Emma Bailey started care work when she was just 17, dealing with autistic patients. Now, at the age of 28, she has done nearly every role possible in care and now splits her time between office work and time on the field as a Field Care Supervisor, a role she has been in for 6 or 7 months.
She wipes her tired eyes and says a typical shift on the field starts at 6am, meaning a 5.30am start. She will then work solidly until 2:00 and normally get a break between 2:00 and 4:00, to accommodate the client’s meals.
A typical day sees about 20 clients, 10 in the morning and lunch and 10 in the evening.
The nature of the care depends on the capability of the patient. You have single rounds, caring for more capable clients on a one-on-one basis, and double up rounds, when two people visit the home of a client who requires more physical work. Emma is often chosen for these.
“Your morning calls are your heaviest calls and your hardest ones”
Emma repeated these words multiple times.
Morning calls involve a lot of personal care. This is the time when a client gets washed, dried, creamed and dressed ready for their day. Emma was on a double up so this involved hoisting the client out of bed.
Now comes a half an hour break between morning and lunch calls before repeating it all over again
Emma’s domiciliary care is mainly singles with elderly dementia patients who would rather stay home. However, she sees a variety of capabilities and conditions.
For example, a lady on her rota at the age of 40 with MS who requires a different kind of care, involving hoists and assisted movement.
Care for her regular elderly patients focuses on medication, assuring they remember to take it and at the right time. For this reason, it is important for the carer to be on time.
“consistency is key in care”
Maureen every morning at 7, Derek at 8, Simon at 8.30, Monday to Saturday, like clockwork.
In her wide experience of care, Emma has also been co-ordinator. This insight allows her to tell me why, subject to their days off, carers are put on the same round as much as possible.
Consistency is important for client and carer alike.
If you’re half an hour late they panic for you. ‘Where have you been?’, ‘my care workers not here, they’re not going to come’ and as Emma put it, “who would want to see 10 different people a week?” These clients normally have 4 visits a day.
Carers learn it like the back of their hand. They know their client, where their meds are kept, everything about them.
Despite this, when I asked Emma how her day went there was a considerable pause as she got stuck in a thought and her mood dropped. “it goes well” she said slowly, with hesitation.
She revealed she is concerned by the number of covid positive patients she sees in the current circumstances, not just for fear of catching it herself but for fear of passing it along.
“I get worried going out on the road now”
I hear the anxiety in her voice as she speaks about having to overthink everything and feeling scared despite doing all she can to go about her job in the safest way possible.
In the current circumstances there is no difference between care homes and domiciliary care, the danger remains the same.
Emma says what really helps is her relationships with her clients.
Some clients are difficult, don’t think they want or need care, but most are just glad to see someone after sitting there all day every day on their own.
“It is a lovely feeling when they’re so happy to see you and they want you to stay, they start trying to look after you”
She smiles and laughs as she describes these moments before turning serious and sombre at the thought of causing them further risk of infection.
“They just don’t understand, bless them.”
Mental health is a massive hurdle. Dementia patients especially, are not coping very well. They’re physically changing. The spritely, happy person is now a lot thinner and dementia is getting worse.
One of Emma’s clients kept leaving his house because every Thursday he would go to the pub for lunch. We all know, since covid-19, pubs have closed but he would still do that walk. They would find him out on the road, confused.
“Every day he wakes up and he forgets” says Emma “How do you keep explaining to somebody that they can’t go out, that your family won’t be visiting?”
A lot of the clients were looking forward to seeing their family at Christmas and most had to stay at home on their own.
She sees the mental struggle more than the physical now and admits to feeling it herself.
It’s really hard for the elderly population, clients look awful at the moment.
Imagine being alone in the pandemic, mourning a loved one, your family can’t come around. This is reality for one of Emma’s clients. His wife died, he lives on his own, he is feeling very much alone, and he looks forward to seeing her every day.
“He’s lovely” she says smiling “He leaves us chocolate out every visit.”
The only consistent, stable thing in their lives is care but the pressure that people are under is rising.
The company is getting phone calls every day asking them to take packages and they’ve got no capacity.
“Still nobody’s got any raises or anything,” says Emma “NHS workers and care workers were still doing our jobs and actually more so putting ourselves at risk now.”
Emma attributes hard times with the anti-sociable life of a care worker. She revealed she quit a previous job because of the stress co-ordinating about 2000 hours a week. The amount of road work, working all weekend, every morning, every evening around a 9-5 job, with a lack of staff.
“There comes a point where a person breaks and I did break. I honestly, went a bit mental. I got no sleep, I got no social life.”
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