To ask would you take a job in a care home right now?

[Tootsey11]

Just that really, would you go and work I a care home at the moment. I was a self employed cleaner. No work since March, am thinking of taking a job in the kitchen of a care home. Would you?

No way.

No OP I wouldn't. Have you looked for jobs in supermarkets or fast food restaurants instead? They seem to be recruiting staff.

Nothing going anywhere else within 30 mile range only care home work.

Absolutely not!

I work front line NHS and have a family member that works in a care home and by comparing experiences feel confident that many are not being diligent enough at all.

My relative is at significantly higher risk daily than I am, flimsy risk assessments to determine staff risk and vulnerability, lacking PPE and lack of guidance on how to effectively wear the masks. I've literally had to explain how to get an effective seal on the mask to my relative and that if they can't do that then they need to flag it up. More than half of the residents are Covid positive and so are several staff members.

Even if you were not working directly with residents then you'll likely be within two meters of staff that are not adequately protected, that are worked very hard and may inadvertently contaminate the environment.

If this was my only way to keep a roof over my head and food on the table I'd do it, if there is any alternative I would take that instead.

No. I am very grateful and admire those who do especially as their wage is under paid.
I will consider some sort of community work paid or voluntary when the virus settles.

If you need the money and you are generally healthy then yes.

@Tootsey11
I would risk assess the situation.

1. Do you have any income at the moment?
2. If yes, it is sufficient for at least the next 3-4 months?
3. If not, could you actually work in a care home?

• do you have one nearby?
• do you have serious / unmanaged underlying health conditions?

1. Do you live alone? / Would you risk anyone else at home?
2. How likely you could get any other jobs just as easily / quickly?

• at the end of the day, it is down to money. If you dont have money / income, you need to work. Looking at the job market ... healthcare / social care is something where you could easily get a job!

Check what PPE they have in place, however working in the kitchen is likely to have the smallest exposure to elderly. I would also work on my fitness / immune system level.

Good luck OP! whatever decision you go with.

Yes and I have because they needed staff and I need the money.

I wouldn’t not because of the risk to myself but I’d worry about infecting the residents.

I wouldn't take a job in a care home ever.

I do not have the right personality to do that job.

Not everyone is cut out for work of that nature.

If you do feel that you'd make a good carer then yes you should go for it if you are not in a vulnerable/high risk category, none of your household members are either.

Worked in care for years. Done it all, hospitals, support work, elderly care etc. Was looking at job site the other day and saw a cpl of jobs I’d normally go for but then just thought, yuck, no way.

I am very very laid back about Corona and germs in general but this has even got me thinking, no thank you, not for those wages.

This will be a HUGE problem. Care was already on its knees in terms of staff. I don’t think people realise what a big problem this is going to be!

@thighmageddon - I think the OP was contemplating having a job in the kitchen of a care home. Jobs there are quite different to actually being a carer. A lot less personal hygiene or manual handling (not to mention answering to pagers!). It is more like hospitality just with the same guests (residents)

I worked in the kitchen of a care home for a year, many years ago. In all that time I didn't get close to one resident. I'd lay the tables before they all came in, then clear up after they'd gone. So that type of job, yes I would do it now. Being an actual carer? No.

Oh letmethink I think I missed that bit.

I've got a woolly head from hay fever induced sinus issues, I'm selective reading

Yes but I work in a care home-direct patient contact. Kitchen staff rarely (if ever) come on the units. It really depends on the home and its practices--good infection control, PPE, not mixing staff between the units, etc.
Apply and ask them about their current practices--do kitchen staff gone on the units(floors)?

@Thighmageddon - sounds awful! I hope you get better soon!
(hayfever is terrible, especially in the wind we have here (SE UK), it goes all over the place! )

I've got a woolly head from hay fever induced sinus issues,

Nails shut Thighmageddon’s door and paints with large red X, just in case.

Not a chance in hell.

I have neither the skills, nor the empathy, nor the patience for any sort of caring work, and that is before even considering the health & safety issues around covid.

I have enormous respect for people who do this sort of work for so little pay, because I know it is something I could never do.

I used to work in a home but as a carer and I would take the kitchen job if I had to. From my experience there was virtually no contact between kitchen staff and residents and you should be able to maintain appropriate hygiene standards and distancing as much as possible between the care staff and be extra careful when walking through the home to get to and from the kitchen. It's risky of course but if you have no other option OP I would consider it. Good luck!

On behalf of all of all of us who have loved ones in care homes, please do consider it. Yes, the virus is in many homes and yes, carers have become ill and even died but there is still a huge need for care and all the other support services.

Yes. I wouldn't want to jump into being a carer, just because although training is woeful at the best of times (not the staffs fault), it would be very, very much in the deep end without a paddle now. In the kitchen though if I needed a job and felt like it was something I'd be able to do, then yep. Perhaps less so if living with vulnerable people, and for the sake of the residents I would view days off as just going out if absolutely necessary to try and reduce the chance of bringing it in.

I work in a care home and now we have the kitchen cut off from the rest of the home. Only the cook and the kitchen helper are allowed in there, the door is locked so no one can wander in and when serving meals we have a table across the doorway to stop anyone going in or out. Masks and aprons are worn for food service and dirty dishes are passed over to the kitchen where normally staff would take them to the back for washing.
The kitchen are more at risk from the delivery people who bring the food and they aren't allowed in anymore either. All left next to the kitchen door.

Putting CV aside do you want to work with the elderly op?
I've worked in a nursing home and feel annoyed at people who just did it because they needed the money and had no interest or compassion towards the residents. Not having a go at you op but you've at least got to want to work with the elderly. It's hard, relentless work. You will be constantly helping them wash, dress, eat and go to the toilet. The call bells go continuously. It's exhausting but very rewarding if you really want to do it.

Op won’t be working as a carer but in the kitchen.

Silly me should have read the op post properly ok so in the kitchen then which will mean minimal contact with the residents in theory