Case study taken September 2023
Could you tell us about your experience with the Herts Good Care service?
The whole process was very smooth. I was initially asked some questions about myself and the hours I could work, within minutes of passing on this information I got a call for an interview for the next day!
How did you start a career in care and what initially attracted you to the sector?
I took health and social care at college, and I knew I wanted to do something within social or health care. As part of the course, we were required to do some work experience where I was able to learn the key responsibilities of a support worker. From there, I worked out that the adult social care sector was where I wanted to continue my career.
Could you give some details about your current job role and what it involves?
On a usual working day, we will start with a small team meeting with everyone who is on shift. During this time, we will discuss what happened on the previous day and raise any concerns we may have. Once the meeting is finished, I will go out to support people within the community. The type of care a person requires can vary, it could be administering them their medicines, providing personal support, or helping them with their laundry. However, we always get them involved with whichever task we are doing to help promote independence. It’s never just us doing everything for them.
Do you think the training that you have completed in your care career so far has helped within your current position?
Yes, a lot of the training has enabled me to understand more about my role and what my responsibilities are. In addition, it’s helped guide me on how best to support people when working within this industry.
What training have you completed in your care career so far?
I have done so many courses, it would be very hard to list them all! A few I have done include food safety, elevator safety, first aid, autism support and challenges as well as customer experience training which I have completed recently.
What support have you received from your line manager and team?
My manager has been very supportive. If I have ever had any issues or am unsure about anything he will talk to me about it or support me in learning how to do it. This has really helped with my confidence within my role and how to handle certain tasks.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I really enjoy spending time with everyone and helping them out because I know that they need my support with certain things. It’s a nice feeling knowing you are the person who is always there for them, for whatever reason that should be.
What do you find the most challenging part of your job?
When a person you support has challenging behaviour it can be quite difficult to take control of the situation. However, through my training and experience I have learnt that you just need to give them some time to calm down and not try to be too involved when it happens. You do have to learn to be patient so that the person you support has time to rewind and digest everything that has happened on their own and in their own time.
What are your hours of work and how does this fit around your personal life?
Whilst I was attending college, I worked 16 hours week. Since finishing college, I have been able to increase my hours to 32 hours a week. I usually work on the weekdays but will sometimes do shifts on the weekends. I find that working in this role is very flexible and has fitted in well with my lifestyle.
In your day-to-day role, how do you enable clients to live as independently as possible?
The most important thing is to give them choices, not to do everything for them. They need to feel like they have control over what they want to do. For example, what they wish to eat each day and the activities they wish to do.
What would you say to someone considering a career in care?
I would tell them to stick with it because it does seem hard at the start as there are a lot of things you might not understand how to do. However, once you start training and learning about the support a person requires and how their everyday life looks, it does become a lot easier. It is a very enjoyable career.
Would you like to progress in your career? If so, what would you like to do next?
As I have only been working in the industry for a year, I am still unsure what I would like to do next. However, I definitely want to stay in this industry and enhance my skillset by attending more training.
Would you recommend the Herts Good Care Service to any of your friends or family?
Definitely! Everything was so smooth, and the team made me feel at complete ease answering any questions I had.