Following the news that an independent specialist care company in Northamptonshire has been sold, The Richardson Partnership for Care is one of the very few remaining independent family-run residential care providers that specialises in supporting adults with acquired brain injuries or learning difficulties.

Independent ownership gives us the freedom to take a long-term view and invest in the future of the business. This means that we can provide a long-term sustainable environment for the service users in our care. It is particularly important for service users with learning difficulties who need a secure, stable home – some of whom have been living with us for over 20 years. It is also important to their families, especially their parents, to know that providing a secure, safe, long-term home is one of our main objectives.

In addition, some of our service users with acquired brain injuries require long-term rehabilitation and are making slow but steady progress after having lived with us for over 20 years. For people who come to us for intensive short-term brain injury rehabilitation, knowing that they can come back for top-up rehabilitation or respite care is also important to them, their families and their case workers.

As the owners and managing partners, we are accountable to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the quality of care that the firm provides. We remain close enough to the day to day running of our care homes to ensure that we are delivering on our aims and objectives and are true to our original philosophy of providing community presence, choice, dignity and respect, community participation and competence.

As we are independent, we can focus on delivering high quality care at a fair price, we don’t have pressure from shareholders or private investors to realise short-term profits and raise high dividends. And we’d like to keep it that way.