Celebrating Homecare Day is having its first inaugural event today to honour carers and recognise their amazing work. The event is being organised by the Homecare Association and the Care Workers’ Charity (CWC).
Every day of the year, homecare workers support people to live safely and well at home, enabling people to live independent lives and flourish within our communities. The theme for this year’s event is #madewithcare to celebrate the fantastic relationships that exist between the people who give and receive care and highlight the many activities they enjoy together.
We spoke to one of CareLineLive’s customer’s carers, Florence from Verina Daly Care, about how she brings joy into her client’s lives through different activities that they enjoy together. Having spent a long time in hospital during her teenage years, it was her experience of nurses and carers that helped her rehabilitate that gave her the inspiration to start a career in care 4 years ago.
Working at Verina Daly Care, Florence explains that you feel part of a family unit where they treat clients as individuals, giving them a new lease of life and the opportunity to continue to live their life independently in their own homes. The fantastic rapport amongst the team at Verina Daly Care permeates to their clients who can feel their passion in what they do.
The activities that Florence does with her clients varies considerably depending on their needs and their likes. Recently she helped a client who had suffered from a stroke to improve their speech, Florence took the initiative to bring in her kids’ phonics and music games to help him to speak again. This not only helped her client’s speech but also helped his confidence and made him proud about his progress. For Florence, caring for someone is about making a difference and respecting them as an individual, ensuring they receive dignified care.
“It’s about learning about people’s different interests and what make them happy” Florence commented.
One of her client’s loved sewing but could no longer hold a needle and thread. This did not stop Florence who bought a cross stitch kit with an enlarged needle to do with her client – it was an activity that helped her engage with her client and helped her client feel alive.
Not only that, Florence takes clients on guided local walks and for walks around their garden to ensure they can enjoy the benefits of fresh air and nature confidently. As a carer, she also feels it’s important to make her clients feel good about themselves, on one occasion she washed and dried her client’s hair and had afternoon tea with her. She also does regular Beatles singing sessions with a client signing ‘When I’m 94’!
Florence values that carer-client relationships are about building trust, ensuring the practical side of care is covered as well as going the extra mile to make them feel special. Plus, she shared it’s important to ensure that the client’s family are supported, especially when providing end-of-life care.
The team at Verina Daly Care share ideas and activities on how to make their clients smile. Each week they organise lunch at a local pub for any clients wishing to join. Called The Club, this weekly outing gives the opportunities for clients to socialise, and meet each other in a safe environment with carers there to support them.
Verina, the owner of Verina Daly Care, has so much compassion and care for her clients, ensuring that they get the care that they deserve and that can improve their life. She also recognises her staff that go above and beyond with the company’s Gold Star Scheme, that awards staff with a voucher in recognition of their hard work.
It’s clear to see how passionate and dedicated carers are in bringing companionship, care, and comfort to so many people in their home and the importance of forming relationships #madewithcare that bring smiles to clients on a daily basis. It is also a great opportunity to celebrate the fantastic work provided by carers – Happy Celebrating Homecare Day!
