Care agency founded by family of young man with special needs opens new branch in Burnley

And the To Me To You Support care agency is recruiting care workers, nurses and support workers who are passionate about what they do.

With branches in Blackburn and Bury, the new Burnley office, situated in newly renovated premises on Manchester Road, is like 'coming home' for company founder Ben Morton as it is his hometown.

Ben said: "We wanted somewhere accessible for people using public transport and this was the perfect place.

"It has taken a few weeks to complete the transformation but we are now up and running."

This is quite an achievement considering the care profession has faced many challenges brought by Covid-19 over the last 18 months. But the profession is being seen in a new light, with many people realising and appreciating the vital role carers play in looking after the most vulnerable in our communities.

To Me To You Support is the legacy of Ben's younger brother Oliver who had learning difficulties and special health needs his entire life caused by lack of oxygen when he was born.

The care agency was set up by Ben and his parents, Jonte and David Morton, who could draw on their own personal experience of what makes a good carer and knowledge of how demanding the job can be.

And the family have also experienced, first-hand, the incredible influence the right staffing support can provide to vulnerable adults and children.

Oliver was only 20 when he died suddenly of a cardiac arrest during a trip out to a swimming pool in 2011. He was rushed to hospital and his family had to make the heart breaking decision to withdraw life support.

But they drew comfort from the fact that another outstanding legacy of Oliver's is that his organs were donated to save the lives of others.

Ben hit on the idea for the care agency five years ago after spending several years working in the health care sector where he saw a gap in the industry for a Lancashire based, ethical staffing provider for vulnerable people.

He added: "We had an epiphany one day and realised that with the knowledge that both I and my family had about practically every aspect of the social care sector we could start our own business.

"We want to recruit people who really care about their work and in turn we care about them and look after them.

One of the most vital aspects of the agency is about raising the bar in standards of care to make sure the staff employed are passionate about what they do with a strong work ethic.

Ben said: "We demand excellence in every aspect of our business and we want the same across the entire profession.

"We want people to see the care profession as something to aspire to, not just as an easy job."

Poignantly the business name pays homage to Oliver as he often used the phrase To Me To You, made famous by the comedy duo the Chuckle Brothers.