Care assistant interviews

We interview Sally who has been working for Bluebird Care for 18 months now. She used to work in the travel sector in a call centre. Sally explains what she enjoys most about her role and working for Bluebird Care. 

What did you do before you joined Bluebird Care?

I worked for a holiday company. I was in a call centre selling holidays. I was doing this for about 10 years and then obviously COVID happened and there were lots of redundancies. Prior to that I was cabin crew.

Can you describe a typical day in your role?

A typical day would involve seeing which clients I have got and getting to them. The tasks can be ranging from personal care, showering them, administering medication… A lot of our calls are companionship, which is lovely as well. This involves just keeping them company or doing any household tasks. I also get to know new clients, which is nice. I sometimes travel further afield, for example to Hayward’s Heath – I’m usually based in Horsham. It’s nice to meet knew clients and their families as well. Every day, every call, is varied.

Do you often see new clients or do you see the same people regularly?

A bit of both, really. I’ve got my regulars and then I’ve also got a couple of new ones. I had one new one yesterday, a couple, and it was lovely. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking when you’re going to somebody new. I always read the previous care notes and about the client so I’m not going in blind and I know what I’m doing. 90% of people I work with are older.

What is it that you enjoy most about your role?

I think knowing that I’m making a difference and seeing them smile. Without us, a lot of our clients wouldn’t be able to carry on because a lot of them don’t have family. A lot of them are bed-bound and we use the hoist to wash them and change them and so on. It’s knowing that I’m making a difference out there and that people need us. They’re always going to need us. It makes me smile when I leave there and they say, ‘I can’t wait to see you again Sally’ and ‘thank you for coming’.

What was it like working in care throughout the pandemic?

It’s been okay. The office provides so much support and we have obviously got all the PPE and extra PPE. There is COVID present when we visit some of our clients so we are going in doubled up with everything – your gloves, foot protectors, visor, masks, goggles – so you feel like something out of ghostbusters sometimes! I think at the beginning it was a little bit scary but obviously we’re a couple of years into this pandemic now and I think that as long as you’re careful, it’s not too bad. 90% of the time I feel safe, though when you are going into a household where COVID is present you are obviously aware and keep your distance.

Do you think there were a lot of people who, like you, went into care during the pandemic?

I think lot of people went into care during the pandemic. There were a couple of people made redundant where I worked that also ended up at Bluebird, I recommended them. I gave them the number and said, ‘Look, why don’t you try it?’. One’s still here, loving it. I wanted to do care before I got made redundant, actually, because a lot of my colleagues left to go into care. I was thinking about it and thinking about it but I held off and then when I got made redundant I thought, ‘right, let’s go for it.’.

What advice would you give to others considering a job in the industry?

I would say you will love it or hate it. It’s not for everyone. I think that you should give it a go: it’s so rewarding and I love doing care because you feel like your own boss a bit: you’re in your car and you’re going to the next person. I would recommend it to everyone really, even my daughter. She’s 18 in September and she’s taking driving lessons. She’d like to get a job at Bluebird for a bit because she’s seen how much I enjoy it and I talk about my day.

Can you tell us a little about the people you care for?

I’ve got a lot of regulars, who I love visiting. You have such a relationship with them. It’s all varied. I care for a lady who had polio. She’s fantastic. I’ve had clients with Parkinsons and a lot with dementia. You try not to get too attached but you do. We all have our favourites! I care for both men and women. I’ve even had a client who was in her twenties. I have only seen her once but her call was just a four-hour companionship call. She just likes to go out. She’s in a wheelchair. On that trip, which was just before Christmas, she wanted to go to Worthing to get Christmas decorations. We just drove to Worthing, drove along the beach, and then we did the shopping and came back. That was a completely different call to those I have had before but it was nice: it was different. We were chatting in the car and it flew by.

Do you meet a lot of the client’s families?

A lot of the time, yes. There’s one client in Horsham whose daughters are there quite often. They pop in and check she’s okay. A lot of the time when we turn up they’re there, or one of them is there. You get to know the family and obviously a lot of their clients live with their wife/husband as well, so you get to know them. Yesterday, the daughter of my new client rang and wanted to talk to me. We were chatting and she was telling me where everything was in the kitchen and how to work the oven and things like that. You not only get support from the office, but from the family as well.

Could you tell us about a specific example of a positive or meaningful experience you’ve had during your time in the care industry?

That’s a tough one. There’s so many. There was one incident where a lady, the lady I was talking about earlier whose daughters visit, didn’t realise she had taken her medication. We were in the bedroom, I was just putting some clothes away, and I glanced down and she had her hand on the dossette box to go and take more pills. She had got confused and I had managed to stop her just in time. I rang her daughter and asked if her mother had taken the pills in the morning and she said she had. I told her that her mother had tried to take them again and the daughter was so thankful that I had managed to stop her from taking two sets of pills.

Another time, I had a new person shadow me who really enjoyed herself. She told the office how professional, caring and fun to work with I was and this got me carer of the month this month.