Dignity, a Valletta-based care provider, next month is to soft-launch its offering to help elderly people maintain an independent lifestyle within the community for as long as possible.
We will not be out-priced easily
A subsidiary of ICT and finance recruitment specialist Castille Resources, Dignity has put together a team of healthcare professionals to provide care for the elderly and people with special needs of all ages in their homes while offering respite to relatives and full-time carers.
Operations manager Olivia Cuschieri points out that Dignity is a service provider, not an agency, and takes full responsibility for care delivered by its staff members.
Ms Cuschieri will lead a team made up of full-time care workers and supervisors, and part-time allied health care professionals such as speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists.
A client services manager who will join the team shortly will foster relationships with stakeholders and will be responsible for ensuring the operation meets ISO 9001 certification criteria.
Dignity will launch with a team of 10 professionals, which will grow to 50 full- and part-timers as registered clients increase. A round-the-clock response line will be activated next month for clients’ use. The company will be fully operational and officially launched in January.
“In just 10 years’ time, a quarter of the population will be over 65. The pressures on the national health service and on elderly people’s families in the fast-paced environment we live in will be considerable,” Ms Cuschieri told The Sunday Times. “We see an opportunity to provide services to people who do not need care round-the-clock.
“We have set rates to provide affordable care to the high standards we are aiming for and we will not be out-priced easily. Our ISO 9001-compliant operating manual will help us earn the trust of clients’ carers.”
Dignity, Ms Cuschieri added, sought to provide a flexible, end-to-end service to registered clients. After examining clients’ key medical history, Dignity professionals will take a pragmatic approach to designing a care schedule, including on site care, remote monitoring services, and co-ordinate treatment like speech therapy or physiotherapy.
A protocol for emergencies in the operating manual details procedures care workers must follow in specific situations before referral to national health services. Dignity care workers will not be authorised to administer ingestible medicines.
Dignity’s offering is designed to meet the needs of a range of clients who can live independently with reasonable care and minimal assistance: people like arthritis sufferers who may require help to prepare meals or patients convalescing from minor surgery.
Management will endeavour to employ Maltese staff to ensure there is cultural alignment with clients and to avoid problems relating to language barriers. Non-Maltese staff will be recruited when qualifications and experience can be adequately reference-checked.
Dignity is also liaising with the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology for future recruitment drives. “Our vision is to offer clients and their families or carers access to services provided by staff selected appropriately by experience and education,” Ms Cuschieri explained. “We are committed to directing significant investment to ongoing training led by managers and outside specialists.”
Business growth, she added, will come through recommendation, word of mouth and reputation. Resources will grow in tandem and Dignity hopes to invest in a small fleet of special needs vans after its first six months of operation.