme has been received. “The support for our initiative from our ‘self-funding’ service users and family members has been overwhelmingly positive, with many saying that the minimal cost incurred by a cancellation fee, is massively outweighed by the benefit of having unexpected companionship visits for their loved ones”. Steve goes on to explain that these visits offer another benefit as well; “Our carers have been hugely lifted by the positive effects that their companionship visits have on the service users they visit. Many have commented that seeing the smiles on a service user’s face and how their spirits were lifted has made their job even more enjoyable and worthwhile”.
Steve continues; “I hope that by leading the way with this revolutionary scheme, we will do our bit in encouraging significant changes to the landscape of home care for both carers and service users".