Cambridgeshire care group’s plan to take on 100 staff

Up to 100 jobs will be created with the launch of a new carers’ organisation. Two Cambridgeshire-based companies are joining forces to create a “care and support service” for the county, called Axiom Crossroads Care.

It is being set up by the Axiom housing association and Crossroads Care Cambridgeshire, which provides support for carers and the people they look after.

The new organisation will be a charitable not-for-profit organisation with an estimated turnover of £1.1 million. Up to 100 staff will be taken on in its first three years of trading.

Alan Lewin, chief executive of Axiom, said: “Providers and residents will be able to access care and support services across a whole range of everyday tasks, from help with shopping and gardening through to personal care needs such as feeding and dressing.

“Preparations are currently under way to finalise the business plan and recruit a head of operations ready for an official launch in the spring.

“Axiom Crossroads Care will be a locally-based provider of consistently high-quality care and support. We will do this by combining both companies’ experience and excellence.”

A recent review of home care in Cambridgeshire revealed that some carers were under severe pressure,in some cases with too little time to spend with vulnerable clients. One county councillor, Labour social care spokesman Paul Sales, said he did not favour home care being provided by private firms.

But Dr Helen Brown, chief executive of Crossroads Care Cambridgeshire, said the new organisation would be one that people could trust.