Kosisochukwu Igboka, Recruitment and Compliance Officer at Ansa Care based in Crawley, West Sussex, nominated carer, George Ekejiuba, for CareLineLive’s Home Care Hero Award where George gained a well deserved 1st place. Deputy Manager at Ansa Care, Sunday Olaifa joined me to talk with George about his nomination and role at Ansa Care.
Here’s what Kosisochukwu’s nomination said:
George is a dedicated and compassionate carer who consistently goes above and beyond for the people he supports at Ansa Care. He has helped customers overcome personal challenges, such as quitting smoking, and supported others in achieving life-changing goals. George’s commitment was especially evident when he adjusted his own schedule to help a new customer settle into their placement and maintain their college routine. His selfless actions and unwavering support truly make a difference in the lives of those he cares for, making him a worthy recipient of this month’s Home Care Hero Award.
What was your reaction to gaining 1st place in CareLineLive’s Home Care Hero Award?
Sometimes you feel that what you do doesn’t get noticed, but when it’s like this you know that people do appreciate the effort you put in. So I was very happy to get the award.
What is your role at Ansa Care?
I’m a support worker in a supported living facility and we have service users in our placement there. We offer support to service users, younger adults from 18 to mid 50s as well, but mainly younger adults in their in their teens and 20s.
The core of my role is to is to make sure our service users make progress in life from one step to a higher step. So that eventually if they work at it, they will be more independent in society in the future. Our support plan and every activity we do with them is geared towards the angle of making them more independent. We’ll try as much as possible to encourage the service users to learn more skills. We try to encourage them to do things themselves so that there is a point to the support and a path to follow. We always measure each person’s progress weekly, monthly and quarterly. We continually assess to see what progress is being made.
For example, we had a young man who had a placement and had previously lived with his parents at home. It meant that his routine would change, and in this situation we really need to work very hard to to help service users adjust to the new environment. Help them to feel comfortable with the new transportation arrangements to and from school and new ways of life. I made sure that he settled well and was not late for school, we were able to pull that off and he has settled fully.
What does a typical day look like in your role?
It depends on the activities of the service user or the client I’m going to because all of them have different needs. The support we offer them is geared towards their individual needs. So what we’ll do for Mr. A on Monday would be different from what we’ll do with Mr B, except when they will do a group activity in the house. The service users gather to do activities like dance and exercise or we all go to the beach. For daily activities, it starts from assisting them in to be more independent step by step.
At breakfast some people will be independent, while some will need more support. There’s is no strict way of doing this things, it’s based on the needs of each client. Our motto is DIY – Do It Yourself, for example, when the services users finish their meal, they do the dishes as much as they can, even if they don’t do it very well.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
In my former role, I was a customer service person. I am still a customer service person. The service I give gives me joy. I want to see that the support I render to my clients has helped them live his or her life, at least over time. Let’s say I have a client in January, I would be very happy if by March or April, after 90 days, when I did my own individual assessment, that the support I have delivered has taken the client from step 1 to step 2, leading on to step 3. I always remember our motto DIY knowing that one day this person is going to re-join society and be much more independent. So that is why we have our eye on the ball that is our main goal.
What challenges do you face in your role?
I would say that everything in life has its challenges especially those that come with new assignments. Let’s say you have a new client – you’ve read the support plan and you’ve read the bio on the person. Those are just things written on paper it’s a different thing altogether when you begin to live experiences with the person, so there is that little apprehension. Initially you have a backlog of experience for you to fall back on. I don’t see it as a problem, it is a positive challenge because that brings out the best in you. You’ve been trusted because you’ve shown that you can render the best support.
At the end of the day it is rewarding as well because you see the impact working. It’s a learning process every day.
How does CareLineLive’s technology help you in your role?
I would say one thing, the app has actually helped us in our in our day-to-day activities. As they say in the industry “anything not measured is seen not to have been done” so we love for the reporting, plus you have the option of uploading images. A picture says more than a thousand words. If you say this client was preparing his meal you can write as much as you like but, if you capture an image with the clients wearing an apron in the kitchen that alone has given a lot of information.
Also, we can record a service user doing the shopping himself. He gets to the point where he’s going to pay with his bank card. His parents will be elated when they see a picture of this man who six months ago was not able to even leave the house. But now he’s paying for what he’s bought in the supermarket. There’s so many things about the CareLineLive app, it helps my job tremendously, we can capture so much information.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I walk when I finish my shift and then rest at home, ready for my next shift. I don’t work every day so have time to chill and relax.
