Wednesday 19 December 2012

Ten years of Domestic bliss

Angels vow to ‘keep calm and carry on’
A Dorset home help service is celebrating ten years in business – by promising to keep calm and carry on.
Southbourne-based Domestic Angels has been taking care of everyday business and making life easier for its clients since January 2002.
“This is very special work, we’re very privileged to be invited into people’s homes to help them,” says owner Samantha Acton.
“We don’t rush in and out, we go about the job calmly and without fuss. That’s the approach that has worked for the last ten years so there’s no reason to change it for the next ten years.”
Peggy McCarthy is only too ready to agree. She was one of Domestic Angels’ original customers from 2002 and has enjoyed the Angels’ help ever since.
“When we moved home they even came with is and when I was in hospital, the Angel visited with Sam,” says Mrs McCarthy.
“I’m in a wheelchair most of the time so we have an Angel to do the housework – my husband does all the cooking and the washing – but the service is somehow more than that, it’s a bit special.
“For instance, I have a collection of patchwork quilts and periodically they have to be taken out, turned, folded and replaced. It’s not something I’d let just anyone do, but the Angel has permission to do that.”
Eric and Zena Keyworth also speak highly of their Angel, Janet, who has visited every week since April 2010 and been an Angel in the Southbourne area for nearly ten years.
“We couldn’t ask for anything more,” says Mrs Keyworth. “I am a long term cancer patient on top of the gradual deterioration of everything else and in the last few months it has got so that I’m no longer able to do the housework.
“When you have someone in your home you not only have to like them but you must trust them and Janet is like one of the family – she is more of a carer than a cleaner. She makes a real difference to our lives.”
As published on seekernews.co.uk

Monday 19 November 2012

Depression hits the lonely people

Loneliness ‘as risky as smoking’

Many men over 75 suffer from depression due to a lack of social contact.

That’s according to a study carried out by the volunteer service, the WRVS, which calculates some 190,000 men over 75 who live alone spend more than 12 hours a day on their own.

Samantha Acton, owner of Southbourne-based home help service Domestic Angels, says the findings are symptomatic of the loneliness crisis facing senior citizens.

“For all the good work our Angels do in cleaning people’s homes, getting shopping and running errands, it is the provision of simple human contact that is most appreciated by many of our elderly clients,” says Samantha, who is also a director of Southbourne Creative Hub, working with local businesses to promote the creative arts to benefit residents and the community as a whole.

According to the WRVS research 41 per cent of men who live alone have fewer than two face-to-face conversations a day – and a third have none. The study also claims men are far less likely than women to confide their loneliness to friends and family.

“Loneliness is a major health issue. Experts say it’s as risky as smoking and a greater risk than obesity,” says Samantha. “It’s particularly true of men. Often, when you deal with people who live alone, you can see how they deteriorate over time.

“By definition, loneliness often goes unseen. It’s not something that social services can necessarily evaluate so a regular visit from a home help service can make a real difference to the quality of people’s lives.”

The study found 54 per cent of men who admitted to feeling lonely also suffered depression, but three-quarters of them had never sought help.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Speaking with Angels

Entrepreneurs from across the Wessex region are continuing to contact a Southbourne businesswoman who questioned government minister Vince Cable about his credibility to advise microbusiness owners.
Samantha Acton has attracted
lots of support for her efforts to make
Vince Cable pay attention to the
smallest businesses
Samantha Acton, who runs Domestic Angels home help service, tackled the business secretary over his lack of experience of running a business with fewer than five employees.

“Microbusinesses account for 95 per cent of the businesses in Dorset and yet government ministers and the people that run business organisations have little or no actual experience of them,” says Samantha.

“Dr Cable didn’t try to hide that fact, but then reverted to a pat answer about approaching banks for funding and cutting red tape.

“If he bothered to find out about what it’s really like to run a business at this level he would be trying to do things that can really make a difference, such as raising the VAT threshold, not launching headline-making business banks that will only add to the debt burden for microbusiness owners.”

Samantha gave Dr Cable a pen which he promised to use for the rest of the month to remind him to consider microbusinesses in his policy meetings.

“Nothing I’ve seen or heard from him since makes me think he has kept that promise, but our exchange of words has certainly struck a chord across the area and I’ve had a string of messages of support.”
Heather Martyn, a director at Bournemouth- based electronic design company Ammtek, echoes Samantha’s message to the minister.
“Some of these microbusinesses are our future SMEs or, eventually, large organisations and our Government needs to be able to offer incentives to these microbusinesses to become
employers and to grow sustainably,” she says.
“Apprenticeships are a good start but don’t solve all issues. I welcome further communication with Dr Cable and his department on this subject.”

Thursday 18 October 2012

Elderly care doesn’t have to break the bank

Less than £30 a week to keep pensioners at home.

For less than £30 a week vulnerable elderly people could stay in their own homes for longer.
That’s according to Samantha Acton of Domestic Angels, the Southbourne-based home help service, reacting to health minister Norman Lamb’s announcement that families should take greater responsibility for the care of elderly relatives.

“In an ideal world we’d all love to take care of our elderly loved ones, but Mr Lamb should realise it’s not as easy as that – most of us have to work and pay taxes,” says Samantha, reacting to comments made by Mr Lamb in an interview with the BBC’s Inside Out programme.

“The trouble is that families don’t necessarily live close together and it’s the regular contact that is just as important to older people as having someone to call in an emergency.”
The minister said the government had taken £7.2bn from health to help local councils provide social care.

“It is the preferred – and cheaper – option that elderly people stay in their own homes for as long as possible and there are always issues about who is going to pay for things, but having someone come in for just two hours a week would cost less than £30.

“It would mean that vulnerable adults have regular contact, it means their home is kept clean, it can even mean they get some shopping brought in. These are all things that help protect their general health and well-being, keeping them out of the doctor’s surgery.

“How much does it cost a GP to see an elderly person? How much does it cost to provide institutional care for the elderly? A lot more than the £30 a week it would cost to provide effective home help.”

Tuesday 25 September 2012

‘Give us something we can use!’

Angel asks: Will business bank work for microbusinesses?

Samantha Acton, Domestic Angels
The owner of a Dorset micro business who challenged Vince Cable to work in the interests of micro businesses has warned the business secretary that his new ‘business bank’ may not be of much use to Britain’s smallest businesses.

Dr Cable has announced £1 billion of government money to fund a new bank with a clean slate to “get behind” good businesses and be lending money within 18 months. He hopes the state funding will be matched by private sector investment.

But micro business champion Samantha Acton of Southbourne-based Domestic Angels home help service says he has missed the point.

“Micro businesses that employ fewer than five people make up 95 per cent of Dorset businesses and we are distinct from SMEs, with our own problems, concerns and difficulties,” she says.

“My main concern is that the plan is to lend to SMEs, but will this include microbusinesses? We are a nation of shopkeepers and micro businesses are big business, but don’t necessarily fall into the SME definition.

“All I’m asking for is something that’s of genuine use to the smallest businesses. The last thing any of us needs is to increase our debt burden with new bank loans – no matter how easy they are to get,” she adds.

“If Vince Cable really wants to help the majority of Dorset businesses it would be far more useful to increase the VAT threshold and take a more imaginative, real-world attitude to the National Minimum Wage.

“He says we must get behind successful British-based firms in vehicles, aerospace, life sciences and the creative industries, as well as our world-class scientists and universities, but none of these sound like micro businesses.”

As published on seekernews.co.uk

Monday 24 September 2012

Cable quizzed on small business experience

Domestic Angel tackles minister at breakfast meeting
Entrepreneurs from across the Wessex region are continuing to contact a Southbourne businesswoman who questioned government minister Vince Cable about his credibility to advise microbusiness owners.
Samantha Acton, who runs Domestic Angels home help service, tackled the business secretary at a breakfast meeting for small business owners organised by WSX Enterprise over to his lack of experience of running a business with fewer than five employees.
“Microbusinesses account for 95 per cent of the businesses in Dorset and yet government ministers and the people that run business organisations have little or no actual experience of them,” says Samantha.
“Dr Cable didn’t try to hide that fact, but then reverted to a pat answer about approaching banks for funding and cutting red tape.
“If he bothered to find out about what it’s really like to run a business at this level he would be trying to do things that can really make a difference, such as raising the VAT threshold.”
Samantha gave Dr Cable a pen which he promised to use for the rest of the month to remind him to consider microbusinesses in his policy meetings.
“Nothing I’ve seen or heard from him since makes me think he has kept that promise, but our exchange of words has certainly struck a chord across the area and I’ve had a string of messages of support.”
Heather Martyn, a director at Bournemouth-based electronic design company Ammtek, echoes Samantha’s message to the minister.
“Some of these microbusinesses are our future SMEs or, eventually, large organisations and our Government needs to be able to offer incentives to these microbusinesses to become employers and to grow sustainably,” she says.
“Apprenticeships are a good start but don’t solve all issues. I welcome further communication with Dr Cable and his department on this subject.”

Thursday 16 August 2012

The Synergy of Success – Business and Sport Sponsorship at Bournemouth Rugby Club

The 1st XV team has been promoted to National League 2 South which includes clubs from Launceston in the West Country to Southend in the East. Home games have traditionally attracted gates of a couple of hundred loyal supporters but as we neared the end of last season and promotion became a reality, attendance grew dramatically. Along with the success has come increased media attention by the Bournemouth Echo and Radio Solent in particular, others are joining the bandwagon. In addition to these ‘highlight’ fixtures, we have 3 other active senior teams, a Colt section and the Youth and Mini. The business bottom line is that between 700 and 1,000 people walk past the same adverts on the side of the 1st team pitch every week and in most cases twice per week for the whole season which is great advertising. There are plenty of children in amongst these crowds who exert buying pressure on parents and a large number of the parents are business owners and decision makers as well as being homeowners. You could target this audience using one of the following opportunities:
Your Company Pitch Side Board, 3m x 1m in place during the period 1 July 2012 – 1 May 2013 – £900. This includes:
Production of your pitch side board which is standard in size but designed in co-operation with yourself to reflect your business and targeted message
You will have an advertisement in each 1st XV home game programme (15 next season)
You will have a logo link on the Club website http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bournemouth/
Two season tickets to all BRFC home games (15 next season)
Two free tickets to two nominated pre-match lunches, to meet Club members and other sponsors
Sponsor a Match – £800
High class buffet for 10 people
£100 bar tab
Free entrance and programs to the match for 10 people
Logo link on the Club website http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bournemouth/
Mention in the pre-match write-up (which appears on page 3 of the match program), the scoreboard and announcements prior and during the game
Be part of the winning season at Bournemouth Rugby Club. To reserve your sponsorship opportunity call Sam Acton on 07985281120 or email sam@domestic-angels.com

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Family praise for Domestic Angels


Samantha Acton, Director (centre)
and Supervisors Marie Raggett (left)
and Lisa Cooper (right)
Home help service cared ‘above and beyond’

The family of a former mainstay of amateur dramatics in Bournemouth has praised a home help service for caring “above and beyond the call of duty”.

Don Colley, who died last year, some years after his wife Lilian, had been housebound for most of the last two years of his life but with the help of Domestic Angels was able to stay in his own home until the very end.

Now his closest relative, stepsister Frances Short, is keen to pay tribute to those care providers.

“It is thanks to Claire from Domestic Angels and Sam who owns the company that Don was able to be where he wanted to be, at home, long after the doctors wanted to put him in a home,” says Frances, who lives near Axminster.

“It is so important for the dignity of the elderly and frail that their wishes be respected. Don was very ill with asbestosis and was bed-ridden by the end, but was adamant that he wanted to be at home. He was quite difficult and could be dangerously forgetful, but thanks to Claire who went in to see him every day and tidy up he had three meals a day and a little company.”
Don and Lillian had both been active members of Bournemouth Little Theatre Club, but when she died in 2004 he became increasingly withdrawn, particularly after he was diagnosed with asbestosis at the age of 84.

“I used to come up every week to keep an eye on him, but the strain on me was beginning to show,” says Frances, now 68.

“Dom’s quality of life was seriously compromised and it was not a very happy time for any of us, but Domestic Angels were able to give him some quality of life and a little peace of mind for us with simple human kindness that really was above and beyond the call of duty.”Family praise for Domestic Angels

Tuesday 5 June 2012

Care cost shock: Bournemouth council may have to increase adult fees

MORE than a quarter of Bournemouth adults receiving council-funded care could be set for a hike in their charges.
Bournemouth Borough Council says that, in the face of a growing elderly population, it cannot continue to subsidise adult social care the way it currently does.
Thirty per cent of those currently being helped – around 400 people – could have to pay more.
In one proposed scenario, those with an income, savings or investments of more than £23,250 would have to foot the full cost of their care.
The council has launched a three-month consultation with service users, but says that only people who can afford to pay more will.
There are three choices on the table – increase charges from this autumn, phase in changes over a longer period or have a maximum charge for a limited period. The changes will affect services like day activities, transport, home care, night care, disability-related expenses and residential care.
The council says it currently spends £48.7million of its total £148.68million annual revenue budget on community care.
Judith Geddes, executive director at the council, said it was facing increased demand for adult social care. She added: “At the same time we are having to manage the services on a tight budget. We have given careful consideration to the services we provide for adult social care and how we currently charge for them.”
Susan Willoughby, chief executive of care provider Care South, said: “It is critical that at all stages there is robust consultation between care providers, local authorities and those people using care services in order to accurately assess and take into account the cost of care – and to ensure that the best and most realistic approach is taken.”
Samantha Acton, owner of Domestic Angels, a home help firm, said: “The council must ensure that those people least able to afford care and those who are particularly vulnerable are protected. This will very likely mean that people who can afford to self-fund will be asked to finance some or all of the services they require.”
Letters and questionnaires are set to arrive with service user and a helpline has been set up.
It will be open between 2pm and 4pm daily on 01202 451609.
As published in the Bournemouth Echo

Thursday 31 May 2012

Angel hopes for the white stuff

A Dorset home help service is urging government ministers to focus on people not money in the delayed White Paper on social care reform, which had been due at Easter.
Sam Acton, owner of Southbourne-based Domestic Angels, believes too much emphasis is placed on funding and not enough attention is paid to the needs of carers or the people they look after.
“The social care system is desperately in need of reform, but I hope the delay is because the White Paper will offer some real changes in the way care is delivered in this country,” she says.
“The system is obsessed with 15-minute agency worker visits which means jobs are broken up into commercially-convenient time slots and prices. It’s trying to make real life work like a factory system, but this does not work. We’re dealing with people’s needs – no wonder carers feel undervalued and the people they care for are vulnerable.”
Amid fears the White Paper will fall short of the radical change originally promised some 85 groups, including leading charities and the Local Government Association, have written to Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to make reform a personal priority.
The open letter says the elderly and disabled will be left living in “misery and fear” and demands the Prime Minister show the “vision and courage” needed to make social care reform his “legacy to future generations.”
Samantha Acton believes change has to be as much about the carers as those they care for.
“Staff turnover in this industry is notoriously high, but it’s not just about the money,” she says.
“Domestic Angels tries to slow things down a bit and create a working environment in which carers can do a really good job. In the long run this has to be a more effective approach that’s better for carers, the people they take care of and society as whole.”

Friday 27 April 2012

Dorset's Silver Line service could save lives

ESTHER Rantzen’s planned telephone counselling service for the elderly, could save lives according to a Dorset home help service.
The ChildLine founder has described The Silver Line as a “telephone befriending service” to combat loneliness and give older people a point of contact where they can access information about other organisations and get help with serious problems, as well as build friendships.
Samantha Acton, who set up Domestic Angels 10 years ago, said: “We see elderly folk all the time that are lonely and isolated – what Esther is doing could save someone’s life.
“In our experience of dealing with elderly people there seems to be a stigma attached to contacting some organizations.
“Esther is avoiding the language of the care agencies and doesn’t talk down to people. Older people have a lifetime of experience and knowledge that is often forgotten.”
It is hoped The Silver Line will be up and running by the end of the year.

As printed in the Bournemouth Echo 27.4.12

Monday 2 April 2012

Angels call on Cameron to help at home

Tax breaks would protect cleaners and help families
Dorset home help service Domestic Angels is urging David Cameron to follow up his interest in offering tax breaks to families who employ domestic help.
The Prime Minister heard about the tax credit-style scheme used in Sweden where cleaners charge their customers slightly less than their normal rate and claim the rest back from the government.
“Not only does the system make domestic help affordable for more families it offers greater protection to workers by encouraging them to register for tax and come out of the black market,” says Domestic Angels owner Samantha Acton.
“Politicians like the system because they can say it’s about getting people back to work, but the benefits go deeper than that. Many families are time-poor so if parents and grandparents can finish work and go back to a home that’s straightened out they can have more time to spend with children and grandchildren, to cook fresh food and be with their families.”
Samantha also says the people who chose to work in domestic services would be better served by a system of tax breaks.
“Many cleaners work cash in hand because they think they’re better off, but they’re probably not. If they work ‘on the books’ they’re able to claim Working Tax Credit and are likely to get their National Insurance stamp paid so they can claim state pension when they retire.
“Ideas like this are what underpin our values as a society, they reflect the way we want to be and it’s important to reinforce those values to create good order in society.”

Tuesday 13 March 2012

'Back to work' advice for retired slammed

THE owner of a home help service has condemned advice that retired people should return to work to help them live longer.
David Halpern, whose Behavioural Insight Team advises the Prime Minister on the Big Society agenda, has said that loneliness is more deadly than smoking for pensioners and that returning to work improves their quality of life.
But Samantha Acton, owner of Bournemouth-based Domestic Angels, said: “Using loneliness to justify increasing the retirement age is grasping at straws.
“Loneliness is depressing and depression is the killer.
“If Mr Halpern genuinely wants to address the massive issue of loneliness amongst pensioners, he would be looking to maximise the good work carried out by many charitable organisations. They reach out to those affected by loneliness and in turn these people become involved in either the same or other charitable work.”
Samantha also works with Southbourne Creative Hub and has been interviewed by researchers from the National Development Team for Inclusion as part of a project funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation social research charity for the European Year of Active Aging and Solidarity Between the Ages.

Monday 13 February 2012

Government adviser feels the wrath of Angels

Dorset home help service Domestic Angels has criticised a government adviser for telling the Prime Minister retired people should go back to work to help them live longer.
Samantha Acton of Domestic Angels

David Halpern, whose Behavioural Insight Team advises the Prime Minister on the Big Society agenda, says loneliness is more deadly than smoking for pensioners and that maintaining strong social relationships such as those in the workplace improves quality of life.
But Samantha Acton, owner of Domestic Angels, says: “Using loneliness to justify increasing the retirement age is grasping at straws. Loneliness is depressing and depression is the killer.
“If Mr Halpern genuinely wants to address the massive issue of loneliness amongst pensioners, he would be looking to maximise the good work carried out by many charitable organisations. They reach out to those affected by loneliness and in turn these people become involved in either the same or other charitable work – all of which is very much in-line with the so-called Big Society and becomes self- perpetuating success.”
Samantha also works with Southbourne Creative Hub and has been interviewed by researchers from the National Development Team for Inclusion as part of a project funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation social research charity for the European Year of Active Aging and Solidarity between the Ages.
“Being happy is the objective, and on the whole loneliness doesn’t result in happiness,” she says. “Humans are social animals and we spend the majority of our lives with purpose and social interaction. Retirement and the downsides of ageing can take both of these crucial elements away.”

Home help service is heaven sent

Domestic Angels is celebrating ten years in business this year with a promise to keep doing what it does best – caring.

“This is not just about cleaning, this is about people and their homes, it always has been,” says founder Samantha Acton. “When you go into people’s private homes it’s a very personal service and our Angels are frequently viewed as a special branch of our clients’ families. We’ve been in business ten years now and we are going through the circle of life events with some of our longest-standing clients – for instance we’ve just had wedding dress samples delivered to us for one client!”

Domestic Angels provides a range of services from weekly cleaning to spring cleans, ironing, heating simple meals, even shopping for essentials. All its Angels are referenced, insured and CRB-checked.

“We like to get to know our clients and their community. Our Angels often know clients’ families, their neighbours, personal care workers, even regular delivery people. We become an important part of their lives and for some our Angel might be the one person they can rely on seeing every day. It also means family can visit their loved ones and just enjoy the visit rather than feeling obliged to do chores.”

The caring ethos at Domestic Angels has been in place since it started in Southbourne in 2002 and its steady, organic growth is continuing into its second decade. “I never wanted to stand still and stagnate, but there’s no point in diversifying for the sake of it,” says Samantha. “I take a very flexible approach to business, we’re here to help people, so we’ve grown very naturally – we seem to evolve into doing new things.”

“I love this business. It’s dynamic, diverse and loads of fun. I’m a great believer in what goes around comes around and if there’s an opportunity to be kind or help someone then why wouldn’t you?”