Belsize Village, London, 31 Mar 2014: Home care provider Penrose Care is honoured to continue its support for Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter, which was commended by Care Minister Norman Lamb this morning at Citizens UK’s “Care in the Square” event held in front of the Houses of Parliament in Parliament Square, City of Westminster. Minister Lamb told the event attendees, “I support what you do 100%.”
The charter was originally launched in October 2013 and Penrose Care is one of the founding backers and England’s first independent sector home care provider to comply with the charter, which calls for care workers being paid the Living Wage, travel time, and compliance with other ethical standards. A Penrose Care homecare worker, Perrine, was one of the event speakers.
“We have developed a Social Care Charter spelling out the basic standards that would enable quality for the recipient and dignity for the worker. These standards are not ground-breaking but what we are building is a movement, where recipients, care workers, providers and commissioners can work together to bring about the social care system we all want to see,” said Matthew Bolton, deputy director of Citizens UK.
The event MC was Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism. In addition to Perrine and Minister Lamb, speakers included a care recipient; Dr. Chai Patel, chairman of HC-One (the third-largest residential care home provider in the UK); Natasha Singarayer, COO of Abbeyfield Society; Westminster Council cabinet member Cllr Rachael Robathan; and Cllr Richard Watts, Leader of Islington Council.
“Penrose Care continues to be an enthusiastic and active supporter of Citizens UK’s Social Care Charter and its wider social care campaign,” said Penrose Care managing director, Robert Stephenson-Padron, “Penrose Care has high staff morale, extremely low staff turnover, and excellent client feedback and we attribute this to our special commitment to ethics in social care which is embodied in the Social Care Charter. As our care worker Perrine eloquently stated at Care in the Square this morning, a care provider itself being caring supports a virtuous cycle whereby its workforce are better able to be caring themselves.”
About Penrose Care (www.penrosecare.co.uk)
Penrose Care was established in 2012 in response to what its founders perceived as a need to fundamentally reform the home care industry in the UK. The vision of Penrose Care is simple – we aspire to deliver an excellent and professional care at home services to our clients combined with compassion, so that all those that we care for feel just that – cared for. We believe that if we are to fulfil our mission of providing “home care with a human touch”, then we have to employ the best care professionals in the industry. We feel that we have just that team, and have built this up by focusing heavily on looking after our staff so that we can be confident in the superior quality of our home care services. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight, a hospital physician.
About Citizens UK’s Social Care Charter (www.icareaboutcare.org.uk)
Citizens UK works to develop the capacity and skills of socially and economically disadvantaged communities so that their members are better able to identify and help meet their own needs; improve their neighbourhood; and participate more fully in society. Through its research and speaking to care recipients, care workers, providers and commissioners, Citizens UK developed a Social Care Charter, launched in October 2013, spelling out the basic standards that would enable quality for the recipient and dignity for the worker. These standards are not ground-breaking and there are plenty of reports out there. But what we are building is a movement, where recipients, care workers, providers and commissioners can work together to bring about the social care system we all want to see.
