50 Voices
JAINE 50 Voices captures the authentic voice of the people that use our services and our staff as Turning Point celebrates its 50th anniversary
50 Voices
Jaine Hale
50 Voices
Jaine Hale
Jaine Hale is a Team Leader for Downfield Way, Elstow Road and Harter Road which are all supported living services for individuals with learning disabilities.
I started working at Turning Point on the 22nd of September of this year but I have been supporting people with learning disabilities for many years. I had been working at a service which was run by a different care provider but I felt that I needed to do something that would really allow me to use my skills. The position for a Team Leader for three Turning Point services appealed to me because it would allow me to do just that; it was a step up the ladder. Furthermore, I was going to be able to work with my old line manager, Marian McEwen, who is absolutely lovely.
I love what I do and I adore my job. I love working with people and leading teams. I’ve worked in the care sector since I was 16 and I’ve never been out of work- I just find it rewarding! I enjoy supporting staff in supporting our tenants to reach their goals, which could be a wide range of things, whether it’s a goal on how to deal with their own personal care or doing voluntary work. Wilmer, a tenant at Downfield Way, goes to college but he gets the taxi there so one of his goals is to eventually get the bus by himself and we’re supporting him to make that happen. Another service user loves Disney so we’re currently planning a holiday to Disneyland Paris next year!
50 Voices
Jaine Hale
In terms of what helps me to do my job to the best of my ability I think it’s having passion, compassion and patience.
My approach is that anyone of the people who use our services could be my mum or brother or sister and so I want what’s best for them.
My approach is that anyone of the people who use our services could be my mum or brother or sister and so I want what’s best for them. However being able to think outside the box is so important too! The biggest challenge I face on a day-to-day basis is encouraging others to think outside the box. Just because something presents a risk, it shouldn’t stop someone from doing it. I think sometimes staff who work in the care sector get a bit frightened when an individual wants to do something unusual and “outside the box” but it’s all about doing a thorough risk assessment and approaching the right people. We’ve got to think “where there’s a will, there’s a way” – that’s the attitude to have! One of our tenants has been rock climbing and another wanted to go and drive a car but was unable to because of his particular disability. However, instead of giving up, we thought about it and he went go karting instead which gave him a similar experience – that’s one example of thinking outside the box! Everyone has goals and wants to do things in life so why should it be any different for someone with learning disabilities?
Everyone has goals and wants to do things in life so why should it be any different for someone with learning disabilities?
50 Voices
Jaine Hale
The biggest misconceptions about people with learning disabilities are that they can’t achieve; some people think they shouldn’t have friendships or relationships and that they cannot develop friendships outside of community homes. That isn’t true at all! I’m passionate about being a part of Turning Point and, more specifically, doing the work I do because I like the sense of job satisfaction. It’s great knowing that we are positively impacting people’s lives and I’m proud to say what I do will make a difference. I think that the services I work at are innovative and effective in supporting tenants. One way they manage this is through the recruitment process. Before I was offered the role, I was interviewed by staff and tenants. They were supported to ask us questions and at the end of the induction week, two service users from different services came over to present certificates to all the staff on the induction. It was great to meet someone from a different service too and it was positive to see that they were really involved. In a job where you have to work and interact with people, it’s a really positive step to make that part of the recruitment process.
The biggest lesson I’ve learnt from this job is that you can’t assume you know it all because you’re never qualified enough. Even if you have a degree in social work, or have done the job for many years, people’s needs change on a daily basis. Even with lots of experience sometimes social issues come up that we’ve never dealt with before because they haven’t arisen before. We’ve got to keep up with legislation as well as the changing needs of the people we support. We must keep asking ourselves if we’re giving the absolute best to our service users. Our quality of care is assessed via monthly key worker meetings where service users can express their views on the service, as well as occasional ad hoc inspections. I’d say formally we’re reviewing how we’re doing and how well we’re supporting service users on a monthly basis but informally on a daily basis.
Although I haven’t been at Turning Point for very long, I have already seen that they have a very person centred approach; the best interest of the individual comes first. That has really impressed me. Ultimately, I’m enjoying my time at Turning Point, it’s early days but I’m being well supported and I really like what I’ve seen so far.
50 Voices
Turning Point Standon House 21 Mansell Street London E1 8AA 020 7481 7600 info@turning-point.co.uk
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