My life as a care home worker during the last year
On the surface little has changed. I have travelled daily to my work place as before but the daily challenges are totally different. Literally overnight my colleagues and I were the main human contact in our residents’ lives. We became responsible for managing the massive change in particular in their social interactions, hopefully softening the many restrictions they faced. The hardest part has been to communicate why their life has been turned upside down and that COVID is a real and serious threat to their life.
My work place became more like my second home and the residents my second family. Balancing this whilst remaining professional and with the restrictions, including social distancing, has been a constant challenge but an extremely rewarding one at the same time.
I also lost my preferred leisure activities and had to find an alternative way to manage my work life balance. This has made me more domesticated at home and I have enjoyed the closer interaction with my own family.
I think I am lucky in my choice of second career as a social care worker. It has allowed me to maintain as much normality as possible and at the same time rewarding me with a real feeling of satisfaction and hopefully I have been able to make a positive difference.
Ulla Chisholm, Community Link Worker, Richmond Fellowship Colindale Services. Member of BSA Exec. Committee