Who we are
We built Care Horizons to do this differently.
Established in 2004 and independently led by Vierka Hiscock since 2017 — not a bigger agency, but a specialist support organisation built around the person rather than the rota, run by people you can actually reach.
A note from our Director
When I took ownership of Care Horizons in 2017, I rebuilt it around something I had seen too often: good people, badly supported by services built for everyone and no one. Visits measured in tasks. A new face every week. Families left to hold everything together alone.
So we built something narrower and deeper. We take on fewer people, and we stay. The same two or three people support each person, week after week, often for years. We turn down most of the enquiries that come to us — not because we don’t care, but because saying yes to everyone is how standards quietly slip.
That sounds like marketing. It isn’t. It is the single decision everything else depends on.
I am still closely involved in every case. I read every safeguarding referral. I sign every contract. I see every supervision note. There is no call centre and no layers to get through — when you contact us, you reach senior people who know the work, with me overseeing it behind them. That is how I keep the standard where it needs to be.
— Vierka Hiscock
Managing Director, Nominated Individual & Registered Manager
We don’t take every case.
When we do, we stay.
Established in 2004. Independently led by Vierka Hiscock since 2017.
Trusted since 2004
What makes us different
Three convictions the company is built on
Why we refuse most referrals
We say no to the majority of enquiries. Taking on more than we can support properly is how care gets thin. Saying no to most is what lets us be exceptional for the few we say yes to.
Why relationships matter more than hours
Complex support cannot be delivered by strangers. The same small team, kept in place for years, is not a nicety — it is the thing that actually makes the support work.
Why we stay
Some of the people we support have been with Care Horizons for more than twenty-three years. We are not a stepping-stone or a stop-gap. We are built for the long term, through every change a life brings.
Why senior people stay close
Decisions are made by people who can act, fast. Safeguarding, contracts and standards sit with the Director — not buried in a process.
How we decide
Whether we are the right provider
We say no to most of the enquiries we receive, and we do it carefully. Before we agree to support someone, we look honestly at whether we can provide the stability, continuity and oversight they need. We consider whether the person's needs match our specialist experience; whether we can build a small, consistent team around them; whether the support can be delivered safely and sustainably; and whether we can add real value rather than simply fill hours. If you need rapid, short-term cover, we are unlikely to be the right fit — and if we do not believe we are the right provider, we will say so. That is not a lack of care. It is how we protect the standard for the people we already support.
What stability can look like
Support that holds, not quick fixes
One of the people we support has had the same organisation beside them for more than twenty-three years. Others came to us after repeated changes of provider — where the first priority was not to add more activity, but to slow things down, build trust and keep the same familiar faces in place. Over time the support becomes less reactive and more predictable, family communication improves, and anxiety eases. That is the work we are built for: not quick fixes, but support that holds. Read real stories →
The people behind it
Senior, experienced, and here for the long run
There is no call centre. The people who run Care Horizons are the people you reach.
Vierka Hiscock
Managing Director · Registered Manager
In social care since 2004, Vierka is the owner and provider of Care Horizons, which she has led since 2017 as its Nominated Individual and Registered Manager. She stays closely involved in safeguarding oversight, contracts, governance and case review, keeping senior accountability close to the people receiving support.
Her qualifications include a City & Guilds Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care (Adults’ Management) and an ILM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership. She is also a qualified coach, mentor and menopause coach, a trained Mental Capacity assessor and an Advanced Nutrition Diploma holder — reflecting her belief that emotional, physical and practical wellbeing all matter in specialist support. Having first trained in Slovakia as an export and import accounting manager, she also leads Hiscock & Co, supporting care-sector providers with regulatory compliance and governance — wider expertise that informs the governance-led approach at Care Horizons.
Joe Sparrow
Service Manager
One of the most experienced people in the company — in care since 1989, a senior leader who runs the day-to-day delivery of services and is a senior point of contact for families. Diploma-qualified to NVQ Level 5, with management and recruitment training, and trained across safeguarding, autism, medication, the Mental Capacity Act, mental health and person-centred care.
Jessica White
Deputy Manager
Jessica joined Care Horizons in 2019 as a support worker and progressed to Deputy Manager. In April 2026 she qualified as a Level 4 Lead Practitioner in Adult Care, passing her End Point Assessment — recognised for her work in Positive Behaviour Support, person-centred care and promoting independence under the Mental Capacity Act. She runs our independent-living homes, knows every case in depth, and is often the first senior person a worried family speaks to.
Travis Hiscock
Director · IT & Systems
Travis leads cyber security, IT and information governance for Care Horizons — the data protection, secure systems and operational resilience that sit behind safe, well-evidenced care. He brings extensive experience from his work with technology consultancy Kelros, applying enterprise-grade security and systems thinking to a regulated care setting.
Karol Smelko
Administrator
Keeps the administration, records and day-to-day coordination running smoothly behind the team. Trained in data protection (GDPR), health and safety and safeguarding awareness, and in the same core care subjects as our support staff — so the person handling your information understands the care behind it.
Alan Howells
Team Leader
With Care Horizons since 2018, Alan progressed from support worker to team leader. He runs a support team day to day and is fully trained across safeguarding, autism, medication, mental capacity and person-centred care, with leadership training in supervision and appraisal.
Hayley Street
Team Leader
With Care Horizons since its early days and a team leader since 2021, Hayley leads a support team day to day. She is fully trained across safeguarding, autism, medication, the Mental Capacity Act, mental health and person-centred care, with leadership training in conducting effective appraisals.
The people beside the person you love
Our support team
Behind every manager named here is a team of experienced support workers — most with us for years, some since the early days. We do not use agency staff to fill gaps. It is the same familiar faces, week after week, because continuity is the point of everything we do. Every member of our support team is trained to recognised levels in safeguarding, medication, the Mental Capacity Act, autism and person-centred care.
Recognition & contribution
Quietly recognised
We don’t chase awards — but the work has been noticed.
“One of the most cherished specialist healthcare providers in the South West.”
— His Majesty at 75: The Leadership and Vision of King Charles III (St James’s House, 2023)
Care Horizons and its leadership team have been recognised through a range of national publications, professional initiatives and community projects. Highlights include:
- Featured in the Parliamentary Review
- Featured in His Majesty at 75: The Leadership and Vision of King Charles III (St James’s House, 2023), with Director Vierka Hiscock invited to the launch at Claridge’s, London
- Participation in the Platinum Jubilee Pageant 2022
- Disability Confident Employer (Level 2)
- Featured in national business and leadership publications, including CEO Magazine
- Rated 9.5/10 on homecare.co.uk
- Ongoing contribution to national business awards programmes through judging and industry participation
While recognition is appreciated, our focus remains unchanged: providing stable, high-quality support that helps people build fulfilling lives over the long term.
How decisions are made
Close to the work, fast to act
We deliberately keep decision-making senior and close to the front line. Safeguarding referrals, contracts and changes to a person’s support are seen and signed off at director level — not delegated into a process where they stall. It means when something needs to happen, it happens quickly, and accountability is always clear. For families and professionals, that is the difference between a provider who reacts and one who grips a situation. Care Horizons is not absentee-owned: it has been independently owned and led by Vierka Hiscock since 2017, who is both Managing Director and Registered Manager and stays directly involved in governance, quality assurance and day-to-day oversight.
Governance, in plain English
What it actually means for you
Governance here is not paperwork for its own sake. It means safeguarding concerns are seen quickly, risks are not left vague, supervision records are reviewed, contracts are understood, and decisions are made by people with the authority to act. For families, that means fewer layers, clearer accountability and faster decisions when something needs attention. For commissioners, it means a provider that can evidence what it does — externally certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 45001, and rated Good by the Care Quality Commission.
Our journey
How we grew
Real relationships
The proof, in three numbers
longest support relationship
agency workers used
on homecare.co.uk
“We don’t take every case. When we do, we stay.”
Vierka Hiscock, Managing DirectorWhat happens when you contact us
From first call to settled support
- You speak to someone senior. There is no call centre. Your enquiry is read by people who understand complex, specialist support, with the Director overseeing every case behind them.
- We listen before we suggest. We ask what has happened, what has already been tried, what is breaking down, and what the person needs now.
- We decide honestly whether we are the right fit. If we believe we can help, we arrange a fuller conversation. If we are not the right provider, we will tell you — and, where we can, point you somewhere better.
- We build the support carefully. Where support goes ahead, we focus on stability, continuity, risk and long-term fit — the same small team kept in place, not rota hours filled.
Whether support has broken down, you are planning for the future, or you are simply unsure we are the right fit, you can talk to us on 0117 405 4320.
Talk to the people who run it.
If you would like to understand how we work, or whether we might be right for someone you care about, we would be glad to talk.
0117 405 4320 [email protected] Start a conversation