Getting to the bottom of a great care relationship

“My carer Christelle has a great sense of humour – and with me you need it!” says Ken Wright.

After a stroke last year Ken is now relearning how to do things for himself with the aid of his wife Sheila, and Christelle Bremner, a carer with Walfinch, Kingston and Weybridge.

“I’m working on how to better wash myself right now. I was running late with my ablutions, and when Christelle arrived I was still washing. When she walked in, I had my back to her with my pyjama bottoms round my ankles! I said, ‘Sorry I’m all behind today,’ before realising it was a double entendre. Christelle, Sheila and I fell about laughing.

“Christelle has been brilliant from day one – she’s respectful, friendly, courteous and we share a sense of humour. I don’t think I would be progressing as well as I am if it wasn’t for Christelle’s encouragement to continue with my daily exercise programme.

“She always looks on the bright side, so we have something to laugh about on her daily visits, be it the birds, the flowers, holidays, anything. It’s the kind of care everyone would want - with a lot of laughs along the way.”

Christelle says: “I visit Ken and Sheila daily, and it’s like meeting friends. We always have lots of laughs – and an occasional tear as we share life’s ups and downs. I came over from South Africa 20 months ago so Ken has taught me lots about UK culture – and plenty of Cockney slang!“

Tracy Lezar, who co-owns the Kingston and Weybridge Walfinch franchise with her aunt, Kathleen Plough, says: “Hearing stories like these is one of the biggest rewards of owning a Walfinch franchise. Our careful, personalised matching between clients and carers delivers so much happy feedback to us as franchisees.

“I love to see the difference we make to our clients and their families. I had a successful career in sales and management but it never delivered the kind of job satisfaction that I get now.”

Carer recruitment is a large part of Tracey’s job. “Recruiting the right carers is essential to delivering top quality service. Many of our carers are motivated by a sense of purpose and want to feel that they are doing something good for society, and there’s a lot of satisfaction in finding jobs for these people,” she says. “Recruiting the right carers can be tough but the back-up offered by the Walfinch franchise helps a lot.”

Walfinch is looking for more prospective franchisees who want the satisfaction that comes from delivering a high-quality care service – and making clients laugh along the way.