The pandemic and its impact on care

After focusing on the No.1 Befriending Agency and the voluntary services that it continues to provide, we approached Sheila McPherson, our Business Development Manager, to explain the impact of the epidemic on The No.1 Care Agency.

Historically, this social enterprise has offered sleepover and hourly care as well as 24-hour care but, in light of Covid-19, things have had to change. Now its focus is on 24-hour care alone, where isolation can be preserved but a high level of support is also given. Sheila is candid about the challenges we face and is hopeful for the future.

“The No. 1 Care Agency made the difficult decision this year as a result of the pandemic to change the way we operate to minimise interactions and maintain social distancing. This has meant that we are not able to provide services for the number of care clients that we had hoped to or in the way we had planned.

“At the beginning of the pandemic the demand for care provision sharply increased; however, this dropped to no requests at all in a relatively short period of time as a result new social distancing regulations. Our business model will now need to change as we work out how to generate the income required to enable us to continue to operate.

“To get it right is complex – and urgent, both for those we support and for the sustainability of the business, to ensure we can continue to deliver ongoing positive impact. However, it's not just about making money – it's about doing the right thing for us all. The current situation has resulted in a considerable drop in our capability to generate income, and this income is needed to support the volunteering activities which deliver social impact. We can only deliver services and achieve social impact if we have the funds to do this.”