An interview with a Pramacare high-dependency care attendant
What is a high-dependency care attendant and what kind of people do you help?
“Clients who need lots of care visits each day are called high-dependency. All the people that I look after need help with personal care from washing to toileting. They may need anything from 3 to 5 visits or even more and often we do double-up visits, which means that there are two care attendants because someone who is bedridden needs to be turned or moved. I help look after people with Parkinson’s, MS, Dementia, stroke victims and some with secondary cancer who we are helping to spend their last days as comfortably as possible at home.”
It sounds a very intense job. How did you become a high-dependency care attendant?
“A friend of mine was working as a care attendant and I was looking for a new job. She said ‘why don’t you come and work with us? It’s not as bad as you think!’ I thought Oh my goodness I don’t think that I could help with toileting and things. But, I did some work shadowing and as soon as I got into the situation I just automatically wanted to help. It’s odd but it’s natural. I could see the person’s need and then felt frustrated that I was only work shadowing. The following week I was allowed to muck in.”
So what do you like best about your work?
“It’s helping people, isn’t it? It’s keeping them independent, giving them a better quality of life. If someone were in bed all day then it would be depressing. I treat each of my clients in the way that I’d expect someone to treat my Mum or Dad. Maybe it’s because I had Leukaemia as a child and had a bone marrow transplant, but I like looking after people with secondary cancer the best. It’s making them as comfortable as possible in their last few months, doing the best you can and being supportive to their family.”
Do you find your work upsetting?
“It can be mentally and physically tiring. There are so many demands in the job and all the work we do is completely confidential. You can only off load with your area coordinator or at team meetings. The other day one of my clients died. I went on to visit another client later who asked how my day had been. You’re a professional so you just get on with it. If you’re having a bad day you don’t take it to work with you.”
Do you think that people realise the work that care attendants do?
“I think that people think of care work as it was say 15 or 20 years ago. Maybe then it was more about housework. But, now it’s more like nursing care. I’ve completed NVQ level 2 and would like to do NVQ level 3 next. I work 40 hours a week and that’s because I choose to. Pramacare is very good about sorting hours. My day will start at 7.30am and finish at around 6.30pm. I used to work evenings, but I decided not to anymore.”
During the interview the phone rings. The interview continues……..
“That was Pramacare. I handed back 8 hours of work this week to have a day off and the care centre has just re-organised some more hours for me.”
So what keeps you going?
People miss you. Often you are the first person someone sees in the morning and the last one they see at night. All our clients have a care plan and they know which carer will be visiting them. It’s lovely when they say things like, ‘Oh good it’s you again tomorrow’.”
*Before work shadowing is undertaken a confidentially agreement must be signed.
All Pramacare staff have to complete a satisfactory Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Disclosure and induction training.
