To be a little frustrated we have to wear masks whilst the families don’t

[Cinammonroll123]

In a part time home care job I have.

Often when I go into the homes, families are there and they never wear masks etc with their elderly or vulnerable relatives.
However we have to, I walked into a house the other day and the client’s entire family was there, not one of them had a mask yet I am expected to, I know this as we’ve had families report other carers who didn’t wear PPE.

It’s not a big deal in ltself wearing one for work, it’s just a bit annoying how they are so quick to go on about protecting their relatives yet wear nothing themselves

Because you are being paid to be there. They are family and are not being paid nor instructed by their employer.

I agree. I don't have carers but I always wear a mask and open windows if I have tradespeople in.

I wonder if the shitty attitude towards care workers will change when the reality of a lack of them starts to really bite and people are left trying to cope with their own relatives care and it starts to affect their lives in negative ways?

The OP doesn't want to wear a mask and is winging about it nothing more. I stand by what I said, it's pathetic.

@Knickynackynoo

The OP doesn't want to wear a mask and is winging about it nothing more. I stand by what I said, it's pathetic.

I see nothing in her original post to suggest she doesn't want to wear a mask? What's wrong, has something hit a nerve with what she's said?

@Knickynackynoo

The OP doesn't want to wear a mask and is winging about it nothing more. I stand by what I said, it's pathetic.

The OP has literally said she wears one, it's not about her wearing one, it's about family members not when she's there and the hypocrisy of expecting carers to protect their family members when they refuse to do so themselves, refuse to protect the carers by wearing one and thus by extension the other people she cares for.

But hey, doesn't matter what she said right? Only what you want to have a go about.

@Maverickess

I wonder if the shitty attitude towards care workers will change when the reality of a lack of them starts to really bite and people are left trying to cope with their own relatives care and it starts to affect their lives in negative ways?

One can hope.

Just in case there are care workers on here... I've seen your work first hand as a social worker and I can say with certainty that many of you have saved lives, made people happy, saved the country millions, saved families from dreadful situations and made my job much much easier.

It's one of the most undervalued jobs in society and underpaid as well.

I'm a social worker and do home visits. I do not expect people to wear a mask in their own home, abs if a family member is attending to support the visit I don't expect them to wear a mask, though they sometimes offer, and I tell them they are welcome to if it makes them comfortable.

What I would be taking issue with is a load of people in one room who don't need to be there. Surely if you're doing intimate personal care they should be leaving the room anyway? I'm quite comfortable asking excess family members to leave the room to reduce vivid risk and so we can concentrate. Just ask them to go somewhere else in the house, care isn't a spectator sport.

Why should a carer have to go into a house wearing a mask when the people in the house don't afford them the same courtesy. Is a carer not important, should they not also be protected?
We had instructions to follow when the sky engineer came, windows open, keep a distance etc, we also wore masks, it's just polite & showing consideration to someone else.

I read again OP's post to be sure, and she doesn't seem concerned at all about the risk towards herself, she's just miffed that she's expected to protect her customers, but the relatives aren't held to such standards.

That's of course quite a ridiculous false equivalence. Obviously someone paid to do a job can be contractually bound to follow specific rules, whereas there's no such contractual obligations when visiting relatives as a private individual. Comparing the two is absurd. It's like objecting that grandkids may get to hug their granny, but you're not allowed to...
As it occurred to you that, perhaps, the elderly in your care may want to make the most of the time they've got left, and prefer to see the faces of their relatives, and talk to them unhindered?

I get you op
My dc is in a care home, when I visit i have to wear a mask, even when i am in a room alone with her. Yet when she comes home I don't.
Its an odd one.
Thank you for doing the job you do.

It is not about the OP not wanting to wear a mask, she IS wearing PPE… she is expressing some frustration about not being afforded the same level of respect, consideration and protection in return. She is a human as susceptible as anyone to disease/illness as well as an employee

Everyone I know is doing LFTs before they go and visit elderly or vulnerable family, this family probably did the same.

I wrote a long piece to articulate my feelings. Then I realised it boiled down to one thing: some people are selfish twats.

I deleted the rest.

When you are in the house, I think everyone should be wearing a mask. It protects others more than the mask wearer.

@RobotValkyrie

I read again OP's post to be sure, and she doesn't seem concerned at all about the risk towards herself, she's just miffed that she's expected to protect her customers, but the relatives aren't held to such standards.

That's of course quite a ridiculous false equivalence. Obviously someone paid to do a job can be contractually bound to follow specific rules, whereas there's no such contractual obligations when visiting relatives as a private individual. Comparing the two is absurd. It's like objecting that grandkids may get to hug their granny, but you're not allowed to...
As it occurred to you that, perhaps, the elderly in your care may want to make the most of the time they've got left, and prefer to see the faces of their relatives, and talk to them unhindered?

I don't think it's a false equivalence, nor ridiculous when all through the discussions about social care, workers, clients and policies etc the words 'protecting the vulnerable' and how that translates to duty of care to various organisations and individuals, have been used repeatedly.

Either it's about protecting the vulnerable, truly, or it's about expecting a certain set of workers to shut up and do as they're told and dismissing their concerns as ridiculous - which in my experience is rife in social care, and was before covid. Protecting the vulnerable, and more specifically those receiving paid for care, requires more than vaccination and PPE for care workers, it requires cooperation and support from everyone in their lives either directly or indirectly. The impact is not just on the individual that is recieving care at that particular time, but on the care worker, their other clients and families, their co-workers and their own families. It's not about relatives being held to the same standards, or about work policies around PPE, it's about protecting people isn't it? Isn't that the whole idea behind the carers wearing it in the first place?

As for your last paragraph about communication being unhindered, care visits are a proportion of the day, sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes 90, longer visits usually entail personal care which should be done in private anyway (bearing in mind the wishes of the person receiving the care) there's enough time in a day to have their unhindered communication around care visits and to wear a mask while the carer is present, unless of course you just don't care about the possible knock on effects to everyone else involved.

That's the real problem in social care, the fact that care workers are written off, ignored and mocked when they have issues and concerns - and then blamed for the concequences.

I’m surprised visitors aren’t forced to wear masks too now. Feels like they should be.

You may be unlucky in having awkward client families, or maybe unlucky that some of your colleagues are a bit lax, some folk love to complain, some need to do so.
To be honest a company caring for a relative whilst there were many lovely carers there were also difficulties with a vast array of things, due mainly to management IMO, but also a couple of carers. I found when I raised issues to the manager then the whole raft of carers got in a lot of trouble, which wasn’t my intention. I’m sad to say though that I have seen carers only put masks on when they realise family is around to notice, so maybe it’s something like this got the company being so dogmatic.
I appreciate your concern that others should wear them for the elderly and for visitors. Perhaps your management could request to clients that when you’re in the house their visitors wear masks? I’m sure some other in house jobs request safe working.

Wow people saying OP is unreasonable. When my cleaner comes, she wears a mask so I wear one too. Same as if the electrician visited etc. We've all got to do our part.
OP isn't complaining about mask wearing and I can completely see where they are coming from.

YANBU OP.
It doesnt make sense.

Just as it doesnt make sense that care home workers must be vaccinated or they cannot work, yet NHS staff can carry on unvaccinated until April of next year should they choose to do so, despite concerns of the NHS being overwhelmed this winter.
None of this makes sense to me at all.