Examples of jobs in care
Home care Assistant
Our aim is to help people lead independent and fulfilling lives as much
as possible. One of the ways we do this is by providing home care to older people
who still live in their own homes but perhaps need some help with completing everyday tasks such as
washing, dressing and preparing food.
To undertake this important role you will need to have certain qualities
that would assist you in delivering a much valued service to vulnerable adults in
the community.
Whilst qualifications are not always necessary you will need the ability
to understand service users needs and have a sympathetic and caring nature. You will need to build a
rapport and treat the service user with dignity and respect.
Your daily activities would include:
- helping with personal care
- helping to wash and dress the service user
- preparing food
- liaising with family members to keep them informed.
You
would also liaise with other agencies that provide services to the older person, for example occupational
therapy, social workers and the primary care trust for matters related to health.
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Care Worker at a Short Breaks Service
Some vulnerable adults are cared for by members of their family or friends
and we recognise that this can be very challenging and stressful.
To give carers a break the Short Break Service has been developed. The following
is an outline of what a care worker would do at a short break establishment.
Care workers should possess good communication skills and be able to
communicate, at different levels, to the individuals who use our service.
The work can be both challenging and rewarding as you are working with
people who can present challenging behaviour. Some of the service users who use our service have both
learning and a physical disability, these service users require assistance to move. This is carried
out by specialist equipment like overhead tracking hoists.
Duties of a care worker are:
- assisting to all aspects of personal care, like bathing toileting
and dressing,
- assisting service users at meal times
- enable service users to participate in a variety of activities both inside
and outside of the short break units.
As a care worker you will need an understanding of individuals
rights – to be treated with respect and dignity at all times and allowed to make own choices where
possible. As you are working in a care home environment then there is a necessity to follow Health and
safety regulations.
The Learning Disability Award Framework (LDAF) and NVQ level 2 in care
are required qualifications of this post, both of which can be attained when in post.
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Care worker in a residential home for older people
Residential care is for people who cannot
live at home even with help from their family. This could be because of a disability, illness
or frailty.
Care homes provide:
- personal care
- meals
- accommodation.
To work in
this setting you will need to have a genuine interest in caring for other people and will provide a
range of personal care duties to service users within the care home.
You will need to be aware of health and safety issues and help contribute
to the protection and safety of service users. You will enable them to do basic things like eat and
drink and help them to maintain their personal appearance, hygiene and mobility.
The role requires you to be very supportive to service users when they
are in distress and communication skills are crucial when working in this environment.
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Where to find vacancies
You can find out more about what vacancies the council
has for these types of positions online.
For more information about homecare vacancies please refer to the homecare
providers contact sheet [XLS 36KB]  .
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Adult social care and health 
