Transcript

Kevin Madden

Good morning my dear.

Elvis Malcolm

Morning

June Hole

You alright?

Kevin Madden

You bet.

June Hole

Chair's over there.

Brian Hole

Sorry?

June Hole

Sling's over there.

Brian Hole

I went into the hospital in June, and come out in December. I went in with two gangrenous toes. So I come out with no toes, no legs. And it's called vasculitis, isn't it? When I was being discharged, the social worker up at the hospital, she wanted me to stay another week or a fortnight because she didn't have a care package in place. And my daughter knew of this company. And she phoned her, and she said, have you got any, you know, and they arranged it between them that way. So we went back to Social Services then. And they said, that's OK, carry on.

Elvis Malcolm

You have to know how to move him to and from - from chair to bed to chair. You just have to monitor how we move him. Or you put the strap on to get him in the chair. You have to make sure they're definitely accurate. [INAUDIBLE]

Kevin Madden:

[INAUDIBLE] Want to take it up? There we go. You're back. With Brian, obviously, he's an amputee, 'cos of gangrene. He can't do a lot for himself. So obviously, because he's a double-hander, June can't do it all her own. So the most important thing is get him out of the bed in the mornings, make sure he's up, dressed, ready for breakfast.

Elvis Malcolm

You try to make the client feel safe, and relating to them. When I'm washing him, if you notice, I tell him, yeah, I'm going to wash your face, stop me. You don't put up your hand like you might think, you know what I mean? So you tell him definitely. You talk him through it, so that's the situation.

Brian Hole

Not a very pretty sight, is it? It's getting all over the place.

It's Phillipe and Tiago, two brothers, Portuguese. They're very good. Obviously, you have two men, two ladies, or two girls, or one of each. But there's always - they won't do it one on their own. See, you're double handed with me. So they won't do a single-handed. So if nobody turns up, then they gotta wait and wait on them.

Elvis Malcolm

You going to stop me when the milk's enough?

June Hole

Yeah. You're spoiling him.

[Kevin talks to June in the background]

Elvis Malcolm

That's OK?

Brian Hole

That's OK, yeah.

June Hole

You should be so lucky.

Elvis Malcolm

That's luck.

Kevin Madden

And then his wife is available most of the day. She's got the wheelchair in the day. She's got the car outside, which transports him back and forth two times a week. He said, she'll take him to the hospital for dialysis and stuff. So that's June's role, if you like, as a wife. But in the meantime, she's at least two carers going in sorting the main, you know.

Ok, that's it.

June Hole

You'll be off?

Kevin Madden

Thank you. At the end of the day, the man appreciates everything you do. And everything's fine with him.

Clarice Jones

Hello, Liz.

Liz Randall

Morning.

Clarice Jones

Oh, you got your hair up. You have.

Liz Randall

Thank you.

Clarice Jones

I'm all right.

Liz Randall

Oh, good.

Clarice Jones

[INAUDIBLE]

Liz Randall

Excellent. [Laughs]

Clarice Jones

It is excellent, isn't it? Yes, because I thought I might be bad.

They say if you have carers to look after you in the mornings, then you stay out of a home. And that's the main thing, because I don't want to go in a home. So that's why I have them. And I like them. They tend to me very well, you know. So I'm comfortable with them. Yes.

Liz Randall

The care plan for Clarice is personal - helping her to wash, dress. She actually does her own breakfast - make a cup of coffee. She has that seven days a week, but just a morning call. She doesn't have evening care. As soon as she's up and dressed, then she sort of muddles on herself through the day. And she likes to do that, so that's why she only has morning care.

Clarice Jones

She comes an hour on Monday and gives me a bath. So that takes time. And Friday, I have a bath. And then Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I have half an hour. And then I have an hour shopping on Wednesday.

If I want extra and I ring Tracy up, she will fix it up that one of them will push me in and give me an extra half an hour. Yes. Definitely so. If I'm really bad, you know, and I can't even go out there and make a sandwich or anything, she'll fix something up.

She really knows me. She knows everything that I want to do and every comfort. You know, and even to the shopping, she knows my shopping list better than I do, really.

Liz Randall

No rice pudding this week?

Clarice Jones

No, I got enough of that.

Liz Randall

You've got enough of that.

Clarice Jones

They took her off me for a little while in the summer, and I complained. I said, look, I'm paying for it, why can't I have who I choose? The one that replaced her was very nice, but she wasn't Liz. And the boss saw that I had her back. And that's much better now. I'm comfortable again now.

Liz Randall

She's a very nice lady. I'm quite fond of her, but it still has to stay professional. When I say goodbye to her, you know, I have no more contact with her ’til the following morning.

Clarice Jones

That'll be that, won't it?

Liz Randall

Okie cokie.

Clarice Jones

See you tomorrow then.

Liz Randall

Yeah

She probably thinks of me as her friend. And while I'm there, yes, although I'm caring for her, I am a friend as well. But that's where it stops. When I leave her house, I go on to do my next – wherever I'm going. And that's where it stops.

Bye.

Clarice Jones

By, dear. Bye.

Elvis Malcolm

The first time the company got Aerwyn, they sent out a guy there – and when they sent him there, Aerwyn never liked the guy. So I went. And the first day I went and I go in and I said, hello, hi. And he was like, hello, you want a cup of tea? So we sit down, we chat, play with his dog, and stuff like that.

Tutor

Since you're going to Dubai, why don't you put in Dubai and see what you can find out about that area?

Aerwyn Hall

Yeah.

Tutor

See if you can find some information for your holiday. You might find some places. So that's D-U-B..

Aerwyn Hall

Me and Elvis get on good. And we have a good laugh. And he likes his music, he does. I think it's all the rap music, so Elvis likes all that. So he puts the music up and he's all really happy. So my mum knows him as well, and he likes Millie a lot.

Tutor

– on the Google search. There we are.

Aerwyn Hall

Ooh.

Tutor

So it's telling you all about Dubai. So scroll down and you can have a look. You might even find your hotel on there, where you're going.

Elvis Malcolm

What's the name of it?

Aerwyn Hall

Well, no. We're not staying in the hotel. My cousin's got a house out there as well.

Tutor

Ooh, lovely.

Elvis Malcolm

He don't see me as his carer, he see me as his friend. So like him, I can't wear a uniform to be with him – he feel uncomfortable. If we go anywhere, he say, Elvis my friend, and things like that.

Aerwyn Hall

Oh, they've got horse racing there as well.

Elvis Malcolm

Yeah.

So it's like a work and a friendship relationship between me and him right there.

Aerwyn Hall

Oh, look at the buildings. Oh, look at the hotel.

It was Social Services that set it up. You know, to just take me out on a Monday and Wednesday, yeah. And I'm really enjoying it. I really like it, yeah.

I've got to take my phone oou there as well. Have to be – mobile phone.

He takes me to Snooker down at Penarth. And then I got a membership card. And I'm really – two hours I'm out with him, so we have three games of snooker on a Monday. And then I comes home and then I haves my lunch. Just put the telly on to see what's on telly.

Tutor

A well deserved break now, is it Aerwyn?

Aerwyn Hall

Yeah.

Tutor

There we go. That's 50 there. Have you got the change there?

Aerwyn Hall

All right. All right – 10, 20, 30, 40, 50.

Tutor

That's lovely. Thank you very much.

Aerwyn Hall

All right.

Tutor

That's lovely. OK.

Aerwyn Hall

Do you know, my mom told me a joke one day. It said, if I was to go out there, she said she would get a half a dozen camels coming back.

Elvis Malcolm

Your mum was going to sell you!

Aerwyn Hall

Sell me out there.

Elvis Malcolm

[INAUDIBLE]

Aerwyn Hall

Ah, it's funny, that one.

Elvis Malcolm

It's a close relationship, working with him, but you have to give him that friendship to make him comfortable. But on the other side, you know you're doing a job. So you know your limit. You know where to step over the line, or not to step over the line.

Snooker Monday, and then your gone.

Aerwyn Hall

Yeah, well, that's it. Yeah, snooker on Monday, and that's it.

Don

Hello Lyn, it's Don from VEST. How are you? All right?

Maria Williams

Hello.

Lyn Smith

Hiya. How are you? Nice to see you, Don

Don

And you, sweetheart. And you.

Lyn Smith

Yeah, I haven't seen you for a while.

Don

A couple of weeks.

Lyn Smith

Yeah.

Don

They're keeping us apart.

Lyn Smith

Yeah, that's it, because we have such a laugh when we're together.

Don

Indeed, we do.

Lyn Smith

Yeah.

[WHIRRING]

Maria Williams

Right, now then, let's have a look.

Lyn Smith

Oh, Maria's brilliant. She's very good. She's good company and she knows what she's doing.

She never rushes you, and she's always so - well, she's so jolly. And there's never enough that she won't do for you. She's so kind.

I think what I might do - I might try getting the still ones - the orange and peach. We've still got to find out where the air freshener is - and the milk. I can't find it now.

Maria Williams

I think it's down the other end, isn't it, Lyn?

Lyn Smith

Down that end?

Maria Williams

I think so.

Lyn Smith

Right.

I'm a free agent. I may be disabled, but I know exactly what I want. And I don't let anybody tell me what I've got to do or what I've got to buy. It's always up to me.

And all my carers know that, and they treat me as a human individual. They don't treat me as somebody with a disability.

And that's the other thing I like about Somebody Cares - you're not treated any different from anybody else.

[REGISTER BEEPING]

Lyn Smith

Right.

Cashier

Would you like some help with your packing?

Lyn Smith

Um, do we want help?

Maria Williams

Yeah.

Lyn Smith

Yes, please.

Cashier

Ok.

Maria Williams

Do you want to go down a bit further, Lyn?

Lyn Smith

In the mornings it's funded by the Social Services, but in the afternoons I get the Independent Living Fund.

And they fund most of it, but I have to fund for some of it myself, as well. I pay 75 pounds a week towards my afternoon care.

She's not a friend, she's a carer. That's the difference, because with a friend, you meet, and you go out, and you socialise after hours.

With Maria, everything's done within the hours, if you know what I mean. There's no - we're not allowed to communicate with them after work and stuff like that, so we don't.

Maria Williams

There we are.

Lyn Smith

Right, ok.

Maria Williams

You ok?

Lyn Smith

Yeah. Thank you.

Maria Williams

You keep everything professional. And everything is done, then, obviously by the book - even though with Lyn, you can have a laugh and a joke, and - it's a nice atmosphere.

Lyn Smith

As long as you've got the right agency and you've got the right carers, then you're all right.

And I - touch wood - I'm very, very lucky I've been able to manage with my own life.

And with the support of the carers, I've done really well.