CARE
Smiles better: Moonrise approach is person-centred. Picture: Cal Carey
Rethinking
Complex needs, personalised Moonrise solutions modern care
Across the UK, the care and support sector is continuing to evolve- not only in scale, but in complexity.
Recent discussions around workforce and sustainability have shown that demand is rising. But beyond the pure numbers lie a more nuanced reality: the nature of care itself is changing.
Providers are increasingly supporting individuals with increased, layered and interconnected needs.
These may include neurodivergent profiles, trauma histories, mental health challenges, learning disabilities and behaviours that can be perceived as distress or risk.
In many cases, individuals are navigating more than one of these experiences at the same time.
This shift requires more than additional capacity. It calls for a deeper, more specialised understanding of care.
For organisations working across domiciliary care, supported living and residential services, the question is no longer simply how to meet demand- but how to meet it well.
Jessica Gwaringa, founder and managing director of Moonrise, believes this is one of the defining challenges facing the sector today.
“ Care has always been about people,” she explains.“ But the level of understanding required now has grown. We’ re supporting individuals with very unique life experiences, and that means our approach has to be flexible, informed and genuinely person-centred.”
Historically, care models have often been shaped around systems and structures.
While these models provided consistency, they did not always allow for the individuality of the person receiving support.
Today, there is a clear and necessary shift towards approaches that recognise each individual’ s history, communication style and emotional world.
Trauma-informed care is one such approach gaining prominence across the sector.
It encourages teams to look beyond behaviours and consider the underlying experiences that may be influencing them.
Rather than asking‘ What is happening?’, the focus becomes‘ What has happened to this person?’ and‘ What do they need right now?’
“ When our teams understand the context behind someone’ s behaviour, their response changes,” Jessica said.
“ There is more patience, more empathy and more confidence. That has a direct impact on how safe and supported the individual feels.”
Alongside this is the growing use of Positive Behaviour Support( PBS), which focuses on improving quality of life while reducing behaviours of distress through proactive, evidence-based strategies.
These approaches require time, training and consistency- but the outcomes can be transformative.
For individuals, this can mean greater independence, improved communication and a more stable daily life. For families, it can mean reassurance that their loved one is not only safe, but truly understood.
However, delivering this level of care is not without its challenges.
58 | Tees Business