FEATURE
Facing up to the challenge How a local charity has become a care trailblazer... In a world where care in the community is a huge challenge and governments struggle to both finance and resource the increasing demand, Moretonhampstead-based North East Dartmoor Care (NEDCare) is an example of how communities themselves can come together to find affordable, inclusive and sustainable solutions. An award-winning charity, NEDCare offers person-centred care at home across North East Dartmoor - and its model is now attracting nationwide attention due to its success.
The domiciliary care industry in the UK is worth £5 billion annually and employs over 300,000 people, so you wouldn’t think that a small care charity based on the edge of Dartmoor is revolutionising the way the care at home model is delivered! NEDCare is rooted in the local community, set up by a group of local people in response to what founder Julia Darby terms the ‘dire lack of regulated care’ in North East Dartmoor. As Julia explained: ‘With the closure of beds in the local cottage hospital back in 2016, there was supposed to be care
at home offered, but there was no-one to do it.’ After running public meetings to engage the community and identify the issues, Julia and six local volunteers decided they needed to take the provision of care into their own hands. Initially Julia began by linking local self-employed carers with those who required care, but then was granted funding from the local cottage hospital’s League of Friends charity to set up a social enterprise - which became NEDCare. Helped by donations from the local community, including a successful crowdfunding campaign, NEDCare was accredited by the Care Quality Commission in July 2017, meaning that Julia and her team of carers could then offer regulated care at home services. NEDCare currently provides more than 1,000 hours of regulated care every month, supporting individuals to live well and safely at home in later life. They support people right through the spectrum, from companionship to end of life care.
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