What are the most challenging aspects of working in a care home?

Agree with all the above. I've worked for the same company for 20+ years. It's hard work but can be rewarding with the residents. Don't see my manager much as I work nights and they come in after a leave.

Seeing people screaming in mental and physical agony. Knowing that their family dump them and seldom see them, then criticise you for not being able to work miracles.

Short staffing can be challenging as you're still expected to get through the same amount of work. Some workers don't work very hard and will leave things deliberately for the next shift.

The work can be physically challenging as human beings are generally quite heavy and disabilities can make limbs stiff and contracted so you need to be careful. Moving and handling equipment is usually available though. You will take half an hour to wash someone and change the bed with them in it then they'll pee/poop/dressing comes off and you'll have to start over again. You need lots of patience and a sense of humour.

Other staff members can be a pain or difficult to work with. It's rare that you get a shift with more than one or two of these people.

Relatives can be very challenging in their expectations and don't seem to realise or care about how many people you have to care for. You will be insulted on a regular basis by residents, relatives and other staff. You have to be able to shrug things off. It's usually not meant personally.

The work is repetitive and you can feel as though you're on a treadmill. No two days are the same though.

You will encounter bodily fluids and bodily presentations you never thought were possible. You will learn that death definitely isn't the worst thing that can happen to someone. You will laugh some days and feel like crying other days. You will often live on biscuits, coffee and paracetamol. Your feet will get sore. You'll need hot baths at home.

You have to complete training almost constantly. Some of it is ridiculous and it is repetitive. You generally do it with workbooks or perhaps on a computer if you're lucky.

You will receive phonecalls at crazy hours to do extra shifts. The manager will emotionally blackmail you. You will receive no thanks. If you agree to extra shifts they will call you even more. Get a dumbphone with its own number rather than using your main phone. That way you'll know it's work contacting you, because they won't necessarily phone you using the office phone (sneaky). You will have to work Christmas and New Year. You will have to work those with the understanding that the Manager's favourites will mysteriously always get them off regardless of their status or position.

I did this work years ago. Along with everything people have said about unrealistic workloads, for me, the faeces was the worst bit. I can't believe some of the stuff I used to have to deal with if I'm honest.

They were some great aspects about the job and I loved the residents, but the personal care element could be pretty hard going.

I am nursing as a home visitor for the elderly. I am not in England, so my role is different. What I really find mentally challenging is the high amount of people living alone in apartments with dementia. They don't go out, they sit there alone, often in darkness, in their own waste (they often remove their incontinence articles) etc for hours til we bring medicine, change them and feed them. It is actually really horrible but the health-system supports people staying in their own homes as long as possible.

Depends on lot on the management, I know several carers who work at one specific place and some have 10 years there, they love it, very caring atmosphere for the staff as well as residents - I go over (work) and get met with such lovely greetings and the staff are supported by us (chaplain). The same cannot be said about the other high needs care home we support, less said the better about what I’ve heard confidentially

Long hours, management expecting you cover staff absences and at very short notice, rigid holiday protocols, short staffing, poor training, being just a number to the owners - often no paid breaks, sick pay, staff rooms too tiny for people to use, no changing facilities/lockers etc etc. very little thanks.
can also be quite a cliquey and bitchy atmosphere.

Hard physical work ,lots of balancing getting everyone sorted in time frame you have and still allowing residents time to participate in whats happening.
Can be the most wonderful job you're every likely to do and the most soul destroying all in the same shift .However certainly give it a go but make sure you get proper training in moving and handling ,hygiene infection control and managing behaviours and many more tbh .

Hard work. More hard work. Low pay. Not a lot of thank you.
Some people can and some can't.
You need to try it out I guess.

The challenging bits:
The long shifts.
Delivering personal care to someone who doesn't want it and/or doesn't understand why you're trying to help them.
Getting emotionally attached to residents and attending more funerals than you ever thought you'd attend.
Feeling emotionally detached and then feeling guilty when you're burnt out.
The sheer amount of paperwork.
The inconsistencies of CQC vs Council inspections.
Families who never gave a single shit crawling out of the woodwork when someone is on end of life and acting like their presence is God's gift to the resident.
Staff not pulling their weight.
Residents with dementia getting younger (and stronger!).
Residents moving into care with increased needs but we still have the same resources.
Care Support Work being sneered at by ignorant snobs, despite the fact that we're the ones their relatives turn to for comfort.
The physical aspects of being on your feet 12 hours per shift.

But! Each and every single day in care, you make a difference. A genuine, positive difference on someone's life.

It is incredibly hard, and you have to be a grafter and to be able to roll with the punches (sometimes literally...) but it's incredibly rewarding.

Expectations from management that you will cover when short staffed
Expectations to get a certain number of residents up, washed and dressed in a short space of time
Behaviours from residents with dementia can include being hit, spat at, scratched