To think home care is an absolute nightmare?

[Stuffedcrustpizza1]

I’ve worked in a nursing home before but this is something else.
I’ve had one day of shadowing, and then that’s it, out on my own to calls.

I walk but calls are no more than 15 minutes walk apart. Even if I power walk, it’s an issue.

My first call was at 7am, that was supposed to be 30 minutes and then another call directly after for 30 minutes, even though it takes 10 minutes to walk there.

Both calls went over 30 minutes, I need to be more firm and just go, but one kept saying she was frightened then another lady kept asking me to do extra things, so it was more like 45 minutes for both.

Then a lady didn’t answer, so that delayed me. I then had to wait 2 hours at a 30 minute call for an ambulance to arrive for a lady that had fallen over, so that meant I had to phone on call and cancel 2 of my calls, I bet they and their families were not happy at all with me.

7 hours nearly without using the toilet. Hopefully I’ll get more used to it over time, you feel like each call is so rushed and that you can’t give the adequate care.

Anyone else done this job or had experience of home carers?

I know a few people who’ve done this job and all of them jacked it in within a few months maximum. Not due to the clients or the actual job itself but the timings of the visits were impossible. Such a shame that there is a huge turnover of staff for these jobs (at least where I live) as that can’t be good for the people they’re taking care of and it is not a cheap service by any stretch. I hope you find a way to make it work for you OP but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t.

Thank you. They do appear to be very short staffed and I can imagine that’s part of it. The lady I was shadowing said they always ring people up asking them to work on days off or holidays.

It’s a shame because I think I could really like it and I prefer working on my own, the only problem is the unrealistic timings.

They are constantly recruiting too.

Could you work for yourself and cut out the middle man?

You need a bike or learn to drive but most of all you need to work for a decent company!!
There are some out there
Look for the ones that do a minimum of 1 hour calls...

Sadly this is very common with home care agencies. Never enough time for the basics to be done let alone anything more. No pay between clients and never enough time to get from a to b. Profit before care.

I quit and set up in my own. I charge less per hour than the agencies do. But earn more per hour than I did working for them. I provide better non rushed care. The same face day to day. 2 years down the line I'm so much happier.

I worked briefly for a home care company. Left due to personal reasons. They would only accept clients with a minimum booking of an hour if I remember rightly, as they said that anything less than that wasn’t enough to give clients the time they needed/deserved. They also allowed travel time in between appointments but they didn’t pay much for travel expenses. There was a 3 day training course before I started which covered first aid, health and safety and procedures etc. I didn’t feel like a had enough time to get to know someone before I was left to it but I suppose they don’t have enough time to let you do that, you have to hit the ground running. Doesn’t sound like the company you work for have thought things through with your scheduling that’s for sure.

I left homecare about 6 years after spending most of my working life doing it in some way or another. The best place I worked at was for a social services run team but caring for adults with learning disabilities in the community, lots of allocated time and no rushing. I was assaulted a few times doing that job but thankfully it was never too serious and the team I worked for were superb in looking after their staff.
Worst place I worked was my last job, again social services but this time elderly or frail care. It was everything the op and @BrilloPaddy have described and more. Exceptionally poor training, awful lone worker policy / check ins, expected to keep work phones on at all times, awful split shifts - so I worked from 7am-10am, 12.30-2.30pm and then 4pm - 7pm but all about 15miles from home so I spent my entire day sitting in supermarket car parks as I couldn't afford to spend the fuel driving home and back again. As I had no children then I got the majority of the weekends, I was only contracted to work 16hrs a week but I normally ended up doing 30+ as they were so short staffed, we had to attend team meetings on our days off and at one point were banned from taking holidays as they were so short staffed and 'no-one was offering to work on their days off'. I stuck it out for 2yrs until one day I'd been at a clients house for 15 mins 'extra'. He was allocated a 45 min call but most other carers were completing it in 20-30mins so I was phoned and the duty senior demanded to know why I was there so much longer. I explained that the gentleman had been having a tough morning with his condition and was upset so I made him his breakfast and a cup of tea and we chatted for 15 mins. I was yelled at for 'chatting' as it wasn't my job to be wasting time chatting and his wife should be getting his food etc and if the social worker didn't now want to lower his calls to 20mins a day then it was all my fault and i'd be on a warning. That was it..I went home and wrote my resignation and handed it in the next day and I now work in admin and love my job. I know exactly when I'll start and finish and have a lovely team around me all day plus I've got a clean loo available whenever I need it.
I loved working in homecare and will remember most of the people I met for probably the rest of my life as the stories of their lives were wonderful to listen to but I could never return as the standards of care for the staff are in the most deplorable

It’s a nightmare for the overworked, underpaid carers, and it’s a nightmare for those who need home care. My mother needed it, and it was a struggle for all of us.

They really need to sort out this crappy, inadequate system, got all concerned, but the government seem totally uninterested in doing so.

I’d love to know how to go about setting up my own care services. That sounds great.

@vdbfamily

No way should a wash, dress and breakfast slot be less than 45-60 minutes. That is madness.

30 minutes is not enough for the vast majority of people, but if they are funded then it’s all social services are willing to pay for. In that time you may need to help that person wash, dress, make their bed, empty a commode, make their breakfast, wash up, make and leave drinks and administer their medications.

When I first started in care about 16 years ago it was much better. The service was better funded so the funding criteria wasn’t as strict and you’d have quite a few pretty independent people who didn’t have as high needs. You could catch up some time then, not the case when I left 2.5 years ago. There were also more carers so you weren’t jam packed with visits back to back.

These days it’s an absolute nightmare. People see caring as a low skilled job (which I actually don’t agree with at all) and think they should be paid low wages accordingly. Unfortunately they fail to see the bigger picture. Carers are the backbone of healthcare. Decreasing numbers of carers leads to bed blocking in hospitals, more hospital admissions, more strain on nhs services in general. We need to pay carers well and treat them fairly so that they want to stay in the profession. With a bit more funding and better terms and conditions it could actually be a very nice very flexible job for many people. Such a shame.

I certainly can’t get washed, dressed breakfast and make my bed etc in 30 minutes unless I go at real speed, but it’s not supposed to be a rushed experience for them.

When someone is saying, I’m scared, please don’t leave, it feels awful just walking out.

@fourminutestosavetheworld

Are customers trying to save money by booking one carer, or a 30 min slot for support that takes longer? Apologies if I'm showing appalling ignorance. No experience but interested.

Yes, if by “customer” you mean local authorities. The person being cared for has no say. It’s better than it was - at one time many people were getting 15min visits

It's what happens with profit driven ideals.
It's scandalous and we will regret the stripping of services and funding.

Especially over lock down I've noticed the carers visiting our street (several elderly or ill neighbours) mostly short, harassed visits with frantic PPE changes in the boot.
Such a hard, undervalued job.

My dad had care last year. It was a nightmare, waiting around, people not turning up at all, rushing food down him, no PPE, etc. But I understood entirely why it was happening - appointments backed against each other, clients falling and waiting for ambulances, knock on effects of over running. Whenever something went askew, the carers encouraged us to complain to the agency. I think they wanted the agency to see how unsustainable the schedule was. Or unfortunately it could be a case of the loudest complainers are listened to...

@Dobbyafreeelf what kind of qualifications so you need to do this?
I'm in oil and gas and need a career change and feel I need to do something to help others and would also like to be self employed.
what is your hourly rate if you don't mind me asking?

[quote Horehound]@Dobbyafreeelf what kind of qualifications so you need to do this?
I'm in oil and gas and need a career change and feel I need to do something to help others and would also like to be self employed.
what is your hourly rate if you don't mind me asking?[/quote]
You need a valid DBS and insurance. But in reality I think you should have at least some experience working in a care environment first.
You also should have an up to date first aid certificate.
For people who require hoisting or any form of manual handling. you will need a manual handling certificate too.

I had done all the training through previous employers but will have to update them from time to time.

My insurance costs me around £13 a month and I charge upwards of £15 per hour depending on the situation.

My afternoon calls have been fine, I’ve even been early for most, just been a bit more organised I think. Not sure how bedtime ones will be though..

Since covid, I’ve changed work to primarily care (did it alongside a teaching position previously).

It is one of the hardest, yet most undervalued jobs ever. Working to targets and getting everything done, remaining calm and compassionate yet, efficient and professional. A lot of bodily fluids (the area I struggle with a bit unfortunately as am slightly squeamish!). No pay between calls, the pressure to work on your day off (a call at 5am), although the agency can cancel a call/change your hours at a moment’s notice.

I’m so fed up of society undervaluing carers and service users’ families complaining about everything and anything. They have no idea. Although many of us won’t leave as most of us really do care about the service users, what if even more left the industry? Who really wants to be up at the crack of dawn wiping up poo? Who will change grandad’s catheter? Who will wash granny and change her incontinence pad?

More respect, recognition and better training and pay wouldn’t go amiss.

This is why I will always use direct payments. Agencies take the hand

@Flawedperfection

Since covid, I’ve changed work to primarily care (did it alongside a teaching position previously).

It is one of the hardest, yet most undervalued jobs ever. Working to targets and getting everything done, remaining calm and compassionate yet, efficient and professional. A lot of bodily fluids (the area I struggle with a bit unfortunately as am slightly squeamish!). No pay between calls, the pressure to work on your day off (a call at 5am), although the agency can cancel a call/change your hours at a moment’s notice.

I’m so fed up of society undervaluing carers and service users’ families complaining about everything and anything. They have no idea. Although many of us won’t leave as most of us really do care about the service users, what if even more left the industry? Who really wants to be up at the crack of dawn wiping up poo? Who will change grandad’s catheter? Who will wash granny and change her incontinence pad?

More respect, recognition and better training and pay wouldn’t go amiss.

I couldn't agree with you more. I love my job but hate the way our profession is treated. In fact we are not even recognised as a profession or professionals! I had hoped in a post covid world people would start to value what we did a little more but sadly this doesn't seem to be the case. I'm tired of being asked when I'm going to get a real job. I'm tired of just having enough money to live each month and never ever having a holiday. But if we don't stick it out then who is going to do it?

You’re not wrong, @Dobbyafreeelf. I’m currently applying for activity coordinator position as will still be in a person-centered role, but will get the more ‘fun’ side of care, will not be on a zero hours contact, will have less back-breaking episodes and have the lovely hours of around 9-3 each day. Bliss, but will probably still do some ad hoc hours for my old agency who are quite pleasant to work for. I feel I’d be suited for Occupational Therapist but as a singleton who is NOT on the property ladder, couldn’t afford the course fees or training for 2 x years (post grad).

It's the same with care at home n a local authority so it's not always about profit . The problem is that the demand is increasing but the funding isn't, welcome to the world of social care

I did this for a summer while the preschool I worked at was closed. I hated it, and experienced lots of the same as you did. Trying to bath, dress and prepare for Mrs Jones from 10.15-11.15 then supposedly arrive at Mrs Clark at 11.15. When I pointed out that this was impossible I was told by the manager that my 15 minute break could be used as a ‘cushion time.’ Add to that constant harassment on my time off as I only worked 12 hours, so the managers would ring me asking me to ‘just pop’ to calls. If I refused they’d sadly say oh no don’t know what we’ll do, who will go to see Mrs Jones? I would just shrug and say I guess you will need to do it if you’re on call.

I wouldn’t do it again although I applaud those who do. Like childcare, it’s a difficult and massively important job that just gets no respect.