When you ask anybody who works in care ‘What are some of the biggest challenges you face?’ their answer will most definitely always be, staff shortages!
So, my question is, why do people not want to work in care? Care work may be challenging, and no two days are ever the same, but it is also fun and can be really rewarding knowing you have made a difference to someone’s life.
Why wouldn’t people want to work in a sector that brings smiles to individuals daily.
You don’t work in care to become rich in money, but you do work in care to become rich in emotions.
Yes I know some care homes and home care agencies pay is low but there are lower paying jobs out there that individuals work every day and hate. So why wouldn’t you change?
Why wouldn’t you work for a sector that is passionate about education. There are plenty of opportunities in care to gain higher educational qualifications where you can then progress within the companies. Currently, if you hold a NVQ 3,4 or 5 in health and social you can pretty much guarantee a job in any care role in any town. There are hundreds of thousands of vacancies across the country and yet there are still unemployed people looking for work or others hating their current job.
Why wouldn’t you work in a sector that also teaches you valuable life skills from cooking safely, firefighting to life saving first aid. Can Malcolm in IT cook an omelette, put out a wastepaper bin fire and complete CPR on a colleague straight after without screaming or breaking a sweat. I know for a fact that Linda who has just finished her 12-hour day shift can and will be back to do all again tomorrow with a smile and confidence.
I have worked in care since I was 20 years old. I started work supporting adults with learning disabilities and behaviours that challenged. I stayed with the same company for 10 years. I gained higher qualifications and was promoted through their ranks.
The job had difficult days, we could be short staffed, and the clients may become upset but most of my days working was spent in the garden enjoying a BBQ, shopping, horse riding, cinema trips, pub trips and so much more. I lost count how many times staff would say, ‘we are getting paid for this’
I then wanted to see what else the care sector had to offer, and I spent a few years working for many agencies from adults with disabilities, renal support, children and then the elderly.
That’s when I found my love, my passion. My calling in life, was to support those who could no longer support themselves safely. My job was to encourage them to do for themselves as much as they still could and for me to respectfully and tactfully support them with the rest. My passion for this job was clear from the beginning. Making new friends, sharing passions and hearing their stories became the favourite part of my day.
I started working for Inchwater in 2016 part time. I worked every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, around 16 hrs a week. I loved this job so much that I quickly increased my availability and became full time. I would support some individuals with their personal care, some it was just a chat and housework and others treating them to my culinary skills. I was then introduced to other clients who just wanted company shopping, helping watering the garden and overall companionship.
A few years later I lost my grandad. My grandad lived at home with us and had been on a palliative pathway for years. We sat by his beside for nearly two weeks, taking it in turns to keep him company. Singing to him, playing him his favourite music, reading him stories and taking about the family. We had a care agency visit grandad 4 times a day double hander and they were great. He was always kept nice and clean, and they would talk to him even thou he was asleep.
End of life care is a very difficult and emotional time for everyone involved. My personal experience with grandad’s pathway allowed me to see the impact that the time leading up to the death of a loved one can be harder on the family then the actual passing. I have made it my mission to ensure that every end-of-life client we support receives a positive passing and that their family also benefits from us being there for them.
Why have a told you all this. Because I spent years being called a glorified bum wiper and from what I have written above you can see that there is so much more to job then personal care. Yes, that is part of the role but so very little in comparison to the rest of the job description. So why are people not applying for these vacancies. I honestly do not know. Stigma maybe, the want to be rich or famous, who knows. What I do know is, I love my job. I wake up every day wanting to go to work and make a difference. My days are busy and my night never my own but as a registered care manager I do have 122 children! 80 clients, 40 staff and 2 children of my own to worry about and ensure they are all tucked up in bed before me. That is my choice because I love every one of them and you should find most managers are the same. If they are not, then you try a different company because your manager should be.
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