Starting out life as a janitorial supplier to general industry, fifty years on CareHomeLife has evolved to form strong alliances with those working in and supporting Social Care. The company, whose focus has been on healthcare since 1997, now works to wholly support the Care sector, supplying essential medical consumables, housekeeping and laundry systems and products, and equipment and furniture.
Over the last five decades CareHomeLife, formerly known as FISC Healthcare, has evolved but one thing remains constant, and that’s its knack of putting people first.
As Eddy Fishwick, Chairman of CareHomeLife explains “What drives us every day is to honour our loved ones with dignity, this is our passion and united purpose. Placing care home residents and those who care for those residents and their environment at the centre of all our business decisions. We constantly ask ourselves how our products or services improves life for care home staff and residents.”
Today the family owned and run business, based in Buckshaw Village, Lancashire has thirty employees. Eddy, who worked originally alongside his own father, the founder, for over forty years now works alongside his children and looks forward to welcoming his grandchildren in years to come to carry on the mission of supporting homes to provide the very best care to their residents.
He points out their commitment is not only to people, but to the planet too, helping care homes to reduce running costs by doing more with less.
Eddy continues “We are changing the way care homes buy consumables and equipment by shifting their focus from cost to total value. It’s not the price point of the item that counts. We guide our customers toward products that do the job better, saving time, effort, energy and reducing waste. That’s the true meaning of value to me.”
“We understand the daily pressures homes are under to provide the standard of care they want to. It can be a very stressful job. Not only do we supply goods, we protect their expenditure by uncovering hidden savings like washing on lower temperatures, efficacy of cleaning products and improving overall cost-in-use. We also felt it right to support the mental and physical health of the sector, particularly during the pandemic and created our free-to-all and supportive wellbeing arm CareHomeLifestyle which has been very well-received by our customers.”
As part of the celebrations to mark their golden milestone they will ethically gift 50 Rowan Trees to a selection of their long-standing care home customers, as a gesture of their appreciation for their loyalty over the years. In Celtic mythology the Rowan Tree is known as the Tree of Life and symbolises wisdom and protection which is a fitting tribute to the care homes themselves and all they stand for.
Keeping with the theme, they will also gift Rowan Trees to their staff and families for their exceptional support and commitment to the care sector.
And for the next half century…
The aim is, and always will be, to honour the dignity of all our loved ones in care. CareHomeLife’s role in this is very clear: standing front and centre with the industry and supporting those working in it to provide the very best care to their residents.
Timeline
1973 Fishwick Industrial Supplies Chorley (FISC) starts its life in the cellar of the family home on Carrington Road, Chorley
1975 First premises on Weldbank Mill, Saville Street, Chorley
1982 Business unit on Common Bank Industrial Estate, Chorley
1987 Purpose built detached premises on Ackhurst Road, Chorley
1991 Eddy Fishwick becomes MD of FISC Healthcare
1996 Due to further expansion a move to Caxton Road, Fulwood, Preston
1997 FISC Supplies becomes FISC Healthcare Ltd, becoming wholly dedicated to private care homes in 2006
2013 Move to larger premises on Matrix Park, Chorley
2013 CareHomeLife re-brand to align passion and purpose of honouring our loved ones with dignity
2021 Achieve double award-winning supplier status at care Sector Supplier Awards
2022 People, planet, pocket proposition is created to meet the changing wants and needs of the Care sector. Again achieving award-winning supplier status with the Care Sector Supplier Awards
2023 and beyond – CareHomeLife are committed to adding value to Social Care. Evidenced by its partnerships and memberships with Care England, Care Forum Wales, the Care Workers Charity and its own investments with CareHomeLifestyle, the free-to-all wellbeing resource that comes in the form of digital, podcasts, events and magazines (a second publication is currently in process).
