08/08/2026
📱 8 Days Away… Yet Communication Never Stopped 💜
This week has been a very special one for me.
It’s been my first proper week’s holiday in over 10 months and a much needed break. It’s especially meaningful as it’s almost a year since I was diagnosed with an encephalocele, a journey that ultimately led to brain surgery in October.
As Nominated Individual and Registered Manager of Motherly Love, I’ll admit that actually stepping away and going on holiday felt daunting.
When you’re so involved in your service every day, there’s always that little bit of fear:
Have I empowered my team enough? Have I given them the confidence to make decisions, communicate effectively and support each other without me physically being there?
Well… I think I got my answer. 🧡
I was absolutely blown away by just how much I had.
📩 In just 8 days, our team exchanged an incredible 978 messages.
And those aren’t just messages.
They’re evidence of communication, teamwork, accountability and safe, responsive care happening in real time.
At Motherly Love, we do have some double-up calls where two carers work together, but the majority of our visits are carried out by single carers working independently in the community. This makes strong, real time communication and handovers between our team even more important.
That’s why communication is so important to us.
💜 Handovers happen in real time, not hours later.
💜 Changes in an individual’s health or wellbeing are shared.
💜 Medication updates and concerns are communicated.
💜 Carers ask questions and seek advice.
💜 The team supports and reassures one another.
💜 Information is passed on so the next carer arrives informed and prepared.
💜Travelling updates.
💜 Health advice.
Although much of domiciliary care is delivered individually, nobody at Motherly Love should ever feel like they’re working alone.
And perhaps what I’m most proud of is that none of this stopped because I went on holiday.
The communication continued.
The handovers continued.
The decision-making continued.
And most importantly, the care continued.
Something else that made me incredibly proud was seeing the two members of our team naturally stepping forward and to steer our group communication while I was away.
They kept conversations flowing, supported their colleagues, made sure information was picked up and followed through, and helped ensure our real-time handovers continued exactly as they should.
And watching the rest of the team respond, communicate and work together around them was just as lovely to see.
As a Registered Manager, that’s exactly what empowerment should look like.
It isn’t about one person having all the answers or making every decision. It’s about giving people the knowledge, confidence and trust to step forward, support each other, take ownership and recognise when something needs escalating.
I couldn’t be prouder of those two for stepping up or of the whole team for working so brilliantly together. 🧡
I’ve always wanted to build a team that doesn’t simply wait to be told what to do, but feels trusted, knowledgeable and empowered to take ownership of the care they provide.
Stepping away for eight days has shown me just how far we’ve come.
As an owner and Registered Manager, there is no greater feeling than being able to take a much-needed break and come home knowing that the people we support continued to receive the safe, personalised and compassionate care they deserve.
And perhaps one of my biggest reflections from this holiday is realising that I have empowered my team.
For me, that’s something to be incredibly proud of. 💜
To my whole team thank you. Thank you for your dedication, your communication, your professionalism and, most importantly, for supporting one another. Love Danielle
