“Just a Carer, that’s what they say.”
Having worked in Health and Social Care for as long as I have, I have seen the good, the bad and the terrible examples of care.
Yes, they do exist in Social Care, as with every walk of life. Yes, you get rubbish management, greedy directors, poorly managed services that apply ridiculous amounts of pressure onto their workers, and the odd client who wants to punch you at every opportunity because they don’t understand why you’re in their house, but this is the exception as opposed to the rule.
The media only highlights the negative.
More and more national and regional media outlets are highlighting the harmful elements of social care. Although they would like you to think that they are placing some focus on highlighting the need for more people to enter this profession ( Yes Care is a profession contrary to popular belief ), they are doing the opposite.
When your passion is social care and you sit at home and watch the news after working hours and hours in the field, and you hear what they have to say on the sector, a sector they have absolutely no idea about and know that what they are saying, whilst truthful, is only a tiny proportion of what Social Care really has to offer.
Social care is seen as having a poor relationship with the NHS!
For many years Social Care has been a poor relation to the NHS; now, don’t get me wrong, I worked for the NHS for nearly 12 years and took not an ounce away from them, but they are a middle piece to a very large jigsaw, a jigsaw that only shows the bigger picture when complete.
Giving us a green badge is a cop-out; whilst it was nice, what traction has it given the sector? Nothing!! Chucking money at us in terms of recruitment and retention is excellent, but when you are fighting all the adverse reports of 18-hour days, high stress levels, lack of work-life balance, and no time for lunch breaks, who in the right mind would want to work in that? If I were new to care, I certainly wouldn’t.
During the pandemic
During the pandemic, the nation was on the streets clapping for the NHS and eventually, all Keyworkers, and now those people we were cheering on, are being penalised.
Whether you agree or disagree with people’s choice not to have the vaccine, the point is that we are losing highly skilled, knowledgeable professionals across the Health and Social care Sector and are unable to replace them, whether directly or indirectly; this affects us all. But negative press is exacerbated, deterring people from entering the rewarding health and social care vocation.
In turn, increasing pressures and demands on the jigsaw that is Health and Social Care, I emphasise Health and Social Care because although we do very different jobs, they should be seen and treated as equals.
It’s all about cause and effect.
We are constantly hearing of the long wait times in the NHS, the backed-up ambulances at A&E, the delayed response times for paramedics (because they’re in a queue ), the lack of beds, etc, but where in truth, are you hearing that some of this is due to delayed discharges, medically fit individuals that require some assistance at home, but are unable to be discharged until a package of care has been sourced.
Some of these problems could be overcome with an adequately staffed Social Care Sector.
The carer’s myth!
- People who work in care wipe old people’s bottoms
- Managers don’t care (again, the exception as opposed to the rule)
- You’re JUST a carer.
- You have no career progression
- Caring is NOT a profession/vocation
The reality
- Social Care is such a rewarding vocation
- Every day gives you a different challenge
- You can go home at night knowing that you have helped someone and made a difference in their day
- You can take knowledge in the fact that you have been there, in a client’s final minutes, when their family could not be, so they didn’t go alone.
- You can be there when they take their first independent steps after an illness impeding their mobility.
- You can rejoice with your clients when they receive good news.
- Families take comfort in knowing you’re there looking after their loved ones.
The poem below captures all the bits that no one sees
Carer Emma’s poem in full:
Just a carer, that’s what they say
Just washing and making tea all-day
That’s not a job, just to wipe bums
Easy work, nothing hard to get done
But what they don’t see, behind a door
A carer, a professional and so much more
A counsellor, a friend to wipe away their tears
To be strong and supportive, to end all their fears
The job is hard, and you challenge each day
Dodging the punches and hurtful word play
But a smile and a hug are rewards of their own
The best job I’ve had is the place they call home
Just a carer, that’s only a word
My job is more than what you’ve heard
An adviser, a coach, so much more than what you see
It’s a blessing and an honour to take care of your family
Just a carer, no that’s not me
I’m an angel in scrubs, serving the tea
Wiping your tears, being your friend
Your loved one’s guide, until the very end
The perception of what Social Care is needed to change NOW !!!!!
The social care crisis is so much more than long wait times at the NHS; it’s about a frontline of care that gets ignored; social care is bigger than you think!
