Sixty Minutes
One hour care visits and why they matter
No Time to Care
I worked in the domicillary care sector, for some well-known local providers, back in the 2010s. The experience was enough to keep me firmly rooted in residential care for the next decade. Don’t get me wrong, there was a LOT to love about the job, most notably the wonderful clients and the joy of being out and about in the community making a difference. But, I soon found I was arriving home at the end of a shift not with a warm glow and a feeling of job satisfaction, but with a knot of anxiety and worries swirling through my head. Why? Well, because Mrs M hadn’t wanted to get to bed yet as the call I was sent to was far too early, so she insisted she’d go later by herself… what if she fell? What if she was stuck in her chair all night? Mr G had been very upset and needed to talk, but I’d only had time to make him a sandwich and a cup of tea because his visit was only fifteen minutes and the next client was ten miles away and had time-critical medication so I could NOT run late or there could be serious consequences. There were people, people I cared about, that I had not been able to do my best for. For someone who strives to go ‘above and beyond’ not even having the time to complete what I would consider basic caring duties was just too stressful. I wasn’t happy, it wasn’t good enough.
A Different Approach
Social media spams us with advertisements related to things we’ve been searching for. We all know that if we google ‘hoovers for sale’ then the next time we log on to Facebook we will see an array of Dysons, Henry Hoovers and the like strategically scattered amongst the posts from friends and family. So when I decided the time was right for a change at the beginning of 2024, and began looking for new challenges in care, my social media was of course flooded with adverts for care companies, particularly domicillary care. I scrolled past them with a huff. Been there, done that, no thanks! But then a very purple (I’m a sucker for purple!) ad caught my eye… Minimum One Hour Visits? Was this true? Why, that could be the remedy to all the things that put me off domicillary care before. I had spent a decade believing that it was impossible to create the depth of relationship and trust in home care that you can in a residential setting, but really when did I ever get a whole hour to dedicate to just one resident when working in a care home? I didn’t, I never had the time to focus exclusively on one person for that long. What a difference that could make!
I was sceptical, but nothing ventured nothing gained, so I applied.
On my very first week with Home Instead, I was able to see the unrivalled benefits of minimum one hour visits. I visited a lovely, very sociable, lady for whom I was to make breakfast and help her with her shoes. As soon as saw the ‘task’ list, I imagined myself back in my old job in 2010. A visit like that would be allowed 15 minutes, and that included the time it took to read previous notes and record new ones. I would have rushed in, said a quick greeting before heading straight to the kitchen to get the breakfast on whilst then grabbing the shoes and helping her with them while the porridge cooked. Breakfast in front of her, and a speedy goodbye before hurtling off to try to make it to the next client on time. But today, I had an hour!
And what a difference that made. We were able to chat, becoming well-acquainted and allowing plenty of time for me to check on anything else she might need and to develop a rapport (and oh, did we laugh and smile!). It was about 45 minutes in when I noticed her wince. I asked her what was wrong, she said her wrist had been a bit sore. Upon delving deeper it turned out she had had a fall and managed to get herself up, but not told anyone because she ‘didn’t want to be a bother’ – I was able to contact her GP and arrange for Xrays. If the visit had been the fifteen minutes I used to have, I would never have known and she would have continued to suffer in silence.
This, and so many other reasons, is what makes Home Instead unique. For a carer who wants to give their all, and really make a difference, it is undoubtedly a fantastic organisation.
If this sounds like the kind of care you would like give, or receive, give us a call and let’s see what we can do when we work together at Home Instead!
