In our Complex Care teams, we see the impact of acquired brain injury every day. Our colleagues work closely with clients and families to provide specialist care that enables people to live as fully and independently as possible.

That is why we are so proud of Victoria Horlock, our Registered Branch Manager at Advantage Healthcare, who is marking her 40th birthday by taking on a tandem skydive to raise funds for Headway Essex, which also turns 40 this year!

Vicky says she is inspired by the resilience of the people she supports, and this challenge is her way of giving something back to the community that means so much to her.

Headway Essex provides a lifeline for individuals and families living with acquired brain injury, and Vicky’s fundraising will help ensure that vital support continues.

Please join us in wishing her well and support her fundraising page here:

Victoria Horlock is fundraising for Headway Essex

Christmas and winter pressures are almost here. Demand rises, bed occupancy tightens, and discharge deadlines compress.

The pressure is real. Recent briefings show winter remains a critical stress point, and delays for people awaiting social care or suitable housing block capacity upstream. The result is overstretched emergency departments and slower elective recovery.

Systems are expected to cut corridor care, speed up patient flow and eliminate internal discharge delays of more than 48 hours. Commissioners need providers who can mobilise safe, interim support in days, not weeks.

How CCH Complex Care helps you create capacity fast

We mobilise urgent packages within days, building safe pathways home while long-term packages, reablement or housing solutions are finalised. Our model is built for surge, safety and speed.

  • Rapid hospital discharge support
    Same-week starts for home care, live-in care or step-down cover, aligned to Home First pathways.
  • Clinical leadership for complex needs
    Nurse-led risk assessment and care planning for tracheostomy, ventilation, PEG, spinal injury, ABI and progressive conditions.
  • Right package, right now
    Hours that flex by day and night. Step up or step down as reablement progresses or as long-term care is commissioned.
  • Mobile rapid response teams on call 24/7
    Large, vetted workforce, rapid rota build, on-call 24/7, and single-point-of-contact for discharge teams.
  • Outcomes that support winter goals
    Fewer internal delays, faster bed turnaround, and better patient experience through care at home.

Our winter mobilisation playbook

  • 48-hour response from referral
    Triage, clinical review and a draft plan returned quickly with start-date options.
  • Safety first
    Nurse oversight, risk plans, medicines reconciliation, moving and handling checks, and equipment readiness confirmed before go-live.
  • Multi-disciplinary rapid response teams
    Staff with the right skills for each task and condition, supervised and refreshed through rapid training as needed.
  • Data you can trust
    Daily mobilisation tracker, start-of-care confirmation, and agreed KPIs on timeliness, continuity and readmission avoidance.

Where interim packages add the most value

  1. People medically fit for discharge who need time-limited support at home while permanent care is arranged.
  2. Step-down from hospital where short-term care prevents an avoidable readmission.
  3. People awaiting supported housing or home adaptations, where safe support at home bridges the gap.

Practical commissioning options for this winter

  • Block-booked hours for rapid starts from named wards or sites.
  • Call-off care for high-acuity discharges that need one-to-one continuity.
  • Rapid step-down capacity with time-boxed goals, feeding reablement metrics.
  • Weekend and bank-holiday starts to protect discharge flow across peak periods.

What commissioners tell us they need

  • Single accountable partner who can scale.
  • Clear clinical governance and escalation.
  • Predictable starts within days, not weeks.
  • Evidence that care aligns to Home First and reduces internal discharge delays.

Next steps

If you are planning winter capacity for October to March, we can stand up interim packages quickly and safely, aligned to your local discharge targets and pathways. Share upcoming pressure points, bed models and ward priorities, and we will propose a mobilisation schedule, workforce plan and KPIs that match your system’s winter plan.

Gary Fee accepts to 225 Social Care Top 30 AwardWe’re thrilled to share that our CEO Gary Fee was named Number 1 st the 2025 Social Care Top 30 Awards, recognising his impact in championing care as a cornerstone of national infrastructure.

The Social Care Top 30 celebrates exceptional leadership and innovation across our sector, recognising individuals who are shaping the future of care, improving outcomes, and driving lasting change. It’s one of the most respected honours in social care, voted on by sector peers and awarded to those making a national impact.

In his usual humble style, Gary dedicated the award to our teams across the country. The people whose compassion, professionalism, and courage define what great care looks like every day.

“This recognition belongs to the people who make what we do possible, our dedicated care professionals, as well as our local and national support colleagues behind the lifechanging services we deliver every day. Their dedication to ensuring no one in need of care is forgotten or alone is what drives everything I do.”

Gary Fee, CEO, CCH Group

At CCH Group, we know that our scale gives us the opportunity, and responsibility, to lead positive change. As this award shows, together, we’re building the best place to work in care and a sector that’s valued for its vital role in our communities.

Congratulations Gary and thank you to everyone across our services for helping make this possible.

Davina’s story is a powerful reflection of what care with confidence, connection and purpose looks like.

Living with epilepsy, blindness and other complex conditions, Davina requires 24-hour support. Her care is delivered by a dedicated team of three skilled professionals, overseen by a client manager who ensures consistent, high-quality delivery.

They handle everything from enteral feeding and medication to daily tasks like dressing and personal care—but that’s only part of the picture.

What makes her care exceptional is how it supports her wider life.

Davina is supported to do the things she enjoys—visiting the cinema, going bowling, and attending theatre performances. These experiences help maintain her sense of identity and independence, building a life that feels full and connected.

It’s the kind of support that families deeply value.

“Davina’s carers, Kim and Paige, have been amazing. Hearts of gold, trustworthy, full of experience—and we totally trust them. We’ve built that relationship. CCH has been amazing, from the office staff right down to Davina’s care team. Hats off to them all.”

— Sunita, Davina’s mum

Her mum’s words reflect the heart of our mission.

For Davina—and for every person we support—complex care should offer more than stability. It should offer real quality of life, peace of mind for families, and a future shaped by possibility, not limitation.

As the Managing Director for Speciality Services, Warren Irving, puts it:

“We fundamentally believe every individual deserves a life brimming with dignity, self-determination, and profound quality.”

That’s what we strive for every day at CCH Complex Care.

It is not often that more than twenty social care CEOs and leaders clear their diaries for a few hours. But thanks to Access Care Management and Daniel Casson, they did. Their purpose was to put the government’s flagship 10-Year Health Plan under the microscope and start shaping the solutions to make it actionable.

Chaired by Kathryn Marsden OBE (Formerly Kathryn Smith OBE), CEO of SCIE, and our CEO,Gary Fee, the session wasted no time. Kathryn set the scene: the Plan promises care closer to home, digitised pathways and prevention. But social care barely features. Without it, the Plan risks collapse before it begins.

Damian Green, Chair of the Social Care Foundation and former Deputy Prime Minister, cut to the heart of it:
“Without parity of esteem for social care and integration with the NHS, the 10-Year Plan will not deliver.”

Gary then called the sector to act. “The Plan will stand or fall on outcomes, and those outcomes depend on social care,” he said, urging leaders to step forward with confidence and solutions.

His message was clear: it is time to claim our seat and bring the answers the nation is waiting for. If the Plan is going to work, it will be because social care chose to lead. Not someday. But now.

 

Celebrating Leadership with Heart: Vicky Judge Named Manager of the Year

We are delighted to announce that Vicky Judge, Registered Manager at Advantage Healthcare Rochdale, has been awarded Manager of the Year at the regional Extraordinary Care Awards.

Vicky is recognised for her exceptional leadership and her ability to bring out the very best in her team. She creates an environment where care professionals feel supported, valued and motivated to deliver safe, effective and compassionate care.

Under her guidance, the Rochdale complex care branch has built a strong reputation for reliability and quality. Commissioners and families alike know they can count on the branch to provide consistent, person-centred support that helps people live well at home and stay connected to their communities.

What sets Vicky apart is her passion for innovation and her commitment to her team. She is always looking for ways to improve processes, strengthen communication and make sure care professionals have the tools and confidence they need to succeed. Her approach has built a positive culture where staff feel proud of their work and encouraged to grow in their roles.

Vicky’s award reflects her dedication to putting people first, her commitment to high standards and her determination to continually raise expectations across the sector. She is a leader who inspires trust, delivers results and makes a real difference to the lives of colleagues, clients and communities.

Not all complex care is created equal.

At CCH, we set the standard by combining the scale of the UK’s largest care provider with the insight of local experts.

Our complex care teams deliver stability, safety and dignity for clients and their families, while helping commissioners achieve strong outcomes and confidence in every package of care.

Explore the seven reasons commissioners trust us to deliver life-changing results.

Watch this video for the seven reasons commissioners trust us to deliver life-changing results.

After a serious car crash left Lee with a spinal injury, our expert complex team from Advantage Healthcare created a bespoke care package that meant he could be discharged quickly and safely from hospital.

Back in his own home, our team not only supports his complex health needs but also helps him enjoy new experiences and the things he loves; from cheering at football matches to buying a new car and planning holidays with his family.

This is the power of our national strength and local touch. Transformative complex care that creates futures full of possibility for the people we support.

 

We’re proud to announce that Jess Angus has been named Nurse of the Year at our Extraordinary Care Awards 2025.

Jess’s career has spanned intensive care, clinical leadership and community nursing. From supporting patients in the most critical moments to guiding teams and delivering complex care at home, she has always put people at the centre of her work.

What makes Jess stand out is not just her clinical expertise but her compassion. She connects with clients and families in a way that builds trust, restores confidence and helps people rebuild their lives after life-changing injuries or illness.

Jess says, “For me, nursing leadership is about combining clinical excellence with humanity. Complex care is never just about treating a condition, it is about supporting people and families to feel safe, confident and able to live the lives they want. I am proud to be part of a team that puts people first in everything we do.”

Her work shows how nursing leadership in complex care goes beyond meeting health needs. It creates futures; enabling safe discharges, personalised support and care that helps people live the life they want.

Across the country, commissioners and case managers trust our nurses and care teams to deliver consistent, specialist, people-first care that achieves the best outcomes. Jess Angus is a shining example of that in action.

Recently our Complex Care team headed to Bristol for the Catastrophic Injury Conference, hosted by St John’s Chambers.

It was a fantastic day catching up with others who care as much as we do about making a difference for clients. One of the highlights was meeting Nicola-Clare Kelly from Circle Case Management.

We’ve recently supported Circle’s Fund A Family initiative with the donation of a luxury hamper to help a family enjoy a well-deserved holiday, so it was lovely to meet Nicola and chat about the good work this support helps make possible.

A huge thank you to the organisers of the conference for bringing people together to share ideas, fresh thinking and best practice in complex care.