# Transcript

Lucy
Hello. My name is Lucy Rai, and I am one of the authors on the module. And I am joined today by Natalie and Robyn. Hi, Robyn.
Robyn
Hi, Lucy.
Lucy
What is your job title and role?
Robyn
My job role is a care coordinator. I work for the Garth Care Services and my role as a care coordinator is to manage the smooth running of our domiciliary service. The Garth is a private family-owned business in Kington, in Herefordshire. The Garth is a thirty-four-bed registered care home, but it also has attached to it the domiciliary side, so we go out into the local community and provide care for people in their own home, so this enables them to stay in their own homes, in their own properties. So my role is to manage that side of it, but I do when needed I can go in the home and care for the clients that are living within the Garth. I have a day a week when I go out into the community which is going out in my car, and I am going and visiting our clients in their properties and caring for them during that day. My day-to-day role is to ensure that the clients’ care visits are allocated to a carer for that day. I go out and do care plan reviews and make sure they are up to date as and when they are required. I comply with monthly auditing; I respond to emails, liaise with social workers, hospice team families for the potential of some new clients. I complete assessments on new clients so I will go out to their property, visit them and complete a support plan and create a care plan to meet their care needs. I carry out risk assessments when I’m in the property for their safety and for the safety of our carers. I also liaise with family members and provide support to them if they need it. I speak to GP, district nurses and occupational therapists to ensure that the clients’ needs are all being met. I manage our care teams, so I do regular spot checks on the staff in the community and make sure that they are carrying out high standards of care to all our clients. We have a training system in place for the staff and myself, so we all have to make sure that we are a hundred percent compliant with our training. We hold monthly meetings, so I hold them alongside the home care manager so we keep up to date with the carers any problems or concerns they may have out in the community and I also cover annual leave and sickness for the care staff. If there are any major concerns, I will complete a safeguarding if required and keep up to date with policies and procedures set within the Garth Care Services.
Lucy
What training or qualifications are needed for your role?
Robyn
To become a carer at the Garth, no training is actually required.
If you are successful at interview, you will do your care certificate within the Garth and then you can then progress to do your Level 2, Level 3 NVQs in Health and Social Care. For myself personally, as a senior and obviously as a care coordinator, I’ve got my care certificate, I’ve got my NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care and I’ve just completed my Level 5 in Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care which has aided me now to progress and develop within my own role.
Lucy
What about you, Natalie?
Natalie
Hi, Lucy. I am a social worker working with older people in Powys in a statutory social work team with older adults and my role is working with individuals and their families to empower them really to look at what their strengths are, also looking at what needs they may have, often I am working with people at the most vulnerable and challenging times in their lives, so undertaking assessment of needs, looking at the communities and seeing what support might be available to them and also looking at perhaps putting support services in place to protect them from experiencing neglect or harm or to support them in achieving what they would like to achieve and helping them to see what they may be able to do to achieve that or tapping into third-sector services that might be able to support them to achieve that outcome. Really promoting an individual’s well-being, balancing risk and supporting their carers also within their caring role and helping them to continue to support individuals.
Lucy
Is your job a regulated profession and if so, what do you need to do to meet the registration requirements?
Natalie
As a social worker I need to be registered with Social Care Wales. As I am working in Wales and it is regulated, I have to continue to develop so I have to make sure that I attend training and continue to develop my knowledge and skills to reregister as a social worker so there is that expectation that I continue to develop professionally.
Lucy
That’s great. Thank you, Natalie. And what about you, Robyn?
Robyn
So to be a carer in England, you don’t actually have to be registered with anything, but if you wanted to be a carer at the Garth Care Services, you would initially come and have an informal chat. We would then do an interview; obviously you would fill out an application form. If you were successful, we would then do an enhanced disclosure barring service check, a DBS check – police check – on you to make sure that you are safe to be around vulnerable adults. You would then have shadow shifts and you would work alongside a senior carer, and you can learn the skills firsthand from them. You will also have to complete online training which is quite in depth and that’s through … we use Blue Stream, which is online training, so you will be able to do that in your own time at home and obviously the Garth provides that. You will also do physical training, so obviously you are equipped to use hoists and stand aids and slide sheets and you’re able to move people safely, safe for them and safe for yourself. You have to do your care certificate which is the basic sort of qualification that all carers have to do in England to be a carer but then if you wanted to broaden your knowledge and make you know your care role as a career you can then go and do your NVQ Level 2 and then you can do your Level 3.
Lucy
That’s great. Thank you, Robyn. Thank you, Natalie.