MILLIONS OF REASONS TO CARE

CARERS WEEK 2024

Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. It takes place across the UK from Monday 10th to Sunday 16th June 2024. The campaign seeks to increase visibility for carers with decision makers, services, employers, communities, and businesses.

BE EMPATHETIC

Empathy is a crucial skill to have when it comes to being a good Care Assistant. Are you able to understand and share the feelings of another person? This is hugely important in the social care industry.

You may find that your service users cannot carry out tasks with the same ease they once did, so you’ll need to help them through at their own pace.

Being patient and empathetic will help your service users relax - and ultimately build trust in how you work.

Take time with them and remember that everyone will have different limitations.

If you struggle to understand how your service user feels at a particular moment, don’t be afraid to ask them questions.

BE OBSERVANT

Recognising your service user’s emotions and moods will mean you can notice any kinds of deterioration which can be passed on to the appropriate people.

Being observant through the likes of conversation, finding out their likes and dislikes can help you build a relationship with those you see. This can make your job a lot more personable and rewarding.

So, enjoy conversations and show a keen interest in what they have to say.

Remember, you might be the only person they see for that whole day - make it count!

BE FLEXIABLE

Being flexible and able to adapt as a Care Assistant will be beneficial to your working life. You may find that your hours differ each week, and your role may require you to pick up shifts with little notice. This means caring can tend to fit more around your lifestyle than you fitting it into yours!

You may also need to be flexible during your care visits.

Each service user you see will have different needs and may require different levels of assistance.

BE POSITIVE 

A good Care Assistant will have a positive energy about them.

They will walk into a room with a smile on their face and radiate a can-do attitude.

A positive attitude will help put your service users at ease.