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Hello everyone, my name is Sarah and I’m the Helping Hands Live-in Care Manager for the East Midlands, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire. I am lucky enough to have lived in the Midlands all my life and I regularly keep up with friends throughout this lovely part of the country. |
My Qualifications
I joined Helping Hands about 6 months ago; before then I worked in occupational health recruitment where I matched candidates to clients based on their care needs. In addition to my Degree in Psychology, I have completed or am undergoing the following training:
- Child Protection Legislation Training
- Investigation & Disciplinary Training
- Qualified First Aider
- In Year 1 of a Nursing Degree (General – including core care areas - Moving and Handling, First aid)
My Experience with Elderly Care
I have clients who live with Dementia, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Spinal injuries. The difference that Live-in Care can make in Dementia care is amazing. One of the families I look after was considering a Care Home for their mum, who is in her late 70’s. Having investigated various Care Home and Nursing Home options, they decided to trial Live-in Care for a while. It didn’t take them long to all agree that a Care Home would have taken their mum down a slippery slope; she wouldn’t have been happy. She retains her independence and is comfortable in her own surroundings – mum and the family couldn’t be happier.
Younger Persons Care
Sometimes dealing with the under 65’s can present difficult situations as younger people can get frustrated with their conditions. As a Live-in Care Manager, I have to be very understanding and try to find a way to accommodate all of our clients’ needs. The best way to achieve this is by understanding their personal situation, their specific care needs and treating them as the individual that they are.
One of my clients has suffered with MS for 3 years and Helping Hands has been providing care from day one. Unfortunately his condition has gone down hill rapidly; he now has a PEG feeding tube fitted, is completely immobile and only has use of one arm. But having a Live-in Carer has enabled him to maintain some of his independence; he loves shopping and going to the pub!
His care package has changed dramatically over the years, but at no point has this provided him or his family with a problem or interrupted his lifestyle or routine. Helping Hands changed his Carer as his requirements changed adding new or different skill sets to his care package as and when required.
Job satisfaction
Satisfaction – that is the word! I love the fact that I can make a difference to peoples’ quality of life; not just the client, but the lives of the extended family. I really enjoy getting out and about and meeting with our Carers; they are the people who are on the front line everyday and seeing the wonderful work they do makes me very proud.
One particularly satisfying care package is for an elderly man who is very frail; he has had the same carer for 2 ½ years and he’s very attached to her. For him, it’s the little things that make the difference! He likes his tea made in a certain way and loves traditional English food. His Carer makes the best Shepherd’s Pie…so I’m told. Having served in the Navy, he is a man of great pride and dignity and his Carer is well aware of how important these things are to him and his generation. The family has complete peace of mind and comment that our feedback forms aren’t big enough to tell us all the wonderful things about our Carer and our home care service.
Tell us about your Carers
One of the Live-in Carers that I work with was responsible for the care of a gentleman who lived with his wife. Unfortunately he passed away late last year. The connection that the wife made with our Carer is so strong, that even though she isn’t ill and doesn’t require care, she said she would be very unhappy if the Carer (who was like a close family member) was to leave. The companionship of the Carer meant the world to her and continues today.
A Bit about me
I’m very much a social person who loves being out and about. I’m quite spontaneous and I LOVE dancing, having been a salsa dancer earlier in my life! My friends and family describe me as caring, open, friendly, kind and warm hearted, which is all very kind!
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