Carers, caring and christmas

By Helen O’Meara of C I Home Care

‘T idings of joy’ at Christmas? not exactly. Instead, here are some thoughts about elderly home care - not all that heavenly in nature - but which are all current and pertinent to a service we may all need at some point, whether for ourselves or our loved ones.

Pride

In April 2020 I cited a Facebook post: ‘Two weeks ago, the UK government described social care workers as “unskilled workers”. Now they are the front line in caring for the old and vulnerable in the face of Coronavirus.’

Never have I felt as proud of being a small part of a team who have safely navigated their way through not one, not two but three waves of Covid. Carers have sweated through donning and doffing gowns and masks and visors in 30-degree heat in the summer and gone out and been up close and personal with clients when Covid was at its peak. Fellow Carers have filled in when colleagues tested positive and missed family and social engagements again and again.

Frustration

Yet Carers’ salaries have not recognised this contribution. Until very recently many care agencies were paying less per hour than a cash-in-hand cleaner or a waitress. Not because the agencies were greedy, but because client expectations and States’ subsidy levels meant the market could only absorb a certain charge-out rate. This is changing.

The (im)perfect storm of Brexit, Covid, local population management legislation and increased training requirements in the care industry means hourly rates are rising significantly - but so will prices to the clients and to the States of Jersey.

Gratitude

Whether residential or in clients’ own homes, many more people now recognise that the tireless work of Carers keeps many elderly people out of hospital or facilitates their discharge and therefore keeps beds free for others.

No longer are Carers seen as one notch above cleaners. They are now rightfully recognised as playing a vital part in the care continuum. To be grateful to Covid for anything is perhaps an oxymoron. But if that’s what it’s taken for the care industry to be recognised as playing a vital part in healthcare, then so be it.

Care at Christmas

At Christmas we rightfully hear about the Doctors and Nurses, Police and Firefighters…all those who have to work to provide vital services when others are celebrating. This year, more than ever, please add Carers to the list. Think of the many who will miss all or part of Christmas Day with their families to take care of a member of someone else’s family. And in the case of the elderly, that Carer may be the only person who visits that client on a day when so many are focussed on being together.

To all those who care, whether for a living or on an unpaid basis, and to all those who will be working at Christmas we salute you.

And here’s to a safe and happy 2022 for us all.

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