A company providing care for people in their own homes in Huddersfield plans to create up to 60 new jobs over the next 12 months.

Caremark (Kirklees), based at Brooke’s Mill, Armitage Bridge, has doubled the number of ”care hours” delivered to service users from 500 to 1,000 in 2017. It now plans to double that to 2,000 in 2018 due to increased demand - and needs to double its staff number from 55 to more than 100.

It is now recruiting 60 home care and support workers who will deliver care as well as staff who will be based at head office.

Managing director Duncan Smith said: “We experienced fantastic growth during 2017 and we want to continue this momentum in 2018.

“There is a big demand for home care services across Kirklees and our aim is to become the best provider of home care in the area.

“To do this, we need to recruit the best people. We will only be able to do this by investing in our staff so our whole focus is on ensuring the people we recruit receive training which is second to none.

“We want to grow in the right way and this means having carers who enjoy their work and see it as a career and not just a job. People who join us will have clear career progression and there is no reason why they can’t very quickly rise to very senior roles within the company.”

Caremark (Kirklees) is an accredited provider of care to Kirklees Council. It also delivers care to private customers who prefer to stay in their own homes, rather than moving to residential care.

Duncan said: “I was inspired to set up Caremark by the memory of my grandfather, Murray Affleck, who was a well-known and respected consultant physician at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

“The focus is on delivering the highest quality of care possible in order to improve the quality of life for the people we support.”