Home care company Walfinch's commitment to raising standards in care has won it the Day Care Expertise Award at the Home Care Awards 2025.

The Home Care Awards, run by the Homecare Association, seek out examples of the expertise of companies providing home care in the UK and praise the teams that are making a difference by looking to raise standards.

Walfinch CEO Amrit Dhaliwal says: “This is a huge tribute to all of our carers, who go the extra mile every day to offer not just physical care to our clients but social and emotional care to ensure their wellbeing.

“We believe that day care expertise is based on attitude, training and technology. Walfinch has pioneered the idea of improving clients' lives by making care a Time To Thrive.”

In practice, this means offering activities sessions run by Walfinch's care branches nationwide.  They are rolling out free Thrive Sessions such as chair yoga, arts and crafts, and fitness classes tailored to each client's abilities and goals.

Cultural engagement is not neglected.  Walfinch Harrow & Brent arranges cultural days at a local community centre, where activities have included Gujarati dance, and Walfinch East Barnet celebrated Eid by giving carers of all faiths an Eid gift.

Taking care into the community

“Our Time to Thrive activities are also open to people in local communities, so clients and others get the physical, mental and social benefits that come from activity and meeting new people,” says Amrit. “Our carers usually join in the activities too.”

Walfinch Harrow paid carers to volunteer as part of the Sangat Centre Digital Awareness project, where the carers provided support with language skills in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Tamil to help with basic computer skills, including accessing Zoom, so people can speak to family or friends and feel less isolated.

Carers also offer help with exercises and boosting mobility for clients in their own homes, based on advice from health care professionals

Training and technology

The Day Care Expertise Award recognises the skills of Walfinch's carers, who complete 15 basic training modules, plus a further 26 on specialist topics, and get access to 80 more modules to further their careers. Walfinch franchisees support carers’ careers. For instance, franchisee Greg Renk funded carer Sian, who left school without qualifications, through the Lead Practitioner in Adult Social Care course – equivalent to the first year of a bachelor's degree - including paid study time.

Walfinch also champions its carers with a care leaders award, carer of the month and carer birthday cards – all helping to increase carer retention, which is 57% across the whole Walfinch network, compared to 35% across the industry. Higher retention means more sustainable care for clients. Also Walfinch promotes diversity – uniquely, 31% of Walfinch carers and franchisees are BAME.  A more diverse workforce means better care to a wider range of people.

Technology is used to reduce paperwork and ensure that procedures, medications and wellbeing notes are recorded accurately, saving time for carers and helping ensure compliance.  Birdie, a technology to measure clients' health and wellbeing, alerts carers instantly if something is not normal, so they can take action.

Amrit says: “This is a huge achievement for our whole team, and we are especially proud to win in the Home Care Awards, as they are run in association with the Homecare Association.  Congratulations to all the winners – continuing to raise the standard of home care benefits the whole industry, our clients, and society as a whole.”

The winners and high commendations for the 2025 Home Care Awards are now available on the awards  Results page. The awards were announced on March 7, 2025 at an event at the National Conference Centre, Bickenhill.