I started my working career as a nursery nurse but felt I needed a change. I was given the opportunity to work for a care provider in the Forest of Dean who provided a service caring for the elderly in their own homes.
This later went on to provide a service looking after children with a variety of disabilities in Herefordshire and the Forest of Dean. As time went on I gradually moved away from the children’s service and became more involved in caring for the elderly in our community.
I delivered hands-on care for nine years out in the field and through encouragement and progression I have worked closely with Karen completing clients’ reviews and ensuring clients were happy with the care that they were receiving.
In 2020 I moved to a privately run company which we as a team have built up from scratch with a handful of dedicated staff. These we particularly challenging times, through COVID but we have persevered because we believed we can make the Forest of Dean branch a success.
My job as Service Development Lead is to ensure we provide a high-quality service to the clients we support and that our staff team is fully supported with regular supervision and quality checks. I also ensure that all clients we support are happy with the care they are receiving by doing annual reviews.
I enjoy visiting the clients knowing that we are making a difference in their lives, making them laugh, listening to them, putting a smile on their faces, and knowing that they are all well cared for.
Some days can be more challenging than others due to high sickness but as a team, we all work together to make sure no client goes without care. I do from time-to-time work alongside other staff because we believe we wouldn’t expect staff to do something we wouldn’t do ourselves.
My advice to other people is never thinking that caring for someone isn’t for you, as long as you give time to understand the different emotions you can go through when working with clients, the different challenges you face, and the job satisfaction at the end of the day.
I just want to thank our Bramble Family for their dedication and for supporting us to where we are now, as without you all, we wouldn’t be where we are now.