
35CONTINUED CARE |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
Because we value our staff, they in
turn value our clients. I am often
impressed to hear of the little things
they have done to make people’s lives
better. Earlier this year, we took on
a new client who didn’t speak any
English. In order to communicate with
her, our carer learnt a few phrases in
Cantonese and was able to have a
conversation with her.
Similarly, we had a client who was
losing her sight. After completing
research, our carer found that yellow
is often the last colour that people
are able to see clearly, so she brought
some daffodils from her garden to
put in a vase in the client’s home. The
client was delighted and was able to
see the petals clearly.
The future of home care
One of the biggest challenges facing
the whole care industry is funding.
Care receives a very raw deal
compared to health, yet it plays a vital
role in the wider health and social care
picture. Our services help people stay
out of hospital, come home sooner,
stay in their own homes and feel part
of their community.
Without companies like us, more
people would end up being admitted
in emergencies because small problems
would go unnoticed before becoming
more serious. Bed blocking would be
more prevalent in hospitals without
community care to enable people to
go home, and residential homes would
be under even more pressure. As
individual services, we all interlink to
provide the best support and outcomes
for clients.
For individuals, home care is an
incredibly important service. We have
many long-term clients who have
spent time in hospital and in residential
settings. We have been involved in
supporting clients with complex needs
to return back to their own home,
who often tell us how much better
they feel when they are surrounded
by their own things, seeing friends
and family whenever they like, and
feeling as independent as possible. Our
experienced management team knows
exactly how to ensure each client gets
the package of care they need to make
this possible.
Working in care is extremely
challenging every day. We work long
hours, pay is low and respect for
care as a professional career is often
lacking. What makes it worthwhile is
the people; knowing you have made a
difference to someone’s life, enabled
them to live independently where
they want to be, or brought a little
more happiness to their day is the best
reward you can get. We feel privileged
to be part of someone’s life and for
the small differences we can make,
while offering carers an opportunity
to train in social care, to forge a career
and to spread the word about how
rewarding and personally satisfying a
career in the care sector can be.
We feel
privileged to
be part of
someone’s life
and for the
small
differences we
can make
“
“
A close knit team