About us
My Care Matters is a not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to improve people’s experience of care in any care setting. We are funded by a mix of grants and sales, and 100% of any surplus is re-invested into developing and delivering services and products to help improve people’s experience of care.
We started research on the My Future Care Project in 2018, and launched in 2021. Our goals are to improve people’s awareness of the decisions and options available to them as they approach later life, to normalise conversations round death and dying, and to encourage people to make plans for their later life, future care and end of life.
Meet the team
I came up with the idea of our first My Care Matters product, the Remember-I'm-Me Care Chart, when my late husband Geoff had to move to a care home for what turned out to be the final 13 months of his life. It started out as scribbled notes that I stuck on the wall of his room, when I realised that carers couldn't possibly know about the things that would make a difference to his quality of life.
The care home manager saw how helpful it was having the information available at a glance, and asked me to produce more for her other residents! We ran some trials and developed the chart into what is still proving to be a useful tool in providing the best possible care in well over a thousand care homes across the UK.
We went on to develop an online version of the charts in the form of Mycarematters profiles and it was during trials of that that we realised how much more there was to think about as we approach later life. This led to the My Future Care Handbook and the support we offer to both individuals and organisations.
Our sister website, Mycarematters Trading (click on the green bird at the top of the page) not only sells various versions of the Care Charts and the My Future Care Handbook but also showcases other people's ideas and products, raising awareness of numerous initiatives that deserve a wider audience. In my spare time I enjoy cycling, sailing, learning to play golf and reading, and I’m currently doing a Masters in Sociocultural linguistics.
I’m a proud Canadian who now enjoys living in south London, UK. I have many years’ experience as a graphic artist, and a teacher of adults and children in different parts of the world. I enjoy bringing out the best in people and not forgetting the quietest person in the room, whose voice also needs to be heard. This continues to be important to me in my current role in facilitating future care planning. Being creative is at my core and I draw on this as a facilitator to make learning fun and varied. I have worked with people with disabilities as a case manager and I have also spent over ten years leading culture change projects and reducing institutional features in care homes with an international organisation called Meaningful Care Matters. I feel particularly passionate about older people living with dementia having cared for my mother with dementia. I also have personal experience of supporting three family members at the end of their lives, and I feel very strongly about the importance of talking openly about death, and that it is through these conversations we can ensure we live and die well. Working with My Care Matters as both a buddy and a trainer, has deepened my understanding of the complexities of getting future care planning right, and supporting each individual to feel less daunted by the process.
What matters to me is ensuring that at My Care Matters we nurture our relationships with customers, partners and stakeholders and stay connected to the realities of their day-to-day lives and experiences. It is a pleasure to be part of the vibrant and supportive care-related communities that exist on Twitter and Facebook. As social media and community manager, I aim to listen as much as I speak, give back as much as I receive, and add value to the conversations I join. At My Care Matters we strive to understand and include people’s perspectives and create products and services that meet real needs. We often share the first sight of our new ideas with our online community, we value all feedback received and glean insights that help to shape our products and services. With a background in membership development and stakeholder engagement, and a diploma in strategic social media marketing, I am passionate about understanding experiences and sparking powerful connections that make a real difference to people’s lives. I am delighted to help tell the My Care Matters’ story and always aim to inspire people to see what’s possible, get the support and resources they need and take action for themselves.
