We had a chat with Christine Oliver from Personal Touch Care Services in Jersey about why she loves being a carer and her experiences over the last few months.
Christine won a personalised trophy and a £50 Love2Shop voucher for going above and beyond during May. Christine has been helping clients with their shopping in her own time, has forgone her day off to visit clients who are isolating and has helped cover colleagues’ shifts when they have children to look after – fantastic work Christine, thank you!
What was your reaction to winning CareLineLive’s May Star Carer Award?
I have never won anything before in my life. It’s fantastic and great to be appreciated. I did not even know that I was nominated so it was a lovely surprise.
What aspects of being a carer do you enjoy?
All of it. I’ve been a carer for 20 years and I would describe myself as a natural carer – at home I look after rescue animals. Caring makes me feel good – I’ve always taken care of people and think it’s the most rewarding job.
What’s your experience of being a carer during Covid-19?
When it was lockdown and families and cleaners could not go in, my multi-tasking skills were put to good use.
We were scared but my manager got us all the PPE that we needed – visors, suits etc, but it’s my job and I had to do it.
The older generation have been fine as they have been through the war and tougher times. They have appreciated what we are doing – my clients don’t go out a lot anyway but they have missed their usual groups.
How does CareLineLive’s Carer Companion App help you in your job?
I think it’s fantastic. What we used to have to do was to read paper-based care plans. CareLineLive helps me plan for client visits as I can read the client notes in advance, it gives you a good heads up for what is happening. We use it for our rotas too, so we know changes straightaway and avoid the need for lots of phone calls, it’s great!
How do you switch off after a hard day at work?
I cook tea, water my garden, and have all my dogs to look after…. when we are not in lockdown, I go swimming in the sea when it’s hot!
