According to her manager at Nurseplus, carer Sarah has been absolutely amazing helping her client and went beyond her duties as a carer. She has supported her service user at times that suited the client changing even with short notice, helped her to organise her move to different county and also helped with appointment after a hip injury. Sarah helped her to do her physio and exercises for her to be able to move.
What was your reaction to winning CareLineLive’s March Star Carer Award?
I was really surprised and thought it was really nice to be recognised for what we do. I didn’t even know that I had been nominated or was even aware of the award. It was lovely to find out not only that I’d been nominated but also chosen in the same email.
The service user that was described in my nomination broke her hip and I supported her through her recovery. She is quite a shy lady and I was quite in awe of her – she was a scientist who had discovered breakthroughs in the way in which medicine was administered in areas like Parkinsons. I wanted to help her transition from home into a temporary care home while she recovered so I went into the home every day for a few hours and personally looked after her to help her journey more comfortable. She’s now moved to live with her sister in assisted living.
What aspects of being a carer do you enjoy?
It’s nice to feel that I make a difference to people. My background is as a beauty therapist and cosmetic tattooist.
The experience of seeing my partner in intensive care with Covid resulted in me wanting a change of career that really made a difference. My work as a carer is part time and self employed alongside my role as a yoga teacher and the beauty work.
How does CareLineLive’s Carer Companion App help in your job?
It’s really convenient. I’m not a techy person at all – I’m more of a pen and paper type of girl. I found it really straight forward and easy to use. I can look at things prior to visiting a client and it’s helpful to have access to all that information whenever I need it. Without it you can feel quite overwhelmed by a new task or new client – it’s really handy to have the app available.
What are the challenges in your job?
My biggest challenge is that I’m really sensitive to people’s feelings and energies and I need to ensure I don’t take on that energy but instead give them back something positive.
How do you switch off after a hard day at work?
A little bit of yoga or meditation – a bit of quiet is always good. I’ve ben listening to motivational podcasts such as Oprah Winfrey recently too.
