Residential Home Care Assistant

.../> With this being a residential home the hours can be flexible but you also need to be flexible as well because sometimes you will be asked to cover for colleagues who are sick or on holiday.

There are three shifts available. The morning shift, afternoon shift and night shift.

My Hours

Monday 2pm-8pm
Tuesday Day off
Wednesday 9am-12pm
Thursday 9am-12pm
Friday 9am-12pm
...alternate weekend shifts)

These are my set hours but I have been working more than this because of staff sickness.

The Morning Shift 8am-2pm
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Upon arrival all the staff are gathered together to listen to the report for the previous day and night because if something happened with one of the resident's overnight then the day staff need to be aware of this.

On the ... more

Introduction
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Since members are interested in the job I have taken I thought it might be a good idea to write a review about what I now do. However I would like to give you some background information on me first to better understand this review.

I have done office work since I was 17 years old and have done various jobs within that from Telesales to Secretarial. I worked in an Accounts Department until October 2005 when I experienced a nervous breakdown, I won't go into the details but my doctor and I decided that my job was the cause and I should consider a career change when I was ready to go back to work.

I am now 25 years old and in March 2006 I started my new career, my doctor was happy with my choice as it would help with my anxiety and shyness, as I have mentioned before I shy away from face to face contact.

The Interview
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At the home the owner and the assistant manager interviewed me. I was told all about the history of the home and that this was only a small home that housed 18 residents many of which could do things for themselves. The home is also a freedom home and residents could come and go as they please, the residents also have a right to choose but more about that later.

I was given a tour of the home and was shown various residents rooms to understand better how each room is decorated and furnished to the residents personal choice. I was told about some of my duties while touring the home but I'll explain more about that later. I was also introduced to some of the residents I assume to observe how I interacted with them and vice versa (I pushed through all my natural instincts to clam up and be friendly and talkative).

They must have been very happy with me as I was asked to fill in an application form and CRB form so they could do the necessary checks before any employment started.

The CRB check (Criminal Record Bureau Check) is to ensure that you do not have any convictions in the social care that you shall be working in. The home paid for this check and I would not be able to work in the home without it. However I was issued with a temporary permit to work as long I was being supervised for the safety of the residents. My CRB check took two weeks to come through, a copy is sent both to you and your employer, I had no issues with mine.

Hours
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With this being a residential home the hours can be flexible but you also need to be flexible as well because sometimes you will be asked to cover for colleagues who are sick or on holiday.

There are three shifts available. The morning shift, afternoon shift and night shift.

My Hours

Monday 2pm-8pm
Tuesday Day off
Wednesday 9am-12pm
Thursday 9am-12pm
Friday 9am-12pm
Saturday 2pm-8pm
Sunday 2pm-8pm (Saturday and Sunday are alternate weekend shifts)

These are my set hours but I have been working more than this because of staff sickness.

The Morning Shift 8am-2pm
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Upon arrival all the staff are gathered together to listen to the report for the previous day and night because if something happened with one of the resident's overnight then the day staff need to be aware of this.

On the morning shift there are four members of staff, two to work upstairs and two downstairs (at 12pm the Care Assistants is cut down to tow). The first job of the day is to serve everyone breakfast; there is a list as there is a choice of toast, cornflakes, bran flakes, porridge and weetabix. There is also a cup of tea or coffee as per the request of the resident.

Everyday there is baths to be given on a rota for the residents, this is agreed with the residents as to there personal choice, i.e. number of times per week, morning/evening and bath or shower. The residents that are having a bath are dealt with first (there are four bathrooms in total) you take a wheelchair along to there room, assist them into the chair, gather clean clothes and toiletries and take them to the bathroom.

While the bath is running you need to help them undress and support them into the bath hoist. The bath hoist allows you to lift the person without straining yourself, it is a chair that is connected to a pole that is drilled into the floor and on the pole you have a handle that is turned to lift and turn into the bath.

If you a bathing someone who does not need to be supervised then you can leave the bathroom and return to there room to strip and remake their bed. Otherwise you have to stay in the bathroom and help them wash and dry themselves (you just have to do the bed afterwards).

Once all the bathing is done it is time to get the rest up, which is literally helping them out of bed, helping them wash, getting them dressed, making there bed and either making them comfortable in their room or taking them down to the lounge.

Some of the residents have catheters fitted to drain their urine away and you have to change the bag that is fitted from their night bag to their day bag. The difference is that the night bag is bigger and can hold more urine while the day bag is smaller and can be held against the leg with a stocking.

After everyone is up it is then time to serve morning coffee, once that is served you sort the washing and start up the machines then get chance to have a sit down yourself and believe me you'll need it because it will now be about 11am.

After you have finished your morning coffee the next job is to prepare the trays for lunch for those who eat in their room and also set the dining table for those residents that eat in the lounge.

Before lunch is ready you will have just enough time to sort through the airing cupboard. Each piece of clothing is marked with a coloured dot, which corresponds to each resident. Sort into piles and put their clothes away in their room.

The cook dishes up the lunchtime meal and the Care Assistants are responsible for delivering their food and ensuring that they take their medication. We only have two residents that need to be fed by Care Assistants and these are done last while everyone else is eating.

Many of the residents take their time while eating so we go back to the laundry room and empty the washer into the tumble dryer and start that up, we also add another load into the washing machine.

All the trays are wiped down and placed back on their selves. All plates and dishes are loaded into the dishwasher. Once the kitchen is back to being clean and tidy it is now time to help each resident to the toilet and clean them up from lunch as well.

After everyone has been to the toilet (and emptied catheters bags) you need to start writing the report for each resident before your shift ends and the next staff comes on duty. Before you leave you always run through the report with the next staff just to bring them up to speed.

The Afternoon Shift 2pm-8pm
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There is two Care Assistants on duty for this shift.

Once again the first job is to receive the report about the previous events then you need to make afternoon tea for the residents. Before taking the cups of tea around you check what is for tea (4pm) so that you can ask the residents if they would like that or an alternative, this is always written down in the tea book.

After you have spoken with all the residents and written down their choice for tea, you then need to prepare them. This can be anything from sandwiches and salads to spaghetti on toast to poached eggs.

Once you have prepared the trays for teatime and done any preparation prior to serving you need to check the laundry room to ensure that the morning staff had enough time to complete all the washing. If there is washing left fold up and put into the airing cupboard.

If you are lucky you might get to have a five or ten-minute break before the teatime starts. Tea is served on their trays with their choice of food plus a piece of cake and a cup of tea. The kitchen is always open so if any of the residents require any further food it can be done on request. You clear up after teatime and make the kitchen tidy and clean once again; you also need to set the trays up for breakfast (as per the list mentioned earlier).

Since there is only one night nurse on duty per night the two Care Assistant's start to assist residents to bed as some need to be done by two Carer's. Many also want to go to bed early because the elderly do get tired very easily.

Putting the residents to bed is a reserve from getting them up in the morning. You help them onto the toilet, wash them, undressed them and settle them into bed. Drain catheters and switch from the day bag to the night bag.

You will put on another load for washing, which the night nurse will dry; the night nurse also deals with the ironing of sheets. The reports for each resident need to be done ready for when the night nurse comes on duty.

The Night Shift 8pm-8am
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I have now done two night shifts so I now have that knowledge. The most scary part of this shift is that you are on your own, there is another member of staff on call should you need them in an emergency.

At 8pm you receive the report from that evening and the past couple of days depending on when you were last on duty, then you are on your own. I was very nervous the first time but once an hour had passed by I was calm.

The majority of the residents have already been put to bed and there are only about 3 residents that are still up. However there are about 8 residents that like a warm milk drink before going to sleep and for taking their bedtime tablets. These are done at 9pm. The other residents are helped to bed by 10pm; they will ask to go to bed.

Other jobs you have to do are ironing sheets and shirts, preparing vegetables for tomorrow's lunch and kitchen jobs (there is a rota and I had to wipe the shelves on one night shift and wipe out cupboards on the other night).

All these little things take you up to about 12am and that is without rushing. The only other job you have to do is rounds every hour. Rounds is basically walking around the home and checking on the residents. You then have the rest of the night to yourself (as long as no one gets up) which can be quite boring so just make sure you do not go to sleep.

Once 5.30am hits you can start getting some of the residents up and dressed. The call bells will also start and it is a good idea to have a pot of tea at the ready, as many will want something to wet their mouths.

Your final job is to write report about the night's activities or lack of them and inform the day staff when they arrive. In all I did not mind doing the night shift but I did find that between 11pm and 4am nothing really happened so I got very bored but that is where a good book comes in very handy.

Skills
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I think you need to have a certain type of character to be able to do a job like this. You have to be very patience with the residents as many of them are deaf and you have my have to repeat yourself many times before they are able to understand you.

You also need to have a strong stomach, if you feel sick at the sight of bowel movements then I would not recommend this job as there is lots to be seen and believe me there can a be strong smell to go with it.

A caring nature is also needed, you have to like doing things for people otherwise it will drive you insane because you are forever fetching drinks and taking them to the toilet.

The care home that I work for will be putting me forward for NVQ qualifications after I have been working there 6 months. They have also paid to put me through my Food and Hygiene course and the Controlled Medication course. You need both of these before you can prepare food and give out medication.

Overview
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Considering what I had done for the past seven years I can truly say that this is nothing like what I used to do at all and I do enjoy my job. It is such a pleasure to see
the residents happy to see you.

You cannot put into words the relationship you build up with the residents. Just the same as the social basis you will always have some that you like better but I can say that I get along well with all of the eighteen residents.

Many of my family and friends have said, "I don't know how you can do that!" and I have no reply for them. I am not going to pretend that wiping bottom is the best part of this job but having the resident say thank you for doing it is a reward in itself.

Nobody goes into this type of work for the pay, my previous job paid me £21,000 per annum and I now get just over a quarter of that. It is also hard work and you are on your feet all the time, my feet killed me during the first two weeks I was there but I think they are now getting used to it. However the rewards you get from doing this type of work is wonderful and every time I am on duty I have many residents asking when I shall be on duty again. You can have a laugh and a joke with them and some even like to have a cuddle.

I was provided with one uniform free of charge but if you want to have more than that you have to buy them yourself, they cost around £30 from new. I have four uniforms and have not paid for any because a friend who had given it up donated the other three.

I now have a job that I enjoy and it has been helping me in dealing with people and over coming my shyness, which is not going to disappear overnight but hopefully over time it will.

Thanks for reading. 

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