To wonder if being a home carer is one of the worst jobs

[Idonotneedagarden]

And yet so important, yet they are paid less than minimum wage.

I have a lovely neighbour who is an agency carer - she is just the kind of person I would want if I was in the position to need someone: kind, empathetic, hard working, trustworthy. . She loves what she does and takes it seriously but her agency ( and she has tried more than one) does not seem to treat her with respect. A call centre based in Scotland directing her work in London, telling her to make a15 minute call that would take her 40 minutes to get to in the traffic, insisting that ‘I can see where it is on the map, it’s not far ‘ with zero understanding tha she can’t possibly do the call and get anywhere near her next one on time, without a teleporter !

Im with you op.
I did it several years ago.
The pay was terrible the hours were awful. Although I will always remember some of the clients I looked after fondly.
It is a fair amount of responsibility being a carer in terms of if you go out and someone looks unwell, do you call the gp/district nurse out? Is it that bad? What about if you sense something isn’t right, should you alert safeguarding. There are senior carers/managers available you could call them for support in situations like this.and they will help you contact the right person, but they are only paid pennies more for this and very busy also.
Then if there is an issue when you go out to someone, don’t forget you’ve only got a fifteen minute slot. So anything extra will put you over your time frame.
Then you will have families later that day that are complaining you are late. I can see their point if their family member has been in bed all morning waiting to get up, they have every right to be angry. But what can you do, leave the person you were with earlier who needed extra assistance because of an unforeseen issue, that wouldn’t be right either.

Most homecarers are caring, but with a short time frame, and Unforeseeable delays through the day, the time to give that personal touch, a bit of a chat with a lonely person etc was just none existent some days.

I’m also going to say, although I will get flamed for it that there is a few posters with idealistic views about carers and the rewarding job they do being ‘enough’.
Would any of you lot be happy with minimum wage, antisocial hours and the impact on your families, and would you like to be told your job satisfaction should be ‘enough’?
Whilst it might be the case for some carers that they stay for the love of their job/their clients, others are there because they have to be. You don’t need many qualifications, and carer is one of the only jobs some of them can get. Fact.
This annoys me, because I believe a skilled carer needs to be reasonably smart, kind and switched on/observant.
A better salary would mean standards could be raised and it would attract and retain the right kind of people in the job. Good carers are worth their weight on gold, they deserve a higher standard of living.

It’s easy for me to say this because of course where would the money come from? I would be in favour of raising taxes. We will all probably need care at some point, and I would rather my loved ones/I were cared for by staff of a high calibre than those who just see the job as a means to an end/it’s the only thing they can do.

OP, I agree with you.
I work as a live-in carer and I've met lots of visiting carers that way. Sometimes we talk about wages and conditions, and I don't understand how it's legal to pay so little and demand so much in a rich country in the 21st century.
The majority of carers I meet are foreigners like me, so at least we don't have to live in Britain on the absurd wages paid, but one native British visiting carer told me about leaving home at 7am, getting home at 9pm and being paid for four hours. When she protested, the agency told her she lacked experience. She asked them to look at her CV. They promoted her to a position where they paid for time between visits, but it meant they told her at 7am where and when she would work that day.
There is a lot of wage theft through not paying for time between visits, not paying for live-in carers' first and last days, clients who refuse to let the carer have the stipulated break and who call frequently during the night so that the carer never gets anywhere near eight consecutive hours' rest, but gets paid for an eight-hour day at minimum wage. Oh, and paying visiting carers 35p a mile for to use their own car, then asking them to pick other staff off and drop them off.
As for competition for staff, agencies advertise in Australia, South Africa and eastern and southern Europe to get staff who will work seven days a week for 450 pounds and not complain about anything.
There's a lot of emotional work to do, being kind and diplomatic, but not patronising, to people who are in a difficult situation that is often unlikely to improve. They can be verbally abusive and you like it or lump it. They can be physically abusive and you have to make no end of fuss to have it recognised.
And someone here on this forum thinks you should feel privileged!

Have you thought about supported living OP? That might be more your cup of tea, full shifts with no split calls.

I agree with you OP, I could never do the job. I am squeamish about bodily functions and don't like the idea of touching strangers, so it really would be the job from hell, for me. From this thread, clearly others find it rewarding, which is just as well. I'd far rather be paid a lot more money to work in a clean, quiet office - each to their own.

Totally agree with you op. Council out contract to private companies here, 15 minute calls are the norm as are split shifts, no sick pay etc.

Most of the care companies in my local area have a high staff turnover and most members of staff don't have a good word to say about their agencies.

Don't know why people are getting shitty with you op.

Someone here on this forum thinks you should feel privileged

Yes, hello, that would be me 🙋🏼‍♀️ nobody is forcing the OP to work in care. Nobody is forcing her to work for a shit agency. It’s so sad that there are vulnerable people out there being ‘looked after’ by carers who resent them. I adore my clients and if I don’t get on with anyone I meet, I will ask that I don’t visit them again.

Actually I do feel privileged and think OP needs a different job. Not the same as dictating how they should feel!

Yes I’m an arsehole because I understand the correlation between food and obesity and believe everyone deserves a bloody cooked meal a day!

That woman should have had someone in with her near on full time. She instead got nothing but a pile of food and a rushed pad change.

Not acceptable.

At all.

Some elderly pay for private carers themselves and is nothing to do with the council nor commissioned by them.

@rosiegold0 I think you've hit the nail on the head.

I am a carer although no longer in a community setting. I worked for a national well known agency who bid for council and private clients.

I left when they started to include the equivalent of your holiday pay into their hourly rate, which you had to save yourself if you wanted time off. No Sick Pay. You had to pay for uniforms and disclosure checks. £8.45p/h paid by the minute. You weren't paid if a call ran over. Support from senior staff non existent. Office staff hounded carers constantly, including calling me whilst I was sitting in a funeral car despite knowing why I was off. Ridiculous shifts. Lack of training for inexperienced or new staff.

I could go on. It was and is a disgrace and sadly not uncommon. I had clients I could not stand, not everyone who needs care are nice. I still done their calls to the best of my ability. I was assaulted and groped on numerous occasions by male clients.

I love working in care but that job did not represent what care is about. It was all about profit. I remember many clients fondly and I was sad to leave them but the company made it almost impossible to work in the community any longer without having a breakdown.

Captincabinets is is quite literally a shitty job come on now. Who would choose it. That coming from a nurse. Thank God I've climbed the ladder and away from the bedside now. Would never go back