Right at Home UK is on a mission to challenge the common misconceptions surrounding the social care sector and shine a deserving spotlight on community care workers, who play a vital role in keeping people well at home.
The national homecare provider has launched a major campaign entitled ‘More than Care’, which features care professionals from across the country reflecting on their life-altering decisions to enter the homecare sector.
The campaign aims to showcase the breadth of responsibilities involved in caring for people at home and highlight the vast range of career opportunities available in the sector, combatting the common belief that caring is an unskilled job with no room for progression.
Clare Coke, 37, who features in the campaign, joined Right at Home seven years ago as a CareGiver and quickly progressed to the role of Care Operations Manager for the provider’s North Cheshire and Leigh, and Lymm and Warrington South branches.
A former nurse, she said starting a career in homecare is the best move she’s ever made.
“I don’t think I could go back to a role working in a hospital now that I’ve cared for people at home because I find it so rewarding,” Claire said.
“Helping people to remain at home is the best outcome for anybody. We’ve seen lots of Clients whose mobility has deteriorated after a stay in hospital because there isn’t that one-to-one support to keep them moving. We have the time and resources to prevent that. Patients with dementia can also become agitated in a hospital environment, but we can deescalate those situations by providing quality routine care in familiar surroundings.”
Cruella Howard, 28, has worked as a Healthcare and Support Worker at Right at Home Bournemouth for four years. She says the thing she loves most about her job is “creating magical moments” for her Clients.
“It may just be that I’ve put a smile on someone’s face, but that to me is a magical moment because prior to me, or another carer, visiting them they may not have felt so happy or positive,” she explained.
Cruella said one of her most rewarding moments during her career at Right at Home was saving the life of a 100-year-old Client.
“I’d looked after her for five years and because of the basic life support training I’ve received at Right at Home, I was able to save her life,” she said.
The role of a care professional has evolved over recent years, meaning the skills and capabilities of community care workers has become vastly more technical and increasingly more medical.
Heather Wehrle, Director of People and Brand at Right at Home UK, said: “To meet this evolution, the quality of training, learning and development opportunities has also progressed to ensure this proud workforce can meet the demands of the communities they serve.”
Kaynat Kosser, 24, joined Right at Home Cardiff and Newport as a CareGiver in 2018 and is now a Field Care Supervisor, assessing new Clients’ needs as they come on board and creating personalised care plans for them.
She said: “The transformation from when a Client first enquires about our service to having received high-quality care at home from our CareGivers is huge. It makes such a positive difference to both their mental and physical wellbeing, and it’s so rewarding to be able to witness this.”
Heather added: “I am always in awe of the stories of unbelievable dedication to supporting individuals to live their lives to the fullest, in the safe and comfortable surroundings of their home. The impact our care teams can have on our Clients and their communities is profound. I hope this campaign allows others to see how this sector delivers so much more than care.”
Right at Home prides itself on investing heavily in staff development and has trained hundreds of CareGivers to deliver complex and clinical care services at home, which would otherwise be provided in a healthcare setting.
However, the provider warns that unless the government recognises the true cost of delivering care and fund it properly, other agencies will struggle to train their staff, pay them a fair wage, and may even be forced to close their doors.
A recent report released by the Homecare Association found that an extra £2.08 billion per year across the UK is required to ensure that homecare workers can receive a fair wage, while enabling services to be of good quality and financially sustainable.
Only 5% of UK public organisations paid the Minimum Price for Homecare for 2023-24 calculated by the Homecare Association. The current Minimum Price for Homecare is set at £28.53 per hour and is based on a care professional receiving the National Living Wage.
Right at Home CEO Lucy Campbell said: “Our sector comprises of the most incredible individuals who make an amazing difference to the lives of our most vulnerable every day. Sadly, due to significant underfunding, many providers cannot afford to pay the workforce what they truly deserve.”
She added: “There are also so many misconceptions amongst the general public about what a career in care offers, not least a lack of understanding around the tremendous opportunities for professional progression and the true sense of job satisfaction like nothing else.
“With this in mind I am delighted that this campaign puts the people at the heart of our sector in the spotlight, recognising their terrific endeavours, whilst bringing to life the reasons why a career in care can be the perfect choice for many.”
To learn more about Right at Home’s More than Care campaign, visit https://www.rightathome.co.uk/careers/more-than-care/