care in the uk - a disgrace
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Calamity1971
If Mr Peanut says It's okay, then it is.
No you're not, or stop them from falling ( try to catch them ) but human nature means you're instinct kicks in and you do.
MickiQ
In My Defence I was left Unsupervised
OK my misunderstanding of how these things work, I thought from reading the post, Careline would be the same people and another carer would come, What are Careline then? are they some sort of emergency response service for carers, how long would it take for them to arrive. Is it like calling an ambulance and someone comes pronto or is sit around chatting for half an hour?If one drops the chap, they don't call a colleague, they call Careline for help, at least that's how it seemed to me. I really hope it's not the case and only time will tell
Calamity1971
If Mr Peanut says It's okay, then it is.
We were in moving and handling. Turning someone in bed etc. As much to protect our own joints as the service users.
MickiQ
In My Defence I was left Unsupervised
OK googled it now, I can see the point if you're someone who's old and frail but generally healthy living alone, presumably they can then call you and check you are OK and whether or not you need a relative or the ambulance sending.
How the fuck can it help with a disabled person who has been dropped by their carer, Surely the ambulance service will get mardy and start sending letters to the care company along the lines of either send enough people or we'll bill you for being a timewaster.
How the fuck can it help with a disabled person who has been dropped by their carer, Surely the ambulance service will get mardy and start sending letters to the care company along the lines of either send enough people or we'll bill you for being a timewaster.
Looby
Well-Known Member
They’d have to have some training to use the equipment. I’ve never met carers who aren’t trained at all although the quality varies.
I did a brilliant moving and assisting (new name for manual handling) day course when I was on placement. I learnt loads even though I didn’t actually do moving and assisting or personal care.
Orang Utan
They cannot crucify you if your hand is in a fist
Not true up here for those who are paid to.
If you're a relative, you have to pay £200, so we didn't bother. Should have done though. I dropped my mum once and hurt my back getting her up again. One of the lowest moments of my life, that - dropping my mum. I ran out and left her on the floor for a few seconds, mortified, not knowing what to do to get her up.
Calamity1971
If Mr Peanut says It's okay, then it is.
It's part of the company's insurance to give training. We even had to be hoisted to see how vulnerable someone feels. And you really do, it's not pleasant trusting someone in one of those.
Calamity1971
If Mr Peanut says It's okay, then it is.
(( Orang Utan )) it's not easy being a carer and especially to the ones you love.
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
My elderly parental (was 99 at the end of March, btw) has several care calls a day. Supposedly for half an hour each, but some extra time for was added for personal care recently. The carers have back to back calls in a rural area, with narrow roads - in the winter lethal with ice and summer blocked by tourists. Calls are usually solo, but sometimes two are rostered if the client needs to be lifted.
Recently, one call was very delayed. A previous client had fallen, and the carers are required to get an ambulance called, which takes time.
Recently, one call was very delayed. A previous client had fallen, and the carers are required to get an ambulance called, which takes time.
Careline is a community alarm service, usually provided by local government, housing association or a charity. I worked for the local borough one for 14 years until I was made redundant a few months ago.
Policy there was if someone was on their own then we would call the LAS or other emergency serivce, district nurse, carers etc as required for them.
If someone had had a fall and a carer was with them we'd suggest they call the LAS themselves, if able, as the LAS would prefer an eyewitness account of how the fall happened. Whether they'd slipped, passed out, injuries sustained etc.
((Orang Utan ))
It’s an absolute disgrace how carers are treated in this country. One of the most challenging jobs, to care for our sick and elderly in their homes. You need excellent communication skills, and a keen eye for an unwell patient. It’s heavy work, and often unpleasant work, and they are right on the front line of health and social care. It is a test of human patience and love, and we don’t even pay them between calls.
They should be on a decent starting salary and paid for the entire duration they are working (including travel). That this doesn’t happen is a national scandal, and just shows how much we value our carers and our elderly.
It’s an absolute disgrace how carers are treated in this country. One of the most challenging jobs, to care for our sick and elderly in their homes. You need excellent communication skills, and a keen eye for an unwell patient. It’s heavy work, and often unpleasant work, and they are right on the front line of health and social care. It is a test of human patience and love, and we don’t even pay them between calls.
They should be on a decent starting salary and paid for the entire duration they are working (including travel). That this doesn’t happen is a national scandal, and just shows how much we value our carers and our elderly.
Jeremy Hunt should be made to do four months of care work (HCA and community caring), four months of student nursing (on their shift pattern and without a fucking bursary, in fact he can pay to do it as they must), and four months of junior doctor oncalls (in winter, on AMU or the elderly medical wards). Only then, when he has visited people in homes with no heating, cleaned up shit and vomit, nursed people through the night and 12 hour days, and assessed our elderly on trolleys in the corridor whilst holding 2 bleeps, should he even be considered being qualified for the role. Obviously he wouldn’t be able to do anything, cos he’s a useless cunt with no actual practical skill, but it’s the fucking principle.
I can barely describe how much I hate Hunt. I’ve spent shifts working with nurses who haven’t had so much as a piss break for hours as they go from patient to patient, with student nurses (often who have children) who are made to pay to work and train in their vocation, with junior doctors working over 70 hour weeks on call and still expected to make critical decisions, run to crash calls or tell someone they’re dying in the middle of the night. I’ve watched HCAs assist demented patients with the utmost care and dignity on the commode or feeding them, whilst taking home barely above the minimum wage. And that piece of shit insults us, continually, with his policies and his words.
abstract1
shitting miracles
Never mind the tax avoidance re. property investments, I say off with his fucking head!
BristolEcho
Well-Known Member
Yep it really is a pisstake. I've been trying to highlight how disempowered community and residential care workers are. They literally have no one to support them, many don't know their rights, and the owners of the companies are complete crooks. It absolutely makes my blood boil.
It's not much different for my fellow support workers, but there seems to be more of a militancy about them. At least in my experience.
Mainsteeam Unions have literally left these people behind. The sleep in rate was introduced, but no ones enforcing it. The pays crap. You cant say that caring for people with a wide range of needs is unskilled work. Especially when we have to work within so many legal boundaries. Health and safety is continually ignored. The bosses walk away with all the money and say there ain't enough to go around. They literally brag about paying slightly above the minimum wage as if it's something workers should be greatful for.
On top of all that the people we work with are treated like a commodity to be bid upon and then dropped when the company can't be bothered to work with them anymore. Bosses don't care about the clients, they care about their profit.
There are rightly the occasional headlines about 15 minute vists not being enough for the individual requiring care. What about the strain that puts on the worker?
We all have to fight back against this, there should be more anger, there should be more headlines.
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It most definitely is skilled work. In terms of communication skills you need just as many as nurses, and not just the ability to speak but the role of listening. For many people, the carer might be the only person seen that morning or evening. You have to understand about trust and patient confidentiality. You have to know food preparation health and safety. And handle medication.
You have to work to these ridiculous deadlines, such as washing, dressing, giving breakfast in 15 minutes. Fucking hell, has anyone else tried to do that?
You have to work to these ridiculous deadlines, such as washing, dressing, giving breakfast in 15 minutes. Fucking hell, has anyone else tried to do that?
hash tag
Books, not bombs
I agree with you BristolEcho but would add that the owners of these companies are capitalists who are there to make money. Some are owned by overseas hedge fund bankers! They are not there to care, they are there for the money.
You rightly point out that some visits are cut back to 15 minutes. For many this will mean take your medication, bye. Let's not forget That many of this people have had other services cut, like meals on wheels, day centres etc. So for them, the only human contact they have is with their carer, who possibly barely speaks English and can barely communicate with the person they are caring for. For me, it's more than a disgrace, it should be labelled a breach of human rights.
there is no dignity in getting old any more.
Tories, like hunt, should be made to experience these services first hand, for a month at least IE being made to stay at-home and at the mercy of an average carer or being confined to a hospital bed or something to show them what others have to experience.
It takes a lot to raise my blood pressure. This makes me incandescent with rage.
You rightly point out that some visits are cut back to 15 minutes. For many this will mean take your medication, bye. Let's not forget That many of this people have had other services cut, like meals on wheels, day centres etc. So for them, the only human contact they have is with their carer, who possibly barely speaks English and can barely communicate with the person they are caring for. For me, it's more than a disgrace, it should be labelled a breach of human rights.
there is no dignity in getting old any more.
Tories, like hunt, should be made to experience these services first hand, for a month at least IE being made to stay at-home and at the mercy of an average carer or being confined to a hospital bed or something to show them what others have to experience.
It takes a lot to raise my blood pressure. This makes me incandescent with rage.
BristolEcho
Well-Known Member
Agree there is a lot of money to be made and it largely comes from the exploitation of others as usual. It's an absolute racket too with wages kept low across the board.
It pisses me off because all of my training tells me about the importance of dignity, and how everything needs to be person centred. Rightly so. This fall's down when it comes to money though. I had one client who would have been better off in another service that catered to their exact needs and then the social worker actually told him we were chosen because we pay less. Obviously the individual had little faith after that.
In regards to the low pay and being unskilled. In my last role I was on £7.50 an hour and responsible for support planning, updating social workers, safeguarding of my clients etc. In the morning I could be working with someone with poor mobility and dementia, then with someone with personality disorder, and then someone who just had a bit of debt. Maybe a multi agency meeting in between. So the flexiability alone is a skill which it took me some time to see, and then everything that goes into that to make sure that you're an effective support worker. (Of course there some that do the bare minimum.) When I look back I think it's disgusting that I had to struggle along not being able to put enough aside to give me any real security. No one should have to in any job for that matter.
I absolutely love my job, and I'm actually on an okay wage now with a seemingly decent company. We definitely still need to help others though.
I strongly urge care workers to look into self organisation. My experience is that a lot of bosses are weak as they've not had to face militant workers because most of us are so used to just walking away. You can fight your bosses and force better terms.
Slightly unrelated but its good to see Foster Carers organising too.
It pisses me off because all of my training tells me about the importance of dignity, and how everything needs to be person centred. Rightly so. This fall's down when it comes to money though. I had one client who would have been better off in another service that catered to their exact needs and then the social worker actually told him we were chosen because we pay less. Obviously the individual had little faith after that.
In regards to the low pay and being unskilled. In my last role I was on £7.50 an hour and responsible for support planning, updating social workers, safeguarding of my clients etc. In the morning I could be working with someone with poor mobility and dementia, then with someone with personality disorder, and then someone who just had a bit of debt. Maybe a multi agency meeting in between. So the flexiability alone is a skill which it took me some time to see, and then everything that goes into that to make sure that you're an effective support worker. (Of course there some that do the bare minimum.) When I look back I think it's disgusting that I had to struggle along not being able to put enough aside to give me any real security. No one should have to in any job for that matter.
I absolutely love my job, and I'm actually on an okay wage now with a seemingly decent company. We definitely still need to help others though.
I strongly urge care workers to look into self organisation. My experience is that a lot of bosses are weak as they've not had to face militant workers because most of us are so used to just walking away. You can fight your bosses and force better terms.
Slightly unrelated but its good to see Foster Carers organising too.
hash tag
Books, not bombs
The Careline here is responsive, IE if someone calls, we visit as opposed to calling neighbours, family, friends, LAS etc. And if we can get the person up, we do.
Response time depends on area, traffic etc. But could reckon on 30 minutes on average. The ambulances have got a lot quicker recently but can still reckon on 90 minutes to 2hours for a non life threatening case and we are saving an ambulance for a more important job
Puddy_Tat
🐈⬛
The snag is (as friend found) that being mostly 'zero hours' then anyone who 'rocks the boat' risks not getting much / any work and the wages are so shit and unpredictable that many people in the job feel they can't afford union membership anyway.
blargh.
:flamethrower:
Sort of the same as where I worked. As I was also a sheltered housing officer I'd attend the sheltered schemes during the day and early evening. The few remaining council carers would be asked to attend non-sheltered during the day, and all calls at night, on "no reponse" calls and if the situation was uncertain, which is frequently was. We weren't officially trained to lift though.The Careline here is responsive, IE if someone calls, we visit as opposed to calling neighbours, family, friends, LAS etc. And if we can get the person up, we do.
Response time depends on area, traffic etc. But could reckon on 30 minutes on average. The ambulances have got a lot quicker recently but can still reckon on 90 minutes to 2hours for a non life threatening case and we are saving an ambulance for a more important job
Good to know that ambulance response times have improved. Friday and Saturday nights were always bad.
BristolEcho
Well-Known Member
That's where getting the numbers together is key really, and there are other tactics that people can use. A lot of it comes down to people now knowing their rights.
The mainstream unions are rubbish and not interested in these battles anyway. They are absolutely hobbled by their own bureaucratic issues and won't work with everyone.
We have the BCWN in Bristol who will work with anyone regardless of their membership status. The aim is to give workers the skills to organise for themselves and only become directly involved when and if they want the BCWN too.
I understand that it's very much a case of changing the mindset of workers, but I do think it can happen. About 80 percent of my direct family work in health I think, and while my older family members are as you describe, the younger ones are a bit more militant. I think the older ones have more to lose and are set in their ways. They also own their houses. The younger ones are a bit more fiesty, have nothing to lose and aren't as beat down.
This isn't to say there isn't militiancy throughout all the age groups. I just think if we can win the hearts and minds of younger carers we stand a bigger chance of pulling others in. It won't change overnight.
BristolEcho
Well-Known Member
Yes this is true. I definitely don't want to make out that it is an age thing necessarily so I've probably worded that last bit badly.
It's probably more a case of where people are at in their lives than anything. Though I've just recently met with some workers from all different ages and different backgrounds so that doesn't even ring true.
Enough ranting from me today.
hash tag
Books, not bombs
Yesterday, Mrs Smith calls, Help! The story is she was discharged from hospital yesterday, she can barely sit up, yet alone stand, she has no care package, can I get her a drink. Listening
to her symptoms, I wanted to call an ambulance, she declined. I put an urgent call through to her doctor for a home visit and to social services for a care package. Social services, yep, we will
sort it. Went to see her got her a cuppa, water and meds, called doctor; oh yes, how is Mrs Smith I know her well sort of stuff, Ill get doctor to call her. Social services update they will get her some
food in (the woman has not eaten for a day or two and is very weak). Whilst I was with her I threw away a box of cold chicken and chips lying around and a ping meal, neither of which she fancied or could sort.
She was very grateful for tea, water and meds.
Follows this up in afternoon....someone dropped by and left her some food in the kitchen, did not help her with meds or get her a drink.
Calls Doctor back, someone will visit tomorrow. Calls social services back, yes we got her an emergency visit sorted out and care package has to be sorted by doctor. The doctor will not sort this
until after they have visited....how hard can it be, how inhmane is the system?
Yesterday, gets a call from Mrs Jones carer, Mrs J is on the floor. I visit straight from previous client. Mrs Jones is sitting on the floor counting dust mites or similar. Come on Mrs j, lets get you up.
She is very obstructive (abusive) to say the least. After a few attempts and long chats, I resort to the ambulance service. More long talks and chats...anyway, we find out through various means,
that she was discharged from hospital the previous day. There is no way she is fit to live at home alone, even with a care package and she goes straight back to hospital. What a waste of lots of peoples
time and money, not to mention risk to client!!! Mad, feeling very very mad and sad about the whole thing. The poor ambulance crew, yet now I see our lovely government want to take pressure of
the hospitals and give it to the ambulance service. The ambulance crew who attended the last call were magnificent.
to her symptoms, I wanted to call an ambulance, she declined. I put an urgent call through to her doctor for a home visit and to social services for a care package. Social services, yep, we will
sort it. Went to see her got her a cuppa, water and meds, called doctor; oh yes, how is Mrs Smith I know her well sort of stuff, Ill get doctor to call her. Social services update they will get her some
food in (the woman has not eaten for a day or two and is very weak). Whilst I was with her I threw away a box of cold chicken and chips lying around and a ping meal, neither of which she fancied or could sort.
She was very grateful for tea, water and meds.
Follows this up in afternoon....someone dropped by and left her some food in the kitchen, did not help her with meds or get her a drink.
Calls Doctor back, someone will visit tomorrow. Calls social services back, yes we got her an emergency visit sorted out and care package has to be sorted by doctor. The doctor will not sort this
until after they have visited....how hard can it be, how inhmane is the system?
Yesterday, gets a call from Mrs Jones carer, Mrs J is on the floor. I visit straight from previous client. Mrs Jones is sitting on the floor counting dust mites or similar. Come on Mrs j, lets get you up.
She is very obstructive (abusive) to say the least. After a few attempts and long chats, I resort to the ambulance service. More long talks and chats...anyway, we find out through various means,
that she was discharged from hospital the previous day. There is no way she is fit to live at home alone, even with a care package and she goes straight back to hospital. What a waste of lots of peoples
time and money, not to mention risk to client!!! Mad, feeling very very mad and sad about the whole thing. The poor ambulance crew, yet now I see our lovely government want to take pressure of
the hospitals and give it to the ambulance service. The ambulance crew who attended the last call were magnificent.
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