To find this slightly irritating from colleague

[Cheesestring11]

It's in home care work. There is a lady in her 50s who's been in the job for quite a number of years, and she's good at what she does.

However she's started leaving notes in all the clients' houses telling the other carers what to do. She's not in a senior position to us at all.

She will leave notes saying 'You need to make sure you do X at every visit"

And has decided herself that Wednesday is X activity for X client, Thursday is X cleaning, etc.

The notes are at every home.

It's a little irritating, I just ignore them though, would you be bothered? She just doesn't have the right to do this

Everyone has the right to make sure information about clients needs are passed on to other team members! I don't agree that this is necessarily the best method, notes could be lost. What is the usual method for you to all communicate?

I wouldn't ignore them I would do them and go back to her saying 'I've done x for x client.'

I think it's petty to ignore them!
She's taking the initiative to help ensure the whole team give the best care they can.
Unless she's asking anything unreasonable I don't understand why you wouldn't do it.
It's silly to say she doesn't have a "right" to do this. I'm assuming that there isn't already someone in a role coordinating things (otherwise there wouldn't be a need to do this) so it just sounds like she's attempting to get the best experience for your clients!

Lots of new carers and high turnover of staff?
Sounds pretty sensible.
Ignore the tone and look at the overall intention.

Just to summarise OP from the previous posts (not mine). You are obviously a slacker and not only a slacker you take offence when this is pointed out by all the holier than though posters on here who are experts in this field.

You do a difficult and poorly rewarded job, expecting you to fit in a few more chores because someone without the particular experience thinks you should would be galling.

Care work relies heavily on communication between care workers. This might be in relation to tasks or the person’s needs / preferences.

So actually she does have ‘the right’ if it benefits the care provided. You should all be communicating and listening to each other / sharing information as that is what makes good care!

If they are valid they need to be an amendment to the care plan and she should discuss them with someone doing assessment. If she's interested in assessing she needs to develop that.

Notes are potentially breaching confidentiality and not official. The idea of a care plan is it promotes client focused care that's consistent. She's ignoring the 'joined up' working and communication that clients deserve.

@WTF475878237NC

Sounds like she is motivated to provide a good level of service and others aren't, otherwise she wouldn't have suddenly started doing this after many years.

This. I work in healthcare and do it. We have a WhatsApp group for our team and a few of us write in it what has been missed, what needs doing and why it's important to do it for CQC compliance etc. I'm not technically senior to any of my team but I've been doing the job for a long time and know my shit, a lot of newer staff are lazy and need to be told what they need to do. No good going to management who frame it as a team issue and the culprits never think it's aimed at them. Maybe think about why someone needs to start leaving notes to remind people to do basic tasks and care.

Communication is key, it needs to go through properly and be CASE notes that everyone can have sight of, a bit of post it on a folder will inevitably get lost.

To be honest, it sounds like she's making up for some poor management.

I would expect a routine to be detailed in the notes, it gives clients continuity and helps them know what to expect rather than having to explain it, or have to remember it themselves.

Tone is another thing, but just ask her to change the tone rather than ignore the notes, which clearly have good intentions

@Polyanthus2

Just to summarise OP from the previous posts (not mine). You are obviously a slacker and not only a slacker you take offence when this is pointed out by all the holier than though posters on here who are experts in this field.

You do a difficult and poorly rewarded job, expecting you to fit in a few more chores because someone without the particular experience thinks you should would be galling.

Doesn't matter how low paid the job is, they are there to provide care and help to vulnerable people and if it isn't being done to the expected standard then it's a good job someone is stepping up to remind team members of things that might be getting missed.

I’m a carer and we often leave notes for each other, it’s a good way to make sure that certain things that need doing get done!
Time moves so fast when dealing with people and things can get missed.
Take it as a reminder, not as a personal attack.
If it’s still bothering you then bring it up at supervision.

If it helps to provide a good service then it's fine. There's nothing to stop you leaving similar helpful notes to her if necessary too.

I've done lots of this work as both carer and senior and I've seen this lots with carers who have a bit of a superiority complex towards newer or younger staff members, but also ones just wanting to ensure the new staff don't get into bother.
If those notes were things you did anyway and were being done, ask your senior to ask her to stop as you're fully competent in your role and it's making you feel silly if you're really annoyed, I think if you return a note when annoyed it'll come across irate or unprofessional.
If you've made mistakes and she's reminding you, don't forget she knows these calls like the back of her hand, she may be trying to help you and most importantly her clients who she will undoubtedly want the best for.
It can come from a good place or an egotistical place, I look back when I started being a carer at 16 and the older staff would leave notes because the older staff did it for them, its annoying, but not always unkindly. There were always a few who just liked to have a bit of superiority over younger staff, but that was usually more rare than helpful staff.

Also, they might be leaving notes for staff who might be new on the call, often staff attend calls without any shadowing of the client call so she may not know who's she's writing too, maybe you'll find yourself writing them in a few years 😉

So you're ignoring the things that she's telling you all need done therefor they're still not being done. Nice.

Oh I wish she'd been my grand carer. Things are obviously getting missed and the client needs routine. If this is pissing you off you're one of the problems

Sounds like good communication to others in the team so a good service is provided from all

Unfortunately in a team you will nearly always get those that do their job, those that do the minimum they can and those that never use their initiative and always have to be instructed

So she leaves a note saying must be done at every call and you ignore it? Poor client.

She isn’t leaving orders though really…I’m assuming she chats to the client and has left the notes so you’re all working to the clients best interests. Sounds like a good idea to me

@Honeyroar

We have carers for my mum. She has three carers that rotate. The elder one does things like this two. As a client I think it’s good. Previously different carers were defrosting things and then the next cooked something else etc. Now it’s more coordinated.

There, nice example coming from a client! Coordinate your efforts. If you do not like notes, why don't you suggest emails, writen records, or similar?

Is she me! I write notes of things needing done to my coworkers every day otherwise things don't get done. She is being proactive and trying to make the clients lives easier and smoother which is a great attribute. Why on earth would you take offense?

Communication between carers in the best interests of the service user.

That's not a bad thing.

Write your own notes if you think there's something the client needs. There's nothing stopping you.

Is there no communication book on site or handovers or reviews or anything? When there are several people working with the service user you would expect carers to communicate