When Jose Rodriguez’s grandmother became ill with dementia, his family rallied round to help. Jose spent every weekend going home from his job and family to help his aunt and mother in Madrid, Spain. His experience of care at home led to him starting the new Southampton and Winchester Good Oaks Home Care branch.

“My family are very close, so when my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia, we all came together to look after her. Three out of four weekends I’d be going back to help out. But it was getting very difficult for my family, as the months passed it was draining my mum. The dementia was very aggressive, and it was an around the clock job to look after my grandmother. It must have been very frightening for her; her dementia would make her become aggressive as she was suffering from hallucinations. She lost a lot of weight and we struggled with her mobility and loss of strength.

“In Spain, traditionally we aren’t very trusting of people we haven’t known for ages, so strangers coming into the house was a no-no, but we had to bite the bullet. We managed to find two amazing caring ladies, one came in the morning and one came in the evening to help my mum and aunt. It was just amazing the impact these two lovely women had – so much so, that it made me want to start my own home care business. They were amazing and such a relief – they gave us peace of mind. I could see my mum and aunt being able to have some breathing space and get a nap, because it was a 24/7 job. The carers were amazing, they supported Grandma, but they also supported our whole family, they would ask us about how we were feeling, and they helped get palliative care. They were very experienced, and they prepared us for the future – they helped us discuss the things we didn’t want to. My grandmother passed away and for ages it felt rubbish, but it made me feel like I wanted to help give that care to others. I had seen the difference care could make to everyone’s lives it touched.”

Jose started to look at franchise options and spoke to various companies before joining the Good Oaks Home Care team. He has just launched the new Southampton and Winchester office, covering the whole region including Romsey, Eastleigh, Chandlers Ford, out towards Salisbury and bordering Basingstoke.

Jose moved to the UK in 2002 and has worked as a pharmacist ever since, he is currently part of the University of Manchester Centre of Pharmacy Education and is involved in training for pharmacists.

He said: “I’m excited to bring this to my community. It really helped my family and now I can’t wait to make a difference in the lives of others. I like the Good Oaks ethos of taking time with clients and providing that level of care”.