Working nights as a care assistant

[Squishy123]

I was wondering what the realities are of working as a care assistant on a night shift?

I'm considering it as I need more care experience for my access course (leading on to nursing) and it will be better atm for my childcare situation.

Can people give me the good, the bad, the ugly, please? Lol

Many thanks

It depends so much on the place you work. Some residents will be sleeping so it's just a case of being there if they have a problem, others will have residents who don't seem to get the concept of night and day, up all night causing chaos (I'm thinking of a relative!)

Care assistant in a home or hospital?

If home it's mainly end of life care we need hcas for so turning patients, sitting with giving the family a break.

Hospital is a bit different. On a night shift if I can remember properly there will be 2-3 hcas on to 2 nurses, usually the routine is;
Handover immediately on starting the shift
Hcas do observations
Get patients ready for bed
Change pads
Turn patients
Clear bed spaces of food
Empty catheters for the night
Check fluid balances are up to date
Answer call bells as required,
Turn the lights off,
Do patient obs again at either 12 or 2am, the patients all need different levels of observations,
Answer more call bells
Turn patients
Change pads of the turn patients
Serve breakfast.

Obviously if there is a patient with dementia you would have to sit with them 1-1 all night and you wouldn't be expected to help with any of the above as you'll have been booked specifically to help that patient.

I don't work adult wards anymore as I'm an icu nurse but I worked the wards for years.

Kids wards are very different!

In a care home for residential, nursing or people living with dementia -

Handover at 8.
SOME residents will be in nightclothes in the lounge, most won't as generally too early.
Give a round of generally hot drinks and offer a snack - probably biscuits.
Help people to bed when they want to go. Some might not go to bed at all, others might be 12/2am.
Help people in the bathroom, so pad changes, prompting to brush teeth etc. Into nightclothes if not already.
Then hourly checks on everyone - you have to (unless in care plan they've stated they don't want to be checked as it disturbs them) quietly open door and visually check they are breathing. This is SO important, I worked with a girl once who didn't start hourly checks until 1am when she'd finished her ironing, and a woman was dead. You also need to check if anyone's pad needs changing or bedding needs changing on hourly checks.
You will also likely need to help people to reposition in bed so they are less at risk of skin breakdown
In between your hourly checks, you might be asked to do cleaning, laundry and ironing, if a small home, maybe even peel veg for a meal for next day. All depends on size of home.
At about 5am, write in everyone's care plans about how well they've slept, how they seem in themselves etc.
When people wake, can be from 5/6:30, offer baths/showers and help people to get dressed.
Give breakfast to those who would like it already.
8am - give handover to day shift.

In every care home I've ever worked in, night shift is understaffed.