Aster Care was established in Portsmouth in 2007 as a care agency to supply trained staff to learning disability establishments in Hampshire. However, by 2011, we observed the lack of 24 hour care at home for people with long-term health conditions including complex dementia, whose only option was a nursing home; and so we commenced a domiciliary (care at home) service.
We sourced training from the local care commissioning groups to see what could now be undertaken by care workers with additional skills training that would, in turn, take pressure off the community nurses and allow these people to live at home. As a result, our staff can carry out tasks such as PEG feeding, non-invasive ventilation amongst others. We also developed our own dementia training to facilitate the discharge of people home from mental health or hospital establishments who otherwise would have been admitted to a nursing home.
Our focus now is providing a 24 hour (or part, thereof) domiciliary care service to adults with medical conditions, dementia and learning disabilities to live at home. We also offer a Companionship & Sitting Services to support informal (unpaid) carers such as family members/friends to take a break from care. We also support clients to have ad hoc care using regular staff rather than use a care agency, giving better continuity and the benefits of our specialist training.
Our Values:
We offer a truly person-centred, person-led service with a positive risk-taking approach to enable people with long term conditions to live at home for longer.
We provide a high quality, personalised service always tailored to the person’s needs, provided by staff trained additionally for each person they will provide care to. We believe this additional layer of training promotes staff satisfaction and improves staff retention.
We uphold the highest standards of integrity and deliver care with an open approach in all we do. We seek to have close relationships with our teams of staff, and our service users and their families, in order to respond to concerns or changes immediately in order to build trust and keep relationships intact.
We work in small teams to provide care to service users. We also work across boundaries with health care professionals from a range of backgrounds, and other care providers to meet the needs of our service users.
We are committed to inclusiveness and actively seek to recruit a diverse team of staff with whom we can provide a responsive service to our people. We encourage growth and develop of our staff, and reward their performance.
We are all good citizens in the communities within which we live and work.
We are a local business, independently owned and able to respond to local needs.
We are a well-run, friendly and responsive service, managed by the team of people below.
Pam has multi-hat responsibility within Aster Care. She is responsible both for the domiciliary care service and the management of the business. Pam ensures the service is compliant with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. In addition; marketing, business development, health and safety, payroll/invoicing, bookkeeping, recruitment & training. As a ‘retired’ Registered General Nurse, Pam is directly involved with staff and service users, undertaking complex needs assessments and translating them into simple, clear care plans for staff to deliver personalised and effective care. Pam holds an NVQ 5 in Operational Management, a Diploma in Health & Social Care, a Further and Adult Teachers Certificate, Level 3 Human Resource Support, L2 Assessors Award.
Jade joined Aster Care in 2021 and was quickly promoted to a Senior Care Worker due to her calm professionalism – not just in her day work, but in managing the out of hours service where she ensured the service continued to run smoothly. Jade has worked in the care sector for 14 years, both in domiciliary care and supported living, working with people who have long-term health conditions and learning disabilities. Jade is responsible for the allocation of the care visits (staff rotas) and managing the online training and other administration systems.
Jade holds a Diploma Level 3 Lead Adult Care. She is also our Infection Protection Control Lead, a Dysphagia Champion and Pressure Ulcer Champion. She plays a significant role in supporting the Registered Manager in researching and planning new training strategies.
Carey has worked for Aster Care since 2013 and is a prime example of how staff can join Aster Care and progress their career. She began as a Healthcare Support Worker, then became Care Coordinator in 2018. Proving herself to be reliable, hardworking and approachable, Carey was promoted to Deputy Care Manager in March 2023. She oversees the day to day running of the domiciliary and Companionship Service, assists with the training of staff, and plays a major role in carrying out observational visits to ensure staff are well-trained and well-supported in the workplace. Carey’s role is significant in assisting the Registered Manager to meet CQC compliance. Carey holds an NVQ 2 in Health & Social Care, is a qualified Moving & Handling Trainer, and holds a Train the Trainer certificate to support staff in managing PEG feeding & medication administration and observational visits. She is also a Dysphagia Champion and Pressure Ulcer Champion, as well as a Moving & Handling Trainer.
