Being a Home Carer entails handling common tasks every day to serve different clients. However, each client has specific needs that are individually specialised for their comfort and their daily home routines.
Interview with Julie
Home Carer, Homecare Gurus
Julie has 6 clients that she visits each week as a Home Carer from early morning calls to bedtime and spends a minimum of 1 hour depending on the schedule with her clients.
“My day starts at 6am. After my morning devotion, a glorious cup of coffee that touches my soul and stirs my mind, I head off to work. My first call is a 2 hour call that starts at 0700 and I always am beaming with joy and enthusiasm as I look forward to see my clients and brighten up their day. Living and working in Buckinghamshire makes it easy and convenient as I drive to my first client Ellen. I let myself in and find her seated by the window staring at her well pruned garden. Ellen is always happy to see me. When the weather is nice, she really enjoys pruning as we chat away. Ellen suffers from mild dementia and copes very well remembering things that make her happy. Having her take her medication takes a lot of convincing and I promise her treats and foot massages. She enjoys a cup of black tea with some homemade cookies. Her son calls her and she squeaks with happiness then says to me “Julie, I can’t wait to see our garden blossom”. My heart melts with joy as I head to my next client. 2 miles later, I let myself into Joshua’s house. Joshua suffers from Alzheimer’s but lives like it’s his last day every day. He enjoys accompanying me to the kitchen as I make him a hot pumpkin soup. He likes random topics especially daily news and as the soup heats up he shouts, “Julie, I have to call my dentist. My dentures are missing, I can’t drink the soup,” then lets out a soft laughter. I have 2 calls with Joshua, and the evening call which is a bedtime call is always a problem as he is scared of the dark. He fears he will never see the light again. I sit by him and watch him fall asleep calmly. I love my job and I enjoy caring for people just to see them beam with happiness. I learn a lot every day. I meet different people and we laugh, we exercise, we cry and above everything else, we create a story together. Being a Home Carer is so rewarding.”
Home Carers have patience, are organised, resilient, have good communication skills, are agile and innovative. Daily challenges are faced; sometimes a client breaks down and it’s a Home Carer’s job to reassure them.
A Home Carer should be confident helping clients with their personal needs, shopping, housekeeping, administrating medication, hospital runs, fitness lessons, family respite and also accompany clients to visit friends and family. Julie also visits our other clients within Berkshire and Oxfordshire to offer our bespoke services.
