Hi, my name is Sheryl and I’ve been working in the care sector for nearly ten years now, firstly in a nursing home and for the past eight years as a support worker. I absolutely love my job, and wouldn’t want to do anything else, but I did want a change and a new challenge, so I decided to look at other homecare providers and apply for a position.

As I started to research the marketplace I was very surprised with some of responses I got. Not all companies I approached were able to guarantee my hours each week, something that was important to me.

I am qualified to NVQ level 2 in health and social care, but I knew I would need an induction before I went out to see clients. Imagine my surprise, when one homecare company I approached said I could go out and see clients straight away – no mention of induction, or police checks!

My husband came across DoCare while searching online, and we listened to a radio interview with the managing director Steve Mills. I was really impressed by the things he said; DoCare’s ethos seemed to fit really well with my own – he talked about the quality of care given to clients, the level of training for staff, and looking after staff.

When I approached DoCare I had an interview and was offered a job the next day. But once I had started it was more than a month before I went to see clients on my own. I first had two-and-a-half-weeks’ shadowing, then a week’s induction, then another week shadowing. Police checks were made and my references taken up.

Now I am a support worker with the Yate team, and I love the role and working for DoCare. Training is on-going for the staff at DoCare. I have had training to make sure I am up-to-date with everything, and I am looking forward to the opportunity of training in end of life and palliative care.

I love the clients we work with. I’ve always had an empathy with elderly people; they have had such fascinating lives. I was talking to one client who had brought up seven children and held down three jobs at the same time! Another told me she had always used a ledger for her finances and had never been in debt as a result. I’ve taken a leaf out of her book and found she’s absolutely right!

This blog was written by Sheryl, a support worker with DoCare’s Yate team.

Getting to know our clients really well is something which is very important to us at DoCare.

I manage the South Gloucestershire team, and one thing I always stress to all our support staff is the need to take the time just to chat to people. Even if we are just paying a short visit, we can still talk and get to know people as we work, whether we’re helping with a meal, or shopping or assisting with personal care.

Recently, we were able to help a client in a different way. Sam has been with DoCare for more than three years. He’s a young man in his thirties and suffers from Ataxia, a neurological condition which affects his speech, hearing, mobility and coordination.

We all get on very well with Sam and so when we heard that his brother, Phil, was running the London Marathon in aid of Ataxia UK we wanted to help.

As a company, DoCare sponsored Phil and also encouraged members of staff to make donations. We even managed to get a story about Phil and Sam in the local paper.

We were delighted to hear that Phil successfully completed the London Marathon in a fantastic five hours and five minutes, and has so far raised more than £1,800 for Ataxia UK. Sam, his parents and sister were there to cheer Phil on.

If we hadn’t taken the time to get to know Sam, we wouldn’t have learned about his brother’s marathon effort and been able to make a contribution. More importantly, without getting to know Sam, we wouldn’t be able to respond effectively to his needs.

This blog was written by DoCare’s area manager for South Gloucestershire, Stacey Nash.

 

 

I’ve been with DoCare for seven years, helping to deliver homecare to elderly people throughout Gloucestershire, and have got to know many of the clients and their families well.

One often held misconception, when people are first introduced to homecare, is that once an elderly person starts down that path, it continues indefinitely – you sign on the dotted line and that’s it for life.

But this very often isn’t the case. We regularly review the level of support needed by our clients and in many cases the amount of support we need to provide can actually go down.

Take the example of Mary*, one of the clients supported by my team covering Dursley, Stroud and Gloucester. She had been in hospital and her daughter was concerned about how she would cope when she came out.

We visited Mary twice a day, while she recuperated and got back on her feet, helping her with her medication and with going up and down stairs. After a couple of months, as a result of our reablement work, we were no longer needed. But Mary and her daughter know they can call on us at any time, if they need us again.

We also had another client, Sheila*, who at one point had three or four visits a day. Her health has improved so much recently that now we are there only two or three times a week.

Of course, there are times when we need to increase our home visits and we can make this change very quickly – we’re very adaptable.

For example, when Stan’s* wife suddenly had to go into hospital, we quickly increased our visits from three a day to four, also increasing the length of each visit. We were able to help Stan with the every day tasks which his wife used to do, such as preparing meals. When she is out of hospital and well enough to cope, once again we can reduce the time we spend with the couple.

Whatever the level of support our clients need – whether it increases or decreases – our aim is the same, to make every day a better day.

This blog was written by Michelle Abbott, DoCare area manager for Dursley, Stroud and Gloucester.

If you have an elderly relative who you think would benefit from DoCare’s services, please get in touch. We cover 650 square miles and have teams based in Cirencester, Cheltenham, Dursley, Gloucester, Stroud and Yate.

* Not their real names

 

The care of elderly people is so much in the news these days that it can be very easy for the general public to lump all pensioners together, as if they were one homogenous group.

 Well, at DoCare, we don’t do that; my team looks on all the elderly people we care for in the Gloucestershire area as individuals. We have no ‘typical’ client, each person has their own needs and we respond to each person as an individual.

 So, in this blog I’d like to talk about just one client, Grace*, who is one of almost 50 people we help who is over 90 years old. It may, however, be better to describe Grace as 99 years and two months young! With all the enthusiasm of a young girl she told me, in a chat I had with her recently, that she was nearly 100!

 She spoke to me of her family, her grandchildren and some of her life experiences including an incident she had with her mother when she was younger. “We were walking down the lane when Mum shoved me into the ditch and jumped on top of me,” she said. “It probably saved my life as a German fighter pilot flew overhead, shooting at us. I was so angry with him. I could see his face as he flew past.”

 As Grace and I talked (and I’m sure Grace won’t mind me saying that she did almost all the talking!) I was reminded of the privilege of working with our clients to help them to stay living in their own homes.

 Grace’s house is like that of many of our clients. Friends and neighbours know who lives inside, but a casual passerby would have no idea of the history that lies within.

 Our team members all know Grace well and she enjoys their company. They help her to get up in the morning and with going to bed.

 With our support she can ensure her personal hygiene is taken care of and she wears the clothes she prefers. She is confident that the medication her doctor has prescribed is taken every day and at the right time. We are part of a wider team working with the community nurses, her friends and family to help her to stay living independently at home and for every day to be a better day.

 The Government has promised a White Paper on the funding of social care in the next few months. It will contain proposals on how the type of support that we at DoCare give to Grace should be paid for in the future. At the very highest political levels these tough, intractable issues are being tackled. Slowly we will see progress.

 In the meantime, while the debate goes on inWhitehall, I am proud to say we will “make every day a better day” for Grace and our clients throughout Gloucestershire.

There is so much in the media about homecare for the elderly that it’s not surprising people are confused about what is available.

Once you’ve decided to go down the route of homecare, selecting the best provider to suit your needs can be challenge.

So to help guide you through the maze, here are ten questions we would advise you to ask when choosing homecare for yourself or for a loved one.

1. Is the homecare provider contracted to Social Services? Whether you or your relative are entitled to funded support, such a contract is an endorsement of the level of quality provided.

2. Are staff trained and fully CRB checked? Ask for evidence of this.

3. Look at a company’s feedback from clients. Good testimonials for a homecare provider are another good sign.

4. What do their staff have to say about them and are you able to speak to staff if you want to? Any reputable homecare provider will be happy for you to chat to staff about the service.

5. How do you feel when you contact them? If an organisation has a good ethos and friendly, welcoming atmosphere that’s a positive indication of how you or your relative will be treated.

6. How flexible is the organisation? Are the staff prepared to work with you?

7. What is their approach to supporting you or your relative? It is vital that the support is centred to suit you and not their business needs.

8. How do the teams operate? Is there continuity of care for the clients?

9. Is the homecare provider a locally-run business, with strong links to the community health care professionals (such as doctors and district nurses). It’s not always the case, but a local provider is likely to have stronger relationships than a large, more anonymous, company.

10. Finally, ask yourself this question: from what you hear and see would you be happy for them to look after you or your relatives? Gut instinct can be a very good indicator.

The country really has been plunged into Arctic conditions this week, and the level 3 cold weather alert in place from the Met Office is evidence of just how chilly it is in the South West and the rest of the country.

We’re all too aware at DoCare of how much the cold weather can affect our clients, the majority of whom are elderly, and we guarantee to struggle through ice and snow to provide the very best service.

But everyone can do their bit for the elderly at this time, so here are a few DoCare tips:

• Why not pay a visit to an elderly neighbour to check up on them and ensure they have essential supplies
• Check to see whether their curtains are being drawn every day – if they aren’t, knock on the door and ask if all is well
• Is the milk being taken in? If not, pay them a visit
• Do you see their lights on in the evening? If you don’t, it may be a sign that something is wrong.

The DoCare team will be making 3,000 visits to clients next week, bringing peace of mind to them and their families. We’ll be making sure they are keeping well and have supplies at hand to stay warm and safe.

If you have an elderly relative who you think would benefit from DoCare’s services, please get in touch. We cover 650 square miles and have teams based in Cirencester, Cheltenham, Dursley, Gloucester, Stroud and Yate – visit www.docare.co.uk for more information.