Care Service
Care Service
You’ll support people with all aspects of their day to day living, including social and physical activities, personal care, mobility and meal times.
Care workers can work in a care home, in people’s own homes or in the community. Care workers who work in the community are sometimes called domiciliary carers which often involves travelling to different people’s houses.
Other similar roles might include a support worker, shared lives carer and personal assistant.
- Support workers might provide additional help such as advice about housing, learning life skills such as cooking or budgeting and providing emotional support and befriending.
- Shared lives carers welcome vulnerable people into their own home or stay with individuals in their own home and care for them there. This could be on a long or short term basis – you might offer weekend respite care or provide support during the day or night.
- Personal assistants tend to employed directly by an individual who decides what they want you to help them with. You could be asked to help them get ready on a morning, go to work or University, do household tasks such as cleaning and cooking, do social activities and attend appointments.
You could work with lots of different people including adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, substance misuse issues mental health conditions and older people.
Your role might include:
- supporting people with social and physical activities
- booking and going with people to appointments
- helping with personal care such as support with showering and dressing
- supporting people with eating and drinking
- monitoring individuals’ conditions by taking their temperature, pulse, respiration and weight, and possibly helping with medication.
What experience and qualifications do I need?
In the majority of cases, there won’t be any requirements to have academic qualifications like GCSEs, A-Levels or degrees. However, most employers would prefer you to have some First Aid skills and an NVQ in Health and Social Care, Levels 2 and 3.
These courses would prepare you to work in Adult Social Care, teaching you to support individuals with learning difficulties and awareness of dementia. Care Workers often need to travel to many locations within the day, therefore you’ll also need an EU driving license.
Beyond these qualifications, experience is crucial; so securing volunteer work will pay off in the long run. You’ll also need background checks, such as a medical check and a criminal record check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
As an alternative route into care working, some individuals train through an apprenticeship care scheme, where you’d train as a care assistant for around £6-7 per hour.
Once you begin life as a Care Worker, you’ll be provided with some training in food hygiene, health and safety. This will include elements of first aid and how to move people safely, particularly if working on your own.
You’ll also have to take part in a 12-week induction scheme. This ensures you’l meet the national minimum standards of care in the UK and covers elements such as equality, inclusion, safeguarding, health and safety and different aspects of support you need to provide.
Some key skills you should have as a Care Worker include…
- A passion to work in the care industry, helping people on a daily basis regardless of their background, age or the issues they face
- A positive, enthusiastic attitude
- Ability to approach sensitive situations with tact and confidentiality
- Respectful of your clients’ homes, ways of living and requirements
- Ability to use your own initiative and work as a team
- Ability to remain calm under pressure and act as per your training
- Excellent understanding of health, safety and cleanliness
What are the daily tasks I’ll be involved in?
Working with a mix of children, vulnerable adults and elderly individuals will mean no day is the same.
You’ll need to ensure that you are capable of being flexible, and be ready for the unknown. Where you work will entirely depend on your employer. However, you could work at your client’s home, day centres, sheltered housing or nursing homes. Some of the tasks you’ll be involved in are:
- Travelling to client’s homes to carry out your Care Worker duties, during the day, evenings, weekends or potentially involving split shifts
- Communicating with your clients on a daily basis, taking a real interest in their needs and getting them to open up on a more personal level
- Carrying out personal care tasks for your client such as washing, dressing, feeding or helping them to the toilet
- Doing chores for your client like washing clothes, doing the weekly shop, cleaning the house or making the bed
- Assisting with paperwork, such as paying your client’s monthly bills and writing any correspondence that they are unable to do themselves
- Chatting with relatives of your client to help them understand their condition and any progress reports
- Working to support the care assistant, who made need guidance and assistance at times
- Helping to arrange outings for your client and going on these days out with them
Can I progress from a Care Worker in the future?
There’s many opportunities to develop once you’ve gained enough experience in the field. Many Care Workers go into the local authority’s social service department, voluntary charity positions, or the private sector where they offer care services. Within these positions, many move up to senior Care Workers, Shift Supervisors, and Management, or specialise in a specific field.
The benefits of being a Care Worker…
This career is very rewarding, offering a chance to really make a difference in people’s lives who really need the support. You won’t be cooped up in an office environment; instead, you’ll be able to travel to various places in the day and meet different people.
You’ll find that after a couple of months of working for specific clients, they become a lot more receptive to you break down their barriers, and want to chat more, which means your day will become much more enjoyable.
Every career has its downsides, for a Care Worker these include…
Well, you will have to face some quite challenging situations, which isn’t for the faint-hearted. You need to be able to deal with taking patients to the toilet, changing their clothes, and ensuring they are washing properly.
Also, when you first start on a job you may find the individual doesn’t want you there and is being forced to have you assist them. As such, they may be hostile towards you at times. This is why you need to stay strong-willed and enthusiastic on every visit. It’s often nothing to do with you, so don’t take it personally!
Is this career really for me?
A successful Care Worker is one that’s positive and willing to get stuck into everyday tasks. Being a Care Worker is a truly rewarding job that can lead to a long-term, stable career. A friendly, approachable, reliable, and understanding approach that is non-judgmental will be crucial for you to succeed in this role.
Check out our list of Care Worker jobs, to help improve your understanding of the skills and qualifications needed.
