Winner of Home Care Hero
Roni Holt deputy manager at Delta Care is CareLineLive’s first Home Care Hero. And what a hero she is!
This is what nominator Laura Pilkington, Operations Manager at DeltaCare said about Roni:
Roni has been at Delta Care for nearly 6 years. Roni started as a care assistant in the community and consistently went above and beyond for clients. Roni stepped up to the care coordinator role 12 months ago and quickly implemented new processes to support all clients and the large care team to better communication and outcomes for clients. Roni was offered the role as Deputy manager at Chorley due to her kind, supportive and caring nature towards everyone. Roni is constantly looking to improve the health, wellbeing and support for all clients and the staff team and has worked hard to improve the culture implementing our Delta Care values in the Chorley office. Her friendly, hard working, open and honest nature really shines through making a difference to many peoples lives each day!
What was your reaction to winning CareLineLive’s Home Care Hero Award?
I was surprised and had no idea that Laura had nominated me. It’s good to think that the people that I work with are supportive and feel that I’m doing a great job’.
What is your role at Delta Care Domiciliary Services?
As a deputy manager at Deltacare located in Chorley, my role is busy and diverse, presenting new challenges on a daily basis. I joined Delta Care nearly 6 years ago, beginning as a care assistant and then progressing to a care coordinator before reaching my current position, which I find extremely enjoyable. Additionally, I am the safeguarding lead for Delta Care, overseeing the resolution of any safeguarding issues from start to finish. Our team diligently documents all activities and consistently seeks avenues for learning and improvement on monthly basis.
What does a typical day look like in your role?
Oh my goodness, each day is so different, I keep engaged with the teams and make sure that any problems are dealt with swiftly. We’re always looking for ways to improve the service and better outcomes for our service users.
What aspects of your role do you enjoy?
I enjoy the variety and working with the teams collaboratively. We’re pushing forward to expand our service into new areas that are covered by Lancashire County Council together with our privately funded service. It’s exciting to be expanding the service and growing the team in these challenging times.
What challenges do you face in your role?
We have several double-up teams which can be quite challenging, our area is increasing and the service is growing, we have recruited new staff recently to meet the demands of our expansion. Continuity of care is always a challenge and we work hard on that. The local authority have tripled the amount of providers on the framework which is proving challenging, however, our private client base is growing. It’s a challenging time in the industry and I’m happy to say that we are holding steady. Hospital discharge is tricky, there seem to be a disconnect between the timeframes and coordination of other related services. Also, we can often be organised to take new care packages and then find when people are discharged they need, for example, an occupational therapy referral, the current wait is five months which is extremely frustrating. Communication between services can prove to be difficult.
How does CareLineLive’s technology help you in your role?
We use all of the CareLineLive features. The reporting data is very helpful for monitoring and improving the service. We also find the assessment templates and incident and concern reporting very good. Being able to get information and data in real time through the App is great and helps us to act quickly if there are any concerns or issues.
How do you switch off after a hard day at work?
Myself and my partner have three horses between us. I ride a fair amount, but the horses are not youngsters, one is a twelve year old race horse, another a sports horse, and the other we don’t ride a she too old. I have dogs as well which take up all of my spare time we have a rescue working Cocker Spaniel and a Sprocker. My daughter is twenty five, has a law degree and works for a firm of solicitors. The three of us my live in the same house and we find that the dogs just won’t settle until we’re all sitting down and relaxing in the same room which is amusing.
