Typical Day in the Life of a Care Giver at Right at Home Solent in Fareham, Gosport, Southampton & New Forest East!

This Blog giving an insight to a Typical Day in the Life of a CareGiver is from one of our Team Leaders, Alice; who's been with us for nearly a year now!

Morning Routine!

"The night before my full day of CareGiving, I check Mobizio to see which calls I have the following day and the what times they are, so I can set my alarm for the morning and give myself enough time to get up, washed, dressed, breakfast and time to travel to my first call.

Visit #1

My alarm goes off every Monday morning at 6.00am and I follow my usual morning routine whilst getting my little boy ready for his day. I then say goodbye to him and my fiancé as I head off for my first call, checking travel time using google maps to make sure I leave to be able to arrive on time. After I arrive at the property, I always read the previous visit notes to see if there's anything that I need to be aware of before starting my call at Mrs P's. I then check my bag to make sure that I have all the PPE I need. I then put my face-mask on before going into the property. always ring the doorbell and wait for Mrs P's family to answer the door, they will usually give me an overview of how Mrs P is doing, as sadly her health has been deteriorating in recent weeks. 

I always begin this visit by going upstairs to greet Mrs P in her bedroom. I then go into the bathroom, wash my hands and put all of my PPE on. I prepare the bathroom and get everything ready for Mrs P to have her shower. I go back into the bedroom and we have a chat about how the past evening/ night was for her and ask how she is feeling that particular morning. I have a very good relationship with Mrs P so I often just get on with tidying around and getting her clothes ready for the day. 

I always help Mrs P take off her night shirt, socks and slippers and help her with walking into the bathroom. I then help Mrs P into the shower to have a wash, washing her back and legs and allowing her to wash the areas she can. I then help Mrs P out of the shower and assist with drying. Next, I apply the creams with her consent to all areas required, following the activities on my Mobizio app, noting down what, when, where and the time of application. After this, I help Mrs P get dressed and I dry her feet, cream them, put new socks and her slippers back on. She will sometimes ask me to hoover around her bedroom or  change the bedding. From here we go into the bathroom to clean and tidy- wiping the shower down ensuring I have left the bathroom the same as it was before. 

I then fill my Mobizio notes and say goodbye to Mrs P. Sometime the call can over-run due to Mrs P's mobility her movement becoming significantly slower recently. After leaving Mrs P's I always put my used PPE in a bag and dispose of this in their outside bin, and start to get ready for my next call. 

Visit #2

Now I'm back in my car, I then put the address of my next visit into the Sat Nav. There is more traffic than usual on this drive on route to my next call, so after realising that I was going to be 10 mins late, I call the Right at Home Solent office to inform them; they will then call ahead to make my Client aware that I am running behind due to traffic!

On arrival to my Next client, Mrs D, I read the previous visit notes and put a new facemask on and make sure I have enough PPE in my bag. I use the key from the key safe to enter. I greet Mrs D in her room and as always, I am greeted by her lovely dog, Honey! I always start the visit by washing my hands at the sink and getting the dog lead to take Honey out for a walk around the garden. I then wash my hands again and apply my PPE and ask if Mrs D if she would like any breakfast, it is often cereal or toast if she is hungry. After this I wash up, clean down the kitchen sides and check the washing machine and tumble dryer for any washing that needs to be put in to dry or folded away. 

I then assist Mrs D to either have a shower or a wash in her room and help her get dressed when needed. I will check her commode, empty and clean it if needed. I will then prompt Mrs D to take her morning medication. I will feed Honey, her dog, and top up her water bowl. I will make Mrs D a cup of coffee, refresh her drinks and prepare any snacks she would like to have before her lunch call. I tidy around her room and empty the bin. I will then sit for a few mins to have a chat with Mrs D and write my Mobizio notes.

From Mrs D's, I have a spot check observation booked.

Visit #3

I'm back in my car, I have my Sat Nav on and begin driving to a new Client who I've never met before, I am carrying out a Spot Check on one of our Care Assistants in Fareham, Gosport, Southampton & New Forest East. I have called ahead to the Client to gain permission to join them on their visit. I arrive to this visit little early to so I sit in the car and wait for the Care Assistant to arrive and load the Spot check record form up on my phone to have a read over it while I wait.

On the caregivers arrival, I introduce myself and inform them of the Spot Check. We enter the property and I observe the Care Assistant and follow the clients routine. I spend time talking to the Care Assistant and client. When it is appropriate to do so, I ask the Care Assistant some questions such as 'what would they do in the event of a medication error?' or can they 'name the 7 R's of medication?' etc. Once the visit is over, I then say goodbye to both the client and Care Assistant. 

Day Overview

After the Spot Check, I then head home to type up my observation notes in more detail and send over the feedback email; which usually takes about an hour. I update the Care Assistants folder and their My Learning Cloud forms, if needed, in order to sign them off of there Care Certificate.

As a Team Leader, it is important that I always check my emails and read through my inbox; keeping up to date with other observations, reviews and client updates. I then check my Spot-Check allocation sheet and then go to People planner to book any new ones on to my schedule.

And like I did the previous night, I will then check my app to see which calls I have the following day..."

It’s difficult to describe a typical day in the life of a carer because each service user has their own needs and preferences, and your support should be tailored to fit them individually, however a fully trained and equipped carer is able to meet these needs.

If you are interested in joining the Right at Home Solent team as a Care Assistant, then apply here today! https://solentcareers.rightathome.co.uk/jobs