Health and social care is a promise to uplift lives, to deliver dignity, and to bridge the gap between need and nurture. In a world where challenges like tight budgets and growing demands often cast shadows, how do you ensure that care remains personal, compassionate, and unyielding in quality? Can innovation and technology coexist with the human touch that defines the sector? These are the questions that few dare to answer—and fewer still succeed in solving.
Maureen O’Neill is one of those rare leaders who not only dares to ask these questions but also delivers meaningful answers through action. Her approach to health and social care transcends the constraints of traditional thinking, blending compassion with cutting-edge innovation. For Maureen, care is more than a service—it is a promise to the individuals and communities she serves, a promise that quality and humanity will never be sacrificed.
From Boardrooms to Care Home
In 2009, after almost 20 years of navigating the recruitment sector across Scotland and the Middle East, Maureen found herself at a crossroads in her career. Having worked across a variety of industries—ranging from media and electronics to IT, sales, accountancy, and banking—she joined Compello Staffing in 2006, where she assumed the role of General Manager. Over the years, she had successfully headed various divisions, including banking and health and social care, and had watched the company grow. However, as the business expanded, the weight of balancing multiple sectors became increasingly challenging, prompting Maureen to reflect on where her future truly lay.
One day, she attended two back-to-back client meetings that starkly contrasted in both setting and significance, shaping the course of her career. The first was a high-powered meeting with the chairman of a leading bank. She was signing a major contract to exclusively supply senior banking staff for the following year. The meeting was grand, and Maureen found herself sipping tea served by a butler in white gloves, an atmosphere of polished professionalism surrounding her. The deal was a success, and she left the meeting feeling accomplished. After dropping off one of her senior consultants, Maureen quickly switched gears, picking up the nurse manager to head to her next appointment.
The second meeting took place at a local care home where the company supplied temporary staff. Maureen was there for a routine service check, but the visit would leave a lasting impact on her. As she waited for the home manager, she noticed an elderly resident looking distressed. Maureen approached him and asked if he was okay. He explained that he had dropped his false teeth and couldn’t find them. Without hesitation, Maureen knelt down, searched around, and found the missing dentures. After rinsing them, she handed them back to the resident, who was incredibly grateful. His joy was palpable, as if she had handed him a treasure, and he began sharing his life story—how he had been a priest in Ireland, his childhood memories, and his family. The emotional connection between Maureen and the resident was profound, and the simple act of kindness resonated deeply with her.
The care home’s atmosphere was warm and comforting, and Maureen stayed longer than expected, sipping tea with the home staff and listening to the resident’s stories. When she left, Maureen felt a shift within herself. The first meeting had been successful, but it was the second, filled with human connection and compassion, that had truly captured her heart. As she drove back to her office, she knew she had to make a life-changing decision. The following day, she called her chairman, John Hailstone, and told him that she no longer wished to manage multiple divisions. Instead, she wanted to focus solely on health and social care, building a company that could make a meaningful difference in the sector.
Her request was met with immediate support, and within just two months, Maureen’s vision came to life. The health and social care division was bought out, and The Social Care Community Partnership and The Nursing Partnership were born. Since that pivotal moment, Maureen’s passion for the sector has only grown stronger. She is driven by the opportunity to create positive change, improve services, challenge outdated policies, and, above all, work alongside the incredible team of colleagues and agency staff who form the backbone of her company.
For Maureen, the decision to dedicate herself fully to health and social care was not just a professional move—it was a calling, one that has fueled her unwavering commitment to the sector ever since.
Achieving the Highest Attainable Quality Standard
Self-learning has always been a key factor in Maureen’s career. Once she embarked on her journey in the health and social care sector, she committed herself to a continuous process of knowledge-building. She spent years staying updated on the sector’s evolving trends, ensuring that she and her team always had access to the most current resources and best practices.
In this sector, Maureen believes that the core values of leadership are rooted in caring and quality. The team at The Nursing Partnership and The Social Care Community Partnership lives by the philosophy that they CARE about what they do and HOW they do it. This unwavering commitment to excellence has led to the company achieving a Grade 6 from the Care Inspectorate, the highest quality standard attainable.
By initially focusing on the public sector and deeply understanding the unique needs of their service users, Maureen and her team were positioned in a unique and advantageous spot to serve all 32 Local Authorities and 14 Health Boards across Scotland. Over the past 18 years, they have cultivated strong, ongoing partnerships with these organizations, ensuring their services remain aligned with the ever-evolving needs of the sector.
This dedication and expertise led to early recognition from a leading council, who identified The Nursing Partnership and The Social Care Community Partnership as their partner of choice for all social care services. Building on this initial success, Maureen and her team expanded their scope, establishing new delivery services that catered to the third and private sectors, further solidifying their reputation as a trusted and versatile provider in the health and social care industry.
The Human Touch in a Digital World
In their continued commitment to advancing the sector, where technology has sometimes overshadowed the importance of quality outcomes, Maureen and her team have worked diligently to strike a perfect balance. While embracing the latest technological tools and investing in innovative apps, they ensure that the human touch remains central to their operations. Their approach includes maintaining face-to-face onboarding procedures and providing in-house training for all staff, a key factor that has solidified their position as the first supplier for many of their clients.
Operating within Scotland’s challenging budgetary constraints, Maureen understands the delicate balance between cost and quality. With budgets often under pressure, it becomes critical to ensure that price never compromises the high standards of care expected by clients. This ongoing tension remains one of the largest challenges the sector faces, and one that Maureen is determined to address.
Through tireless collaboration with clients and their service users, Maureen and her team deliver socially sustainable services, always striving to achieve better outcomes for all, even within the constraints of limited resources. Their focus remains on ensuring that quality is never sacrificed and that every service provided contributes to the overall well-being of those they serve.
