Stories Archives

Jac and Baz talk about the impact under investment has on care (2:41)

Jac and Baz talk about how the care system and staff are overworked, under pressure and don’t have enough time to give good care or enough staff to do so.

They talk about their experience of one care home Jac went into not having a nurse on site as promised, but a nurse on call instead and how this made them feel, with Baz feeling he let Jac down or she would not have medical attention when required.

They feel that some care homes focus on getting the ‘bodies’ in to make money. This is made worse by in some cases not having the right staff, staff doing things they are not qualified to do and general lack of care staff. They feel much more focus on investment is needed rather than financial turnover.

Being More Human: Has been lost to progress (1:40)

Sue is asked what Being More Human means to her in the context of care. Sue reflects that it feels like another buzz phrase to revamp things that were beginning to happen years ago.

Sue talks about how in the past this was how people worked, similar to nursing in the way you would work with families and individuals.

Now there is so much pressure and lead by contractual commission organised and focussed the rushing in and out has lost the luxury to be more human. She concludes that a lot of good things have been lost in progress.

Final thoughts and insights from Gina and Ian (5:36)

Gina and Ian give final thoughts. Ian notes the unique opportunity NR Care has has working with an independent living provider from scratch, promotion of working in this way whilst maintaining stability. Gina talks about the need that when transitioning to working alongside care providers coming in, it is important to create a environment that is welcome for carers coming in.

So they know the door is open for a chat for any worries about residents can be supported pro-actively.

Gina highlights the importance of residents choice in deciding which care provider the The Great Hospital brought in.

Final words reflect on the need for greater communication from social care following hospital discharge when residents who need medical care return to The Great Hospital with a separate care package in place and how this could work better if it was more joined up.

Conditions that create non human ways of working (1:49)

Jac and Baz reflect that staff being over worked, not having enough time, lack of education/traing of how we should treat each other are all part of the conditions that create and environment which make it harder/stop people from being more human with each other.

What is needed is a social care system that values individual as somebody that counts, has an opinion, has feelings and not a piece of meat on a bed or stastic.

Reflecting on the first year of The Great Hospital with NR Care (2:23)

Gina and Ian reflect on how the year has been and how it has made them feel.

Highlights for Ian is that after all the co-planning it has come together as he had hoped, if not even better than.

Gina is incredibly happy after working through a number of Care Providers that were unable to offer the flexibility needed to make it work alongside finding NR Care who understand what the care needs are and have an ethos of if we can make it work we will make it work.

Over the year they have got a deeper understand of what each other do, the partnership has strengthened through this relationship they also note that when issues do come up they get sorted straight away.

Build trust and transparency through acknowledging when things go wrong (1:35)

Iris and Sue discuss some of the difficulties encountered with care companies. including issues with communication and lack of apologies or acknowledgment from the carers when problems arose.

The conversation emphasises the need for better direct communication and transparency between the care company, the carers, and the family members supporting the care.

The importance of building trust through better communication practices is highlighted.

Consistency is a big issue and often is the problem (1:14)

Sue talks about good care being when someone gets what they need, when they need it, in the right way as promised.

This is in contrast to a lot of contradictory experiences where things have been promised that don’t materialise.

She stresses the need for care providers to be more human, understanding, and communicative and touches on the importance of trust and transparency in fulfilling care promises.

Forming relationships is more important than filling out forms (3:42)

Zena and Angela share their observations of what get in the way of people building relationships and being human with each other.

They flag the nature of the system that is wrapped up in paperwork and forms, rather than forming relationship.

They are passionate about making the time to build connection and how important this in what they do, noting that structure and time restraints create barriers and dont work well especially for people who may be struggling at that time or day.

Being human is about understanding personalised care, what people want and not what you or another service or agency wants or think is best for someone else who is not you.

A smile is more than a smile (2:26)

Asked what makes them smile about what they do Angela and Zena reflect on what might be seen as the little things such as seeing a smile and seeing someones personality emerge means a lot to them.

Whilst this may be a small thing they know that it is much deeper than that and sits within someone feeling valued, a sense of worth and that people know what they are entitled to such as food, heat, warmth and someone to talk to whcih is a rare resource in the world of homelessness.

Couldn’t make a cheese sandwich: challenges of finding a suitable care company (2:47)

Sue sets the context of supporting her 88 year old mother and 95 year old father at home for nearly 3 years. Sue has an extensive background in care, including over 47 years as a learning disability nurse and experience in various care provisions.

Her parents care has evolved from half-hour daily care to full-time live-in care. Sue contrasts her professional expectations with her personal experiences, highlighting significant challenges and disappointments with care providers.

Despite her and her brother’s efforts for transparent relationships and high standards, they faced issues such as inadequate training, poor communication, and lack of respect for their parents’ needs, leading to frustration and additional workload in managing the care.