Local man turns heart-breaking past into care-provider success story

Dan Archer, like many of us, wants to make a positive change. After a personal experience which left him feeling completely dissatisfied with the care industry, he’s now launched a new at-home care company in Sheffield. In less than 12 months, the business is fast-becoming a local employer of choice and provides over 300 hours of care per week to the local community.

Dan, 44, who is from Sheffield himself, made the decision to join the care industry after he witnessed, first-hand, how damaging an unreliable and poor-quality care service can be – not just for the recipient, but for family and friends too. His new business, Visiting Angels, aims to deliver the very best, consistent service by approaching things differently - putting care workers at the heart of everything they do.

“When I was younger, my nan’s health meant that she needed support and it was heart-breaking to see the lack of quality given from the home-care system. Within eight weeks, she had been dealt with by 12 different carers, none of whom were around long enough to learn anything about her, or us. Visits came at all different times of day and some were missed altogether. It really highlighted how unstable the relationships were and that no standards were being met at all.”

Dan saw the problem as pressure being piled on the carers, with little to no thanks or reward. He felt this constituted to a feeling of unappreciation and their, somewhat inevitable, resignation. Visiting Angels strive to put care workers at the core of the business by treating them fairly and with mutual respect, enabling them to deliver a truly caring service that is becoming so highly sought after. Dan’s mission is to change the perception of care workers within society and says that starts with rewarding them well for the outstanding work they do.

“I am extremely proud of what we have achieved so far this past year. The national average of care workers leaving within a year is 41%. Our results show that we are currently operating at a 24% carer turnover – almost half the national average. I am certain that this is down to our approach and the foundations of building a team that feel valued and appreciated.”

Since launching in October last year, the company now has a local workforce of 21 amazing carers who support 28 families within the community. The Visiting Angels team provide over 300 hours of care every week across Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and the surrounding areas.

“We really focus on delivering the best standard of care to our clients by assuring them that we are able to commit to any circumstances, night or day,” Dan explains, “and that is all thanks to our devoted care workers. I know Visiting Angels will change many people’s lives and I just wish they were around when my nan needed that type of support.”

Visiting Angels was first established in the USA in 1998 and Dan is the first person to bring the company to the UK. Despite launching less than a year ago, Visiting Angels Sheffield has been recognised for its outstanding performance and commitment to care workers and clients alike. The business was awarded ‘Best International Office’ at the company’s annual global conference in July.

For more information, visit: www.visiting-angels.co.uk/your-local-office

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Visiting Angels was established in the USA in 1998 and has since become the States’ largest in-home care company expanding to over 600 franchises worldwide. Visiting Angels Sheffield is the first office based in the UK which was set up by Dan Archer in October 2017. Dan is available for comment. Figures based on UKHCA Report in 2016. For more information, contact Liam Pitts on: liam@revpr.co.uk

Image attached: High resolution shot of Dan with Care Manager, Tray Hall.


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About Visiting Angels

In 2017, the Visiting Angels brand came to the UK under the expert leadership of Dan Archer. A franchise veteran and passionate ambassador for quality care at home, Dan launched the first UK office in October 2017. In less than 12 months, Visiting Angels Sheffield proved to be one of our most successful new franchises. Ever. Dan and his team were awarded ‘Best International Office’ at our 2018 Annual Conference in recognition of their exceptional performance and commitment to the Visiting Angels UK mission. Most care businesses, and in turn, most care franchises, will tell you that they put their clients first. And whilst we don’t disagree with the sentiment, we take a slightly different view on how to achieve it. We believe that to truly be successful in this pursuit, and to change the future of social care in the UK, we must actually put our carers at the heart of the business. For without them, there is no business. We describe this approach as "carer-centric".


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